Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings May 10, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1947-Ewell Blackwell begins his string of 16 consecutive wins. He will not lose a game until July 30th. MLB.COM Davis follows Garrett to Triple-A in Reds' move Right-hander the second rookie starter to be optioned this week By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | an hour ago + 1 COMMENT CINCINNATI -- The Reds optioned starting pitcher Rookie Davis to Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday, two days after his last start vs. the Yankees. A corresponding move to take the 25-man roster spot will be announced on Thursday ahead of a four-game series opener vs. the Giants. Davis, 24, was scheduled to pitch on Saturday at San Francisco. In five big league starts, Davis was 1-2 with a 7.58 ERA and a 2.21 WHIP over 19 innings. He also missed some time on the disabled list with a bruised right forearm after he was hit by a pitch on April 11 at Pittsburgh. Davis, who is the Reds' No. 16 prospect as ranked by MLBPipeline.com, has made three starts since being activated. He labored for 4 1/3 innings vs. the Yankees and gave up five runs (four earned) with seven hits, three walks and four strikeouts while throwing 91 pitches. Pitch efficiency has been an issue in all of Davis' starts, and he has yet to get beyond the fifth inning. Although he struggled on Monday, especially with his slider, Reds manager Bryan Price seemed to show confidence that he would get better and continue to develop. Davis is the second rookie starter to be sent out of the rotation this week. Lefty Amir Garrett was sent to Louisville on Sunday in an effort to limit his innings and because there are off-days in the schedule where the Reds won't need a fifth starter. Service time ahead of the arbitration eligibility was likely a factor as well, and that could be in play for Davis. The Reds have limited options to replace Davis. One choice could be to move Robert Stephenson back into the rotation after he's pitched in the bullpen all season. Stephenson pitched three innings for his first career save to end Saturday's win over the Giants. Cody Reed was optioned to Louisville to work through struggles, and he did not fare well in his first outing. Garrett must remain with Louisville for at least 10 days, unless there is an injury. At Double-A Pensacola, the Reds have Tyler Mahle and Luis Castillo -- who are both pitching very well. Price recently expressed the organization's desire to have both prospects go to Triple-A first before a big league promotion. Mahle, who threw a perfect game already this season, is also not on the 40-man roster. 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. Reds ride 5-run 2nd to split with Yankees By Mark Sheldon and John Fay / MLB.com | 9:12 AM ET + 221 COMMENTS CINCINNATI -- The Yankees hit two impressive home runs in the first two innings on Tuesday, but those solo shots proved insufficient against a singles-filled Reds rally. Cincinnati scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning for a 5-3 victory that provided a split in the two-game series and ended New York's six-game win streak. Staked to a 2-0 lead on homers by Gary Sanchez in the first inning and Didi Gregorius in the second, Yankees starter CC Sabathia faced 10 batters in the bottom of the second while allowing five runs, six hits and a walk. Billy Hamilton's two-run single with the bases loaded tied the game, and Joey Votto's two-run single provided the go-ahead runs. Adam Duvall followed Votto with an RBI single. After getting out of the second inning, Sabathia retired 10 in a row and 13 of 14, but the damage was done. He lasted six innings with five earned runs, seven hits, two walks, a hit batter and two strikeouts. "He didn't find his cutter until later on," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Once he did, things got a lot easier." Reds starter Tim Adleman pitched five innings for the win, his second in a row. Adleman gave up three earned runs -- including a Gregorius two-out RBI single in the fourth inning -- with five hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Adleman also benefited from two double plays. "I thought we had some good at-bats," Girardi said. "We hit a couple of homers off him. It just didn't seem like we could get that one big hit. His changeup was pretty effective tonight." "Sabathia got really tough after that inning. Both he and Adleman were about 50 percent strikes those first couple of innings," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "They tightened it up a bit. Sabathia was throwing a good fastball inside, a breaking ball and changeup away. He kept us off balance, but fortunately we took advantage of those opportunities in the second to plate all of those runs." Price utilized his best bullpen arms early to finish the game. Michael Lorenzen took over in the sixth and pitched two scoreless innings. Raisel Iglesias tackled the final six outs and overcame a hit and a walk in the ninth inning, getting a fortuitous game-ending double play for his sixth save. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED He got all of it: Two batters into the game, Sanchez made it 1-0 when he clobbered Adleman's 3-2 fastball into the left-field upper deck. According to Statcast™, the ball left Sanchez's bat at 111.5 mph with a 21-degree angle and traveled a projected 448 feet. It was the longest homer of his brief big league career and tied for the third-longest Yankees homer of the season. "I wanted it in, and I just pulled it back over the plate," Adleman said. "With me, if I'm more aggressive, I've got a really good chance of being able to drive that in there. But I sort of aimed it a little bit and ended up coming off of it a little bit and pulled it back over the plate where he could handle it." More > Hamilton ties it up: With the bases loaded and one out in the big Reds second-inning rally, Hamilton bounced a ball to the left side that skipped off of the glove of third baseman Ronald Torreyes and then ricocheted through Gregorius at shortstop for a single into left field that scored two runs. Hamilton has a seven-game hitting streak and is batting .375 (12-for-32) with nine RBIs during the hot stretch. SUAREZ STOPS SANCHEZ LASER Iglesias secured the final two outs on one nifty play by Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez in the ninth. Representing the go-ahead run, Sanchez smoked a sharp line drive to Suarez, who adjusted his positioning and gloved the ball before throwing to second base to get Aaron Hicks for the game-ending double play. The exit velocity on the liner was 110.2 mph. "I'm ready for that," Suarez said. "I know Sanchez has power and he tries to pull it a little bit. I moved a little bit because I saw [catcher Devin Mesoraco] moving in, I anticipated that play, and that's why I was ready. I try to catch the ball and finish the game like that. It's perfect for us." QUOTABLE "I think that was more important than anything. They beat us up a little bit yesterday, and to come back and play a better game and get a split in the series was a great reinforcing message to our guys. I think they already know we have a good club, but I think beating a team that's really been hot is an exclamation point on the early part of the season that we have a better club than even some of the players thought." -- Price, about his 18-15 club, which remains in second place in the National League Central WORTH A SECOND LOOK Batting for himself in the bottom of the sixth, Lorenzen grounded to third base and was called safe after apparently beating out Torreyes' one-hop throw to first baseman Chris Carter. However, the Yankees challenged the call, and it was overturned upon review by the replay official. WHAT'S NEXT Yankees: After a day off Wednesday, the Yanks open a four-game series with the Astros in a 7:05 ET game Thursday night at Yankee Stadium. Right-hander Michael Pineda (3-1, 3.12 ERA) will start the series opener for the Yankees, who have won his last five starts. Reds: Also off on Wednesday, the Reds return to action on the West Coast on Thursday at 10:15 p.m. ET with a four-game series opener vs. the Giants. Cincinnati, which swept a three-game series from the Giants at home last weekend, will have Bronson Arroyo making the start. 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. John Fay is a contributor to MLB.com based in Cincinnati and covered the Yankees on Tuesday.