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Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings April 6, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1912-The Reds play their first game at Redland Field, losing to the Red Sox, 13-1. During the game, workmen were sodding the area in deep right field in the yet unfinished ball park MLB.COM Votto homers to back dominant Finnegan By Mark Sheldon and Todd Zolecki / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | 1:06 AM ET + 55 COMMENTS CINCINNATI -- After pitchers Brandon Finnegan and Jerad Eickhoff exchanged zeros for 6 1/2 innings, Joey Votto's leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh snapped the scoreless deadlock and helped give the Reds a 2-0 victory over the Phillies on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park. Adam Duvall followed Votto with a double to left field, and Zack Cozart's two-out RBI single scored a second insurance run against Eickhoff. "Joey got everyone excited with the homer, and they had been pounding him and throwing the ball close to him. When they came in with the breaking ball on the second pitch, Joey got it," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "They're all important, but that second run certainly made a huge difference for us." The two-run inning made a winner out of Finnegan, who endured a rocky top of the first following a 50-minute rain delay with a walk and two-out single. But he retired his final 19 batters in a row, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out nine over seven frames on 88 pitches. More > Eickhoff finished with two earned runs on five hits, one walk and six strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. "He pitched his butt off and gave us every chance to win," Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp said. "It [stinks] that it worked out the way it did." More > MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Hang time for Votto: When Votto lifted Eickhoff's 1-0 hanging curveball into the right-center-field seats to snap the tie, it marked his first home run of the season. The ball left the bat at 104 mph, with a height of 146 feet, per Statcast™. It also had a hang time of 7.01 seconds. There has been only one homer in the Statcast™ Era with a longer hang time, a Freddie Freeman blast that was 7.02 seconds on July 26, 2016 (for Atlanta). "I felt like I've swung the bat well the first two games. That one was the one I connected on," said Votto, who now has 222 career home runs to move into a tie with Jason Bay for fourth all time among Major Leaguers born in Canada. Bullpen silences Phillies' bats, too: The Phillies showed some life, when Aaron Altherr and Cameron Rupp reached base on back-to- back infield singles to start the eighth. But Michael Lorenzen struck out Freddy Galvis and pinch-hitter Michael Saunders swinging before getting Cesar Hernandez, who is hitless in eight at-bats since blasting a leadoff homer in the first inning on Opening Day, to ground out to second base. "I thought about it, but with the way we were swinging the bats, I wanted to give everyone an opportunity to do something," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said, when asked if he thought about having Galvis bunt. "To play to tie here with the way we swung tonight, I just thought that maybe Freddy could hit a double or something like that." QUOTABLE "It's always nice to win that first one of the season. Now, you want to start collecting more." -- Price "I think when I threw it, looking at the video, I got him, I almost fooled him, but he was able to keep his hands back. He's a big strong guy. It was a slow enough pitch for him to kind of double clutch and get the barrel to it." -- Eickhoff, on Votto's homer. SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Since Eickhoff made his big league debut on Aug. 21, 2015, the Phillies have scored one or no runs for him in 18 starts. That is tied with Edinson Volquez and second only to Michael Pineda, who has 20 of those starts in that span. UNDER REVIEW In the ninth, Odubel Herrera attempted to steal second base with two outs and was called out by umpire Mark Ripperger in what appeared to be the end of the game. However, the Phillies immediately challenged -- even as celebratory fireworks went off -- and the call was overturned upon review. Reliever Raisel Iglesias struck out Tommy Joseph two pitches later for the save. Of course, why was Herrera running in that situation in the first place? "The first baseman was back," Herrera said. "I thought I had a chance to steal the base, and I got it." Added Mackanin: "He made it. That's all I'm going to say. I'll talk to him." WHAT'S NEXT Phillies: Right-hander Clay Buchholz makes his Phillies debut at 12:35 p.m. ET Thursday in the series finale against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Philadelphia acquired Buchholz in a December trade with the Red Sox. Phillies manager Mackanin said two Phillies are expected to make their first big league starts: catcher Andrew Knapp and first baseman Brock Stassi. Reds: Right-hander Rookie Davis will make his Major League debut in the Thursday game. Davis, 24, posted a 4.02 ERA in five Cactus League games to earn a rotation spot. He was one of four players acquired from the Yankees in the December 2015 trade for Aroldis Chapman. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV. Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from 2001-05. Follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon and Facebook and listen to his podcast. Todd Zolecki has covered the Phillies since 2003, and for MLB.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Mesoraco leaves for rehab assignment Catcher, on DL after offseason surgeries, will begin in Pensacola By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | April 5th, 2017 + 1 COMMENT CINCINNATI -- Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco departed Cincinnati on Wednesday for Pensacola, Fla., where he will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday with the organization's Double-A affiliate. Mesoraco is scheduled to catch six innings for Pensacola against Tennessee in his first game. The timetable for his 2017 debut with Cincinnati remains fluid, but the rehab assignment limit is 20 days unless there is a setback. "We have a loose schedule that will end up going day to day based on how he responds to it," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "We will get him to where he is back to back, but those will start with probably back-to-back seven-inning games. We'll get him to where he's catching back-to-back nine-inning games before we consider activating him. Until we get to that place, it's hard to say how long it will be. "However, we anticipate him being ready before those 20 days are up." Because of the warmer weather, all of Mesoraco's rehab games will likely be with Pensacola. Mesoraco started the season on the 10-day disabled list, so he could continue to build his workload as he comes back from 2016 right hip and left shoulder surgeries. He also underwent left hip surgery in '15 and has been limited to 18 starts behind the plate the past two seasons. In seven Cactus League games, Mesoraco batted .235 (4-for-17), but he also got a lot of at-bats in Minor League and extended spring games. There wasn't a total number of at-bats expected for Mesoraco before he is activated. "I do know the length or the duration of his rehab combined with the at-bats he got in Spring Training and the at-bats he got in extended spring after we left," Price said. "I'm hoping he will equal or exceed what the other guys got, which would be in the 40-40- plus [range]." Worth noting • Reliever Austin Brice, who is on the 10-day DL because of inflammation in the right ulnar nerve of his elbow, will go to Pensacola on Friday to begin his rehab assignment. "He threw a bullpen yesterday," Price said. "He's got some outings mapped out before he gets bumped up to Louisville. But we definitely see him in Triple-A when he's cleared to take on a regular workload." Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from 2001-05. Follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Efficient Finnegan masterful in victory By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | 12:10 AM ET + 0 COMMENTS CINCINNATI -- Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart did not hesitate in ranking the performance of his starting pitcher -- Brandon Finnegan -- on Wednesday after a 2-0 win over the Phillies at Great American Ball Park. "That was the best he's ever been, that I've caught him. It's not even close," Barnhart raved. "The complete game he threw in L.A. [on May 23, 2016] was good, but tonight was without question the best he's ever been that I've ever seen." In his seven innings, Finnegan allowed one hit and one walk with nine strikeouts.