Reds Press Clippings July 27, 2018 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1962- orders organist Ronnie Dale to stop playing the bugle call “Charge.” The next day, president, , rules Conlan overstepped his bounds and Dale could play the organ whenever he choses MLB.COM Reds use short leash on scuffling rookie Mahle Cincinnati matches club record by allowing seven home runs By Mark Sheldon MLB.com @m_sheldon 1:39 AM EDT

CINCINNATI -- Even if they were using a six-man rotation on a temporary basis, the key to its success is to provide deep starts so as not to tax a shorthanded bullpen.

In a 9-4 loss to the Phillies on Thursday night at Great American Ball Park, Reds rookie didn't get anywhere near the deep part of the game. In his third consecutive poor outing, Mahle provided the shortest start of his young career with one-plus innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, with one walk and three .

"I'm missing spots, and the ones over the plate they're hitting," said Mahle, who has a 14.00 ERA in his last three starts, with 14 earned runs over nine innings.

Mahle faced nine batters in the first inning while throwing 45 pitches. Rhys Hoskins made it a 1-0 game with the first of his two homers on the night and two batters later, Carlos Santana slugged a two- homer. Mahle, who now leads the National League with 21 homers allowed, loaded the bases with two outs before getting out of the jam by striking out Ranger Suarez.

When the second inning began with a Cesar Hernandez single, interim Jim Riggleman brought the hook for Mahle and summoned .

"I had to get Mahle out of there," Riggleman said. "So the only decision was should I send Mahle out there for the second? I did, and as soon as a guy got on, we had Lorenzen ready."

Of the 53 pitches Mahle threw, 38 were four-seam fastballs, according to Statcast™.

"I think tonight it all happened so fast," Mahle said. "I didn't go to my breaking ball soon enough. Once I did go to it, I thought it was pretty good. I didn't get hurt on it. I got some swings and misses. But I think tonight, the problem was not only was I not locating, I didn't go to my offspeed quick enough, so they were sitting on fastballs."

From June 1-July 6, Mahle was the best pitcher in the Reds' rotation, posting a 4-0 record and a 2.04 ERA in seven starts. His downturn, which included a 2 1/3-inning start on July 11 at Cleveland, relates to becoming susceptible to barrels (batted balls likely to become extra-base hits, based on their exit velocity and launch angle).

According to Statcast™, Mahle has allowed 31 barreled balls this season, tied for third most in the NL. His barrel rate during the strong seven-start stretch was 5.6 percent. In the last three starts, it's 12.2 percent. His barrel rate on non-fastballs jumped from 6.4 percent to 16.7 percent. The batting average/slugging percentage on non-fastballs rose from .242/.387 to .571/.952.

"I thought his fastball command was fantastic tonight," said Reds , who a game-tying two-run homer to left field with two outs in the fourth inning. "But there's growing pains to developing secondary pitches, and it seems sometimes that our issue is putting some guys away and not getting strikeouts with the fastball. I thought he executed a lot of pitches tonight. They fought off a lot of pitches. I'm not worried at all. He's a tireless worker. He's had a great year. He's just gotten beaten up here as of late."

Mahle is the second Reds starting pitcher this week to work less than four innings after provided 3 2/3 frames (eight runs) against the Pirates on Sunday. Cincinnati is using a six-man rotation through at least Tuesday's non-waiver Trade Deadline.

"That's the challenge," Riggleman said. "If your guys don't give you the innings, now you have one less guy in the bullpen to cover everything. So it's something we've got to look at real close."

Harvey, a free agent after the season, is the leading candidate to be dealt to a contender. But the Reds might not be able to wait until Tuesday for bullpen reinforcements after relievers cobbled together eight innings to open a four-game series against Philadelphia. If the club were to send someone out, Robert Stephenson has a 3.06 ERA in 18 starts for Triple-A Louisville this season. However, Stephenson just pitched on Tuesday and worked seven scoreless innings, but he would be able to provide big league bullpen length when he's ready.

SUAREZ STAYS HOT

In the first inning, Eugenio Suarez delivered a two-run blast to left-center field -- his fourth straight game with a homer -- to make it a 3-2 game. Suarez became the first Reds third baseman since Chris Stynes in 2000 to homer in four consecutive games. The club record is five straight games with a homer, which has been achieved by seven players. More >

SOUND SMART

Reds tied a club record as they were roughed up by seven home runs, including two apiece for three different Phillies.

Cincinnati has surrendered that many homers six other times in club history, most recently in 2016 when it happened twice -- May 31 at Colorado and Aug. 22 vs. the Dodgers. The Phillies tied their single-game club record with most homers in a game (Sept. 8, 1998).

HE SAID IT

"It's not the elephant in the room, it's obvious. We're not ignoring it. We've just got to find a way to keep the ball in the ballpark. We can't win the game, usually, if you give up three homers -- never mind six and seven." -- Riggleman, on his club allowing a Major League-leading 154 home runs this season

UP NEXT

The second game of the four-game series against Philadelphia is set for 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday. Although he was sharp for several starts, Anthony DeSclafani's last two haven't been strong. He hasn't completed six innings in three of his last four outings. will take the mound for the Phillies.

Suarez achieves rare Reds feat with latest HR By Mark Sheldon MLB.com @m_sheldon 12:21 AM EDT

CINCINNATI -- Eugenio Suarez has been the source of big power for the Reds all season, but the third baseman has gone on a tear this week with home runs in four consecutive games.

The fourth -- a two-run shot against Phillies rookie Ranger Suarez (no relation) to left-center field in the first inning -- helped the Reds shrink a three-run deficit in Thursday night's 9-4 loss at Great American Ball Park.

Suarez became the first Reds third baseman since Chris Stynes from July 5-8, 2000, to hit a homer in four straight games. Tony Fernandez homered in four consecutive games in 1994, but he was a pinch-hitter in one game and the third baseman in the other three.

The club record for consecutive games with a is five -- accomplished seven times, with the most recent to do it from July 23-27, 2016.

Besides Bruce, the other Reds to hit homers in five straight games are , , Ken Griffey Jr., , George Crowe and .

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Suarez's long ball marked the first time in Reds history that three players have hit homers in four straight team games in the same season. did it from April 24-27 and Scooter Gennett equaled the feat May 7-11.

The National League leader with 78 RBIs, Suarez paces the Reds with 23 homers this season. A first-time NL All-Star earlier this month, he is batting .306/.391/.583.

Winker needs season-ending shoulder surgery Reds summon Williams from Triple-A, transfer infielder Blandino to 60-day DL By Mark Sheldon MLB.com @m_sheldon Jul. 26th, 2018

CINCINNATI -- Reds rookie outfielder was crushed. A very nice season prematurely ended on Thursday when Winker learned he would need season-ending surgery to repair a right shoulder injury.

"It's terrible," said Winker, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list.

Outfielder Mason Williams had his contract selected from Triple-A Louisville and will replace Winker on the 25-man roster. To make room for Williams on the 40-man roster, infielder was transferred to the 60-day DL.

In 89 games as part of a four-man outfield rotation, Winker batted .299/.405/.431 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs. He was hitting .362 with six of those homers since June 1, putting himself on a short list of contenders for National League Rookie of the Year Award consideration.

"Jesse is doing a really good job for us, having a nice year," Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. "His outfield play was progressing. His offensive game was just being refined."

The official term for the injury is right shoulder subluxation, which is a partial dislocation. Winker, 24, revealed it has been something he has been dealing with and managing for 2-3 years in the Minor Leagues. The Reds expect Winker to be ready for next .

"It's been happening and we've done everything we can to keep it at bay," Winker said. "It's been off and on this whole year with some shoulder pain and this whole subluxation thing. I've had to deal with a few of those. Now it's time to go in there and fix it. Everyone agrees with this step. It's time to go do it."

During Monday's 2-1 win over the Cardinals in the ninth inning, Winker had to dive while running to second base to avoid being struck by a Tucker Barnhart line drive. He didn't feel good when he got back up.

"That ended it. That was pretty much the last straw," Winker said.

Not only is Cincinnati without Winker, right fielder Scott Schebler is still on the DL with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder from a crash into the wall on July 14. Schebler began a rehab assignment with Louisville on Wednesday as the designated hitter since throwing still bothers him. Without both players, is the right fielder, while rookie Brandon Dixon and Williams will back up.

Riggleman hopes Schebler can get back to the Reds soon as the club needs a consistent hitter behind Eugenio Suarez in the middle of the order.

"It's on Schebler. When he says he's ready to go, he'll be here," Riggleman said.

Williams back in the big leagues

The Reds signed Williams to a Minor League contract in November and invited him to big league camp. After he impressed many at Spring Training, the 26-year-old batted .280/.341/.418 with six homers and 30 RBIs in 87 games with Louisville.

"It's been a matter of me being healthy and staying on the field and playing my game and having confidence in myself," Williams said.

Williams appeared in 25 big league games for the Yankees from 2015-17, but he tore the labrum in his right shoulder on June 19, 2015, diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt.

"He's played a good center field," Riggleman said of the reports about Williams from Louisville. "He's had productive at-bats, competitive at-bats against both left- and right-handed pitching. He's a good athlete. We're confident he will come up here and do a good job."

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Tyler Mahle struggles, pitchers allow 7 homers in loss to Phillies Bobby Nightengale, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 10:49 p.m. ET July 26, 2018 | Updated 12:01 a.m. ET July 27, 2018

For Reds pitchers Thursday, it was death by a thousand home runs.

OK, it was only seven.

Even the solo homers added up quickly in a 9-4 loss to the during their series opener at Great American Ball Park. Rhys Hoskins, Maikel Franco and Nick Williams all homered twice in front of 17,031 fans.

With seven home runs, the Phillies tied a Great American Ball Park record by an opposing team. The hit seven against the Reds on Aug. 22, 2016.

“Last year, the ballclub set a record for giving up home runs," Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. "All of a sudden since the All-Star break, we’ve pushed it toward that again. We’re getting toward that type of number. It’s not the elephant in the room. It’s obvious."

The Phillies, first place in the National League East, set the tone with a pair of home runs in the first inning against Reds starter Tyler Mahle, who labored through the shortest outing of his Major League career.

Mahle needed 45 pitches to complete the first inning. Hitters fouled off 11 of them, in part because they were focused on Mahle's fastball.

"I'm missing spots," Mahle said, "and the ones over the plate they're hitting."

During the first inning, Mahle allowed five hits, which included home runs to Hoskins and Carlos Santana. He’s given up 21 homers this season, most in the NL.

The Reds trailed by three runs before their first trip to the plate, and yet, it could’ve been much worse. Mahle escaped further damage when he struck out Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez with the bases loaded.

"Tonight, the problem was not only was I not locating, I didn't go to my off-speed quick enough, so they were just sitting on fastballs," Mahle said.

Michael Lorenzen, who started warming up during the first inning, replaced Mahle following a leadoff single to begin the second inning.

In Mahle’s last three starts, the rookie right-hander has allowed 14 earned runs on 20 hits in nine innings (14.00 ERA).

From May 26 to July 6, a stretch of eight outings, Mahle gave up three home runs. He’s issued five homers in his last three starts.

"I’m not worried at all," Barnhart said of Mahle. "He’s a tireless worker. He’s had a great year. He’s just gotten beaten up here as of late. That’s the way the game goes. There’s ups and downs obviously to a long season.

"There’s growing pains to developing secondary pitches and it seems sometimes that our issue is putting some guys away and not getting strikeouts with the fastball."

By the fourth inning, the Reds erased their early deficit with a pair of two-run homers from Eugenio Suarez and Barnhart.

With the green light to swing on a 3-0 count in the bottom of the first inning against Ranger Suarez, who was making his MLB debut, Eugenio Suarez crushed a two-run homer to left-center field.

It was his fourth homer in the last four days.

Eugenio Suarez leads the National League with 78 RBI. He’s only three homers and four RBI shy of his totals last year – with about 200 fewer at-bats.

In the fourth inning, Barnhart drilled a game-tying, two-run homer into the first row of seats in left field.

But the Phillies never stopped hitting homers. Franco smacked a go-ahead homer to left field in the fifth inning, then added another in the seventh. It was his second multi-homer game this week.

Hoskins, who participated in the Home Run Derby, hit a solo homer in the sixth inning. He’s homered six times in his last six games.

Each of the first three Reds pitchers – Mahle, Lorenzen and Austin Brice – allowed two homers. Plus, Williams hit a solo homer in the ninth against Kyle Crockett.

It was the sixth time in franchise history that Reds pitchers allowed a total of seven homers in a game, tying a club record.

"We’ve just got to find a way to keep the ball in the ballpark," Riggleman said. "We can’t win the game, usually, if you give up three homers – never mind six and seven.”

The Phillies tied their franchise record for most homers in a game, matching their total on Sept. 8, 1998, against the .

Cincinnati Reds baseball boss expects moves before Tuesday's trade deadline John Fay, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 7:12 p.m. ET July 26, 2018 | Updated 6:15 a.m. ET July 27, 2018

We’re five days from the no-waiver trade deadline, and the Cincinnati Reds have not moved beyond the rumor stage.

But if Dick Williams, president of baseball operations, had to guess, the Reds will get something done before July 31.

“I would think there’s a good chance we will make a deal,” Williams said.

The Reds' game plan is a little different this year. They are not trying to shed payroll or add prospects.

“If we are going to go out and trade for someone, it would definitely be a major-league-ready piece,” Williams said. “If we trade away players, we’d be open to what we’d get back. We’d go for the most value.”

The most likely Reds to be traded is right-hander Matt Harvey. Harvey, 29, is a free agent after this season. Williams has spoken with Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras.

“We have touched base with what the likely outcome is there,” Williams said. “I think that it’s likely that they’ll take into to free agency to see what the market is.”

If Harvey isn’t traded and he leaves via free agency, the Reds get nothing. Because the Reds traded for him during the season, they cannot make a qualifying offer and get draft-pick compensation.

Teams have reportedly been asking about veteran right-handed relievers Jared Hughes and David Hernandez. Williams would not say that they are untouchable. But he made it sound like a trade of either is unlikely.

“We would be opportunistic,” Williams said. “But they’ve been really good contributors, and they’re signed to really good deals, and they would be hard to replace.

“If I thought our contending window was many years down the road, we’d be shopping them. Now, we would only move them if it was a deal that made us better in the relative near term.”

The Reds do have a semi-untouchable list. Williams, of course, isn’t going to reveal who’s on it.

“We wouldn’t publicize that,” Williams said. “And I don’t think there’s any guy that you make completely untouchable. But they are players that we’re steering teams away from because we see them as part of winning club in the near future.”

The list probably starts with Eugenio Suarez and Tucker Barnhart, two solid performers signed to club-friendly deals. Michael Lorenzen, , Tyler Mahle, , and are probably on it as well.

The Reds have shifted their focus more toward the near-term, but they’re also not looking to add players for this season and next. Williams said they’re looking to add players who they control at least two or three years beyond this season.

The shopping list is pretty simple to deduce. The Reds are fifth in the National League in runs scored. The bullpen has been solid — particularly as far as the backend. But the starting pitching has been spotty. If Harvey goes, as expected, that furthers the need.

“Pitching is always something just because of the sheer numbers,” Williams said. “That’s always something we have our eyes on. It’s obviously been improving, but overall we’re not as strong and the results for this year haven’t been as strong as we think they need to be to be a contender.

“We do feel better and better about the performances we’re seeing. Several of the young pitchers are trending in the right direction.”

The Reds have played at .500 over for the last 81 games. As encouraging as that is, Williams knows that the club can afford to stand pat.

“But, even for the stretch we’ve been over, we recognize that’s not good enough to get where we need to get,” he said.

Report: Matt Harvey trade talks 'ongoing' between Cincinnati Reds, Brewers Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 12:03 a.m. ET July 27, 2018

The Matt-Harvey-to-Milwaukee rumor that has circulated for much of July continues to gain momentum.

The and Cincinnati Reds are involved in "ongoing trade talks" involving the Reds starting pitcher, according to a report via Twitter from MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi, who cited a source.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman added via Twitter that the Brewers have some interest in Harvey.

The Enquirer's John Fay reported Thursday that Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams said "I would think there’s a good chance we will make a deal" in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline July 31.

More from Fay:

Harvey, 29, is a free agent after this season. Williams has spoken with Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras.

“We have touched base with what the likely outcome (testing the free-agent market) is there,” Williams said.

If Harvey isn’t traded and he leaves via free agency, the Reds get nothing. Because the Reds traded for him during the season, they cannot make a qualifying offer and get draft-pick compensation.

Morosi reported earlier this week that four teams - the , Red Sox, Braves and Philadelphia Phillies - are among those which have checked with the Reds about relief pitchers Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, David Hernandez and Jared Hughes.

Iglesias' name has emerged in previous trade rumors, though not as often as Harvey. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported Monday that the Reds' "main focus this week" will be finding a landing spot for Harvey, and the and Milwaukee Brewers are "among the clubs that have inquired on Harvey."

Earlier this month, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand said he saw the Mariners as well as the Diamondbacks as potential fits for Harvey.

Newsday.com recently examined possible interest in Harvey from the .

And an earlier report from Heyman indicated that the are looking to add a starting pitcher and have talked to the Reds and shown interest in Harvey as well as Iglesias.

Hunter Greene of breaks Fifth Third Field record for fastest pitch Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 11:22 p.m. ET July 26, 2018

Dayton Dragons starting pitcher Hunter Greene, the 18-year-old 2017 first-round pick (2nd overall) of the Cincinnati Reds, broke the Fifth Third Field record for fastest pitch with a fastball clocked at 102 miles per hour in the first inning of the Dragons' 2-1 win Thursday night against the Fort Wayne TinCaps, according to Dragons reporter Tom Nichols, who added that Greene left the game after two scoreless innings because of an upset stomach.

Greene, former Reds and current Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, and current Dragons reliever Aneurys Zabala had previously reached 101 mph on the gun at Fifth Third Field, according to Nichols' game story on milb.com, with Chapman throwing 101 in 2014 when he was on an injury rehabilitation assignment.

Earlier, Greene was one of three Reds prospects in MLB Pipeline's latest rankings of the top 20 in baseball. Louisville infielder Nick Senzel ranked 4th; Greene ranked 18th; and Daytona outfielder Taylor Trammell ranked 19th.

Greene threw several pitches 100+ miles per hour and reached a top speed of 102 mph in 1 1/3 innings of work while representing the Dragons at the All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park earlier this month.

Cincinnati Reds have three prospects in MLB Pipeline Top 20, more than any team Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 5:51 p.m. ET July 26, 2018 | Updated 6:13 p.m. ET July 26, 2018

The Cincinnati Reds have more prospects than any other Major League Baseball team in MLB Pipeline's latest rankings of the top 20 in baseball.

Infielder Nick Senzel ranks fourth overall, right-handed pitcher Hunter Greene ranks 18th, and outfielder Taylor Trammell ranks 19th.

Senzel is out for the season after surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right index finger while he was injured playing for the Triple- A .

Greene, a first-rounder and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, threw several pitches 100+ miles per hour and reached a top speed of 102 mph in 1 1/3 innings of work while representing the Low-A Dayton Dragons at the All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park earlier this month.

And Trammell of the High-A earned Futures Game MVP honors after a home run and a triple in the U.S. Team's 10-6 win.

The Reds' first-round pick (fifth overall) this year, third baseman , is ranked 56th overall by MLB Pipeline. Earlier this month, India hit his first professional home run for Rookie-level Greeneville. He has since been promoted to Rookie-level Billings.

Among Reds' minor-leaguers, right-handed pitcher , catcher , infielder Jeter Downs, second baseman Shed Long, right-handed pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez and outfielder Mike Siani round out the top 10 for the Reds, per MLB Pipeline rankings.

Reds to give away Joey Votto Funko Pop! dolls Saturday, including gold versions Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 10:02 a.m. ET Feb. 12, 2018 | Updated 5:14 p.m. ET July 26, 2018

Saturday is sure to be a big night at Great American Ball Park.

The Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto Funko Pop! Collectible doll giveaway - the first of its kind for the team - will take place in advance of a 6:40 p.m. start against the Philadelphia Phillies. Of the 20,000 figures that will be available, limited-edition gold versions will be randomly distributed to 500 lucky fans.

And hometown favorite band Walk the Moon will perform a concert after the game.

Funko Pop! vinyl figures - featuring a large head and big eyes - have grown in popularity since they were inspired by the Big Boy mascot of the restaurant chain. Some of the first Funko dolls of General Mills cereal characters were bobbleheads available to the public about eight years ago, and the vinyl figures followed. Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jesse Winker out for the season with a shoulder injury Bobby Nightengale, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 2:37 p.m. ET July 26, 2018 | Updated 5:37 p.m. ET July 26, 2018

Throughout the last couple of seasons, Jesse Winker dealt with pain his right shoulder.

After he felt more pain Monday, it was determined that Winker would need surgery to repair his shoulder. He will miss the remainder of the season.

The Reds placed Winker on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with a right shoulder subluxation.

"Man, I have no idea it is," said Winker. "I know my shoulder hurts. That’s all I know."

Winker said the pain was "off and on" all season but Monday was essentially the final straw.

On first base during a comeback win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Winker ducked under a line-drive single from Tucker Barnhart in the ninth inning and fell to the ground on the base paths. Winker later scored the game-winning run.

A potential Rookie of the Year candidate, Winker was batting .299 this season with seven homers and 43 RBI. The outfielder ranked fourth in the Majors with a .405 on-base percentage. He had more walks (49) than strikeouts (46).

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Winker was emotional about the end of his season.

"Obviously, I was hoping that surgery wasn’t the end result but I’ve been dealing with this for 2-3 years," Winker said. "Just got to the point now where it’s time to go fix it."

It's a tough loss for the Reds' lineup, which was already without outfielder Scott Schebler. On the DL, Schebler began a rehab assignment Wednesday, going 1-for-3 with a walk as a designated hitter at Triple-A Louisville.

Winker, based on what he's been told from doctors, said his goal is to return by Feb. 1, 2019. He said he felt the pain when he completed "any baseball move."

"There were times where it affected his swing," Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. "He altered his swing path because of the pain. That’s a tough way to play at the Major League level. He did a heck of a job. I don’t think anybody realized that he was going through it as much as he was."

Mason Williams, an outfielder at Louisville, was called up to fill Winker’s roster spot. Williams played in 25 games with the New York Yankees over the past three seasons.

A left-handed hitter, Williams signed with the Reds as a minor league free agent last offseason.

Williams was batting .280 with six homers and 30 RBI in 87 games at Louisville. He recorded a hit in 13 of his last 14 games.

"It’s been a matter of me being healthy and staying on the field and playing my game and just having confidence in myself," Williams said.

Williams, once considered the Yankees' top prospect, learned of his promotion to the big leagues Thursday morning.

He played on the same high school team in Florida as Cardinals pitcher Austin Gomber, who had a no-hitter against the Reds for six innings Tuesday. The two players will sometimes train together in the offseason.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Williams, the Reds moved injured infielder Alex Blandino (torn ACL in his right knee) to the 60-day DL.

"He’s had productive at-bats, competitive at-bats, against both left-and-right-handed pitching," Riggleman said of Williams. "He’s a good athlete. We’re confident he will come up here and do a good job."

SCHEBLER STILL PROGRESSING: Schebler was in Louisville's lineup as a designated hitter for his second rehab game Thursday.

But the key to his return will be when he's comfortable making throws.

“It’s on Schebler. When he says he’s ready to go, he’ll be here," Riggleman said. "When he says it’s still bothering him – throwing or swinging – and not allowing him to be here, he won’t be here. As soon as he says ‘I’m ready to go,’ he’ll be here.”

Inside baseball: Hughes strands bases loaded against Molina to lift Cincinnati Reds to win Bobby Nightengale, Cincinnati Enquirer Published 11:20 a.m. ET July 26, 2018 | Updated 12:24 p.m. ET July 26, 2018

Protecting a two-run lead in the eighth inning Wednesday, Reds Jared Hughes had to survive at-bats against Matt Carpenter and .

That’s never an easy task.

It’s even harder when both hitters represented go-ahead runs.

But Hughes escaped the bases-loaded threat without any damage and the Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3, at Great American Ball Park.

“Hughes is such a great competitor,” Reds Interim Manager Jim Riggleman said. “As much as Carpenter can hurt you; Yadi, that’s a situation that he’s famous for. He’s made his bones on driving in runs in those situations. Jared got him. You want to avoid that situation: Yadi’s a Reds killer.”

A look back at how Hughes pitched against two of the top hitters in the National League:

Hughes issued a leadoff walk to Dexter Fowler to open the eighth inning. With two outs, Hughes allowed a single to right field to pinch-hitter Greg Garcia, bringing up the top of the Cardinals’ lineup.

Carpenter stepped into the batter’s box with runners on the corners, the game-tying run at first base. He entered Wednesday hitting .405 in his last 10 games with eight homers and 12 RBI.

Hughes fell into a 2-0 count, checking to see if Carpenter would chase a low pitch on the inside and outside corners.

A tough situation just became a lot tougher.

After Hughes snuck a fastball past Carpenter, the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter fouled off five consecutive pitches. One foul ball, on a pitch left up in the strike zone, landed several feet wide of the right-field line.

“Definitely the pitches I want,” Hughes said. “One or two of them were out over the plate and he barreled it up just foul. But then a couple of the other ones were where I wanted them.”

Everyone in the stadium knew the importance of this at-bat. Catcher Tucker Barnhart walked to the mound to talk strategy with Hughes when it became a 2-2 count. Carpenter took long pauses outside of the batter’s box to think about what Hughes would do on the next pitch.

Carpenter ended the 10-pitch battle when he saw two straight balls that missed the inside corner of the plate.

The at-bat lasted more than six minutes.

“Overall, I can definitely improve off of it,” Hughes said. “Even when he’s firing on all cylinders – if he’s hitting .400 – chances are he’s still going to get out. I’ve got to make sure I get ahead in the count against him next time and get him out.”

Carpenter’s walk loaded the bases for Molina, who hit a solo home run in his previous at-bat. Reds pitching coach Danny Darwin visited the mound, but Hughes felt locked in. The game was on his shoulders.

“My misses, even though they weren’t in the zone, they were still good misses,” Hughes said. “I felt like I was still where I needed to be in terms of how the ball was coming out of my hand.”

Hughes, who has spent his entire career pitching for teams in the National League Central, had faced Molina 20 times in his career. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is the only player in baseball that Hughes has faced more than Molina.

The first pitch to Molina was a in the dirt, blocked by Barnhart. Molina was 5-for-18 (.278) in his career against Hughes with one home run.

Hughes’ next pitch was a 93-mph sinker on the inside part of the plate. Molina popped it up to right field, slamming his bat to the ground because of the missed opportunity.

“He’s always been an incredible competitor up there,” Hughes said of Molina. “Facing those guys is a lot of fun. It’s intense, but it’s a lot of fun. I was glad that I wound up on the side of it that I did today.”

Reds reliever Austin Brice pitched a drama-free ninth inning, securing a 7-3 victory in the series finale. The Reds won consecutive series against the Cardinals for the first time since 2011. THE ATHLETIC Could Reds make a -like deadline acquisition? It’s possible By C. Trent Rosecrans July 27, 2018

CINCINNATI – Could the 45-58 Reds actually be buyers at the trade deadline?

Dick Williams, the Reds president of baseball operations, says yes.

“We’re not buyers in your classical sense, because we’re not buying for this postseason, but we certainly have an eye on the market and have been making inquiries on players that we see as fits for us in the next few years,” Williams told The Athletic before Thursday’s 9-4 loss to the Phillies. “We think our window is opening up and we may not be able to wait until the offseason to acquire a player we like, so I don’t know that we’ll get anything done, but we’ve definitely made inquiries of other teams and talked scenarios where we would be buyers at this deadline.”

If the Reds are buying, they’re buying one thing – starting pitching.

“I think it’s fair to say that pitching is an area where you can always improve and add to,” Williams said.

While there have been signs of improvement this season after the team’s 3-18 start, the team’s starters are 28-42 with a 5.25 ERA, the worst mark in the National League and one that wasn’t made better with Tyler Mahle’s one-inning start on Thursday.

Mahle, 23, saw his ERA rise to 4.53 and has allowed 14 earned runs (16 runs) over just nine innings in his last three starts.

Mahle, Luis Castillo and Sal Romano make up the younger half of the team’s current six-man rotation, with Anthony DeSclafani, Matt Harvey and comprising the veteran half.

“We’re very encouraged by the improvement made by some of the young pitchers as they’ve been given more time, but the numbers don’t lie,” Williams said before Thursday’s game that saw the Reds allow a franchise-record-tying seven home runs, two of those off Mahle. “So far the results of our pitching for the season haven’t been enough to carry a team into playoff contention, but ultimately that’s the goal. We either need to improve internally or look for additions from the outside.”

Any outside option would have to be a pitcher who would be under team control next year and preferably beyond.

Such a move would hardly be unheard of, even for the Reds. Nearly a decade ago, in 2009, the Reds were 45-56 heading into the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but then- thought the team was close to being a winner when not many others did.

“I thought we were probably a little ahead of what some people thought we were,” Jocketty told The Athletic on Thursday. “(Joey) Votto was just starting to emerge as a hitter, with (Devin Mesoraco) and (Zack) Cozart not too far away. We had a good pitching staff at the time, a good starting staff. It was important to get that last little element that we felt we needed to get the position players headed in the right direction.”

The missing piece, to Jocketty, was 34-year-old Scott Rolen, a player who had been with Jocketty in St. Louis and was having a bounce-back season in Toronto. But Rolen, who was under contract for one more season in Canada, wanted to get closer to home. The closest big-league stadium to Rolen’s home of Jasper, Indiana? Great American Ball Park.

It wasn’t a universally beloved move at the time – and not because it sent Edwin Encarnación away, but because the team included right-hander in the deal. A third-round pick out of Tech in 2008, Stewart played in three levels that season, reaching Triple-A and putting up a 1.67 ERA over 91 2/3 innings.

“I remember being so bummed when we traded him,” Williams, then under Jocketty, recalled on Thursday.

Stewart, now 31, has pitched for three big-league teams, has spent time in seven organizations, played two years in Korea and started this season in the Atlantic League before signing with the Blue Jays. He pitched against the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate in Louisville on Tuesday.

The Reds also sent right-hander Josh Roenicke along with Encarnación to Toronto.

Encarnación, of course, has had the best career of any of the three and outproduced even Rolen after the trade. Now with Cleveland, Encarnación hit 239 homers in his eight years in Toronto and has 371 in his 14-year career. But it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for him in Toronto; after the 2010 season, the A’s selected him off of waivers and then non-tendered him and he signed again with the Blue Jays. That’s when his career took off.

“Both Toronto and Oakland let him go for nothing after we did. Anyone could have had him,” Williams noted.

Even with the gift of hindsight, the Reds’ decision to make the deal turned out just as Jocketty had hoped it would. Encarnación wasn’t going to play third with Rolen there and he wasn’t going to unseat Votto at first base. Alas, there wasn’t then, just as there isn’t now, a designated hitter in the National League.

Meanwhile, Rolen was the consummate professional and unquestioned leader of a team from the moment he stepped on the field.

“When he first came, he’d run to his position every inning, what he did during (batting practice), guys took notice, including our second baseman,” Jocketty said. “This guy, he put out every day in BP. He took ground balls like it was game time, he ran the bases hard, he did everything hard while he was on the field. That was the type of things these kids needed to see.”

Votto said Thursday that there was a difference when Rolen came to the team.

“I think that the personality of the team changed a little bit somewhere around the same time that he came in, whether it was entirely him, partly him, none of him, I’m not really sure. I can’t quantify that, but I do know that the personality of the team became more baserunning-focused, team-focused, a pride in taking tough at-bats, a pride in being accountable to your teammates,” Votto said. “He changed my perception on how I should play the first base position, just by challenging me. I think that helped me and I still use that to this day. I can speak to Jay Bruce, I can’t speak for the rest of the guys, but I do know a lot of the players, collectively, we created a new culture in the clubhouse and in the field.”

And, as Votto noted, none of that would have mattered had he not been producing on the field. Rolen hit .285/.358/.497 with 20 home runs and 83 RBI in 2010. He was named to his sixth All-Star team and won a Gold Glove. The Reds went 92-70 and won the National League Central. Two years later, in Rolen’s final season, the Reds won 97 games and the division again.

“It was important to get that last little element that we felt we needed to get the position players headed in the right direction,” Jocketty said. “Even Cozart after last year I talked to him, he still talked about Rolen and what he meant for the team. I know Jay will say the same thing. He had such a positive impact.”

Even now, Williams credits Jocketty’s aggressiveness to move forward on the Rolen deal.

“I give the credit to Walt to see that as a need and we traded from prospect depth to get that guy,” he said. “Especially at a time when it wasn’t going to make a difference in that season, so he had a lot of foresight to push that and he really did.”

Could the Reds do the same thing nine years later?

Jocketty said he sees parallels between the 2009 Reds and the 2018 version. Williams said the team doesn’t have the specific need of a veteran leader that could be plugged by one particular player like Rolen did, but instead, it’s just continuing to add talent to the roster and making the overall organization better. That could be a challenge because other teams are also looking to do the same.

“At the end of the day, the hard part about acquiring right now, if it’s a high-profile player, the teams that are in contention this year have that much more value they can put into the acquisition,” Williams said. “Knowing that we’re not going to the playoffs this year, we’re solely acquiring for next year and the year beyond. A team that is in contention has this year plus the time of control down the road. It makes it easier for them to pay more.”

Destined for greatness: Reds’ Pat Kelly reflects on new Hall of Famer ’s early days By C. Trent Rosecrans July 27, 2018

CINCINNATI – Reds bench coach Pat Kelly has managed 30 seasons in the minor leagues, starting in 1986 with the Padres’ Class- A affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina, until earlier this year when he started the season at Triple-A Louisville.

Among the players Kelly’s had in the minor leagues are Carlos Baerga, Pat Kelly (the pitcher), Wil Cordero, Matt Stairs, Orlando Cabrera, Adam LaRoche, Brayan Peña, Devin Mesoraco, Didi Gregorius, , Tucker Barnhart, Billy Hamilton, Jesse Winker and Nick Senzel.

On Sunday, he will watch the first of his players enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Kelly managed in the Expos organization from 1991 to 1992 and again from 1995 to 1998. It was in his second stint with the Expos that he managed Vladimir Guerrero at Double-A Harrisburg in 1996, Guerrero’s final stop in the minor leagues on his way to Cooperstown.

Kelly’s three decades in the minors as a manager (not to mention 12 seasons as a player with seven at-bats in the Majors), have given him plenty of stories. Want a good time? Pull up a chair and ask Kelly about almost anyone or anything in baseball and he has a story for it.

Thursday, The Athletic sat down with Kelly before the Reds’ game against the Phillies to ask about Guerrero.

Do you remember the first time you saw him play?

Yeah, truthfully, the first time I ever saw him, I’d heard everyone talk about this guy Vladimir and didn’t really know what he looked like. I was managing the Double-A team and we were in spring training in Lantana (Florida) and we were in an older complex. They sent over the A-ball team to take infield with my team. I see two young guys out in right field and one’s about 6-3 and the other one’s 5-9 and for whatever reason, I thought the guy 5-9 was Vladimir. I hit a ground ball to him and he’s going to throw the ball to third and I think, ‘yeah, that’s a pretty good arm.’ Then I hit it to the 6-foot-3 kid and he throws an absolute rocket and I went, ‘oh, that’s Vladimir.’ He actually threw one to home plate that the catcher couldn’t get his glove up in time and it hit him right in the mask – so that was my first impression. He was 18 at the time, I think?

When did you get him in Double-A?

He actually started the year in West Palm Beach, because he had knee surgery, so we started him in warmer weather. He came up to me in May when the weather got better in Harrisburg. I had a really young club, Jose Vidro was on the club, Geoff Blum. Jolbert Cabrera, Brad Fulmer. We were really young and then Vladimir came up and he was the youngest of them all.

I’m looking at his numbers that year – .360, 24 homers in 138 games that year…

He was OK. I was a really good manager that year.

You knew he was a special talent but was it that obvious that he was that good – Hall of Fame level? You never say anyone’s a Hall of Famer, but…

You knew he was going to be an outstanding player. He could run like a deer. That was before all the knee troubles. He could run and throw, he had all the tools. He had a very good feel for the game. He was a visual learner. Talking to him, he didn’t really learn, but watching people… he never made the same mistake twice. To me, that was huge. The other thing, from a development standpoint, we kept him in Double-A the whole year (before being called up after the Eastern League playoffs), even though he was having a fantastic year. I think there were challenges that he saw. Early in the year, everyone pitched him away and he crushed them. Then everyone started throwing him breaking balls and he crushed them. They started pitching him inside and they started hitting him. He didn’t like that, but he learned what was a strike and what wasn’t. Then he played in the playoffs for us, the Eastern League playoffs, which I thought was really important. He struggled in the playoffs – probably the only time all year he struggled. I’ve always said, struggles or failure in the minor leagues is important.

Was there always talk about him in the organization leading up to his debut?

What was always interesting to me… when he first came to big-league camp, which would have been that year, the veterans stayed to watch. Young guys only play the second half of the game and all the veterans leave after five innings. The days Vladimir was going in to play the sixth inning, the veterans would stay to watch because they knew something was going to happen. He was going to throw someone out or he was going to hit a home run or something was going to happen. I just remember all those veteran guys stayed to watch him play. I thought that was amazing. Players love watching good players, even though he was (young) at that time, they knew he was special.

Those famous videos of him are always those bad balls he’d hit, did he do that in the minors, too?

I remember him hitting a ball that had bounced and he hit it into right-center field-gap for a double in Harrisburg. I remember telling my coaches the next year in Ottawa that, and they said, ‘no way.’ Sure enough, the Expos were on TV that night and somebody bounced one and he popped it up. He didn’t get a hit, but he could barrel anything, whether it was over his head, wherever. I always said the two best hitters I ever managed in the minor leaguers were Carlos Baerga and Vladimir Guerrero and they had no strike zone, they swung from their eyeballs to their ankles, they just managed to barrel them all up.

That’s just good managing…

My whole goal was not to screw them up.

He’s going to the Hall of Fame, so you achieved your goal.

Exactly. I think he made the Hall of Fame in spite of me managing.

It’s really a shame his knees went bad on the turf because a lot of people’s memories of him are only with the Angels when he could only DH and a little bit with the Orioles. I remember so much of him defensively and running the bases, it was just so fun to watch.

I remember a game, we had a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and two outs and the guy hit a ground ball to right field and thinking we have a chance to throw the guy out. We had a one-run lead and Vladimir will throw the guy out at home plate, so we’ll be tied. He threw the ball and he got the runner at first base. I asked (the first baseman) why would you even think about going back to first base? He said, ‘You had me so far out…’ – because we had to put the cutoff man out so he didn’t airlift the catcher all the time, so the first baseman cutoff position was almost in the first-base line – he said, ‘I’m standing in the first-base line and I saw the look in his eye and I knew he was coming to first base, so I just stepped over.’ He got the out at first base and everyone was stunned because then they realized the game was over and we’d won because the runner from third didn’t get to score. It was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen and nobody knew what happened. Everyone just stood there. ‘Did we win?’

It’s funny, because you always teach the cutoff man, the better a guy’s arm, the deeper you get. Well, all of a sudden, he’s 10-feet from home plate and we’re still short-hopping him. My pitching coach said, ‘why don’t we go the other way?’ So we started moving out, moving out, moving out. If he threw a ball head-high to the first baseman who was standing in the baseline, it would one-hop the catcher. That’s how we got him to throw a ball the catcher could handle. It turns out to win a game. Amazing.

He loved to throw guys out at first base a lot. He loved to throw guys out at first base, especially pitchers. He’d come up and always throw to first base. He had a bunch. I do remember a pitcher for Reading, he got a base hit to right field and he was so excited running down the first-base line. Vladimir came up, threw to first base and it was a little off-line and it actually hit the guy in the ‘R’ of the helmet as he crossed first base and knocked him out. DAYTON DAILY NEWS Dragons’ Greene brings the heat, sets Fifth Third Field record for fastest pitch Right-hander leaves game after two innings with upset stomach By Jeff Gilbert, Contributing Writer July 27, 2018

Hunter Greene struck out four in two innings Thursday night and threw a stadium-record 102 mph fastball at Fifth Third Field.

Then he left the game for no apparent reason.

Was he hurt? Was he on a strict pitch limit?

None of the above.

Greene’s family is visiting from California so they enjoyed a big meal Wednesday night Greene figures he just ate a little too much.

“I had wings last night that were really good, the sauce was really good,” Greene said. “I think it just got to me. It had been bothering me since I got to the ballpark. I just tried to push through it.”

Dragons manager Luis Bolivar knew his star pitcher — the Reds’ No. 2 overall draft choice in 2017 — was bothered by an upset stomach before the game. After the second inning, Greene, 18, told him he was finished. But Greene was himself after the game and will be ready for his next start on Tuesday at home.

“I took some medicine and relaxed a little bit — a lot better now,” he said.

Greene set the tone for the Dragons’ 2-1 win over Fort Wayne when he hit 101 mph on his first batter. He struck out the side in the first inning and hit 102 mph on strike three to Luis Campusano to end the inning. That pitched surpassed the 101 mph record achieved several times by Greene, Aroldis Chapman and current Dragons reliever Aneurys Zabala earlier this season as a member of the Great Lakes Loons.

“I was laughing when I came off the field because it was my first 102 at the stadium,” said Greene, who hit 103 recently at the Futures Game.

Greene walked the leadoff batter in the second but ended the inning with a double play and his fourth . Wendolyn Bautista pitched the next four innings to get the win followed by Brian Hunter, Ryan Nutof and John Ghyzel, who allowed a run in the ninth and earned his 18th .

“I put on a good show,” Greene said. “My velo was obviously great and I struck out four guys in two innings.”

Greene threw his fastball and slider consistently for strikes. He used the low-80s slider at times as a first pitch to get ahead of hitters and as a strikeout pitch.

“His fastball had life and he threw pretty good sliders,” Bolivar said. “He looked great.”

Greene entered Thursday with a 4.61 ERA and a 2.74 ERA over his last 10 starts. His ERA now sits at 4.48.

The Dragons finally got to Fort Wayne starter Tom Cosgrove in the sixth when Jeter Downs singled, stole second and third and scored on Alejo Lopez’s single. The Dragons scored their second run in the seventh when Andy Sugilio singled with two outs, stole second and came around to score on two wild pitches.

The Dragons (16-17) are in the middle of a cluster of five teams fighting for the two playoff spots available in the Eastern Division.

“To be in my first playoff chase possibly is really cool,” Greene said. “I’m excited to see what we’re going to be able to do in this second half.”

Dragons tales: Mac Sceroler is back with the Dragons and in the starting rotation. Sceroler, a fifth-round pick in 2017, began the season in Dayton but his 6.00 ERA in four starts sent him back to Billings, Montana, in the rookie Pioneer League where he pitched last summer. At Billings, Sceroler pitched well enough with a 3.07 ERA in seven starts to earn a trip back to Dayton.

Starter Adrian Rodriguez was sent down to Billings to make room for Sceroler. Rodriguez had a 7.19 ERA in 15 starts for the Dragons.

• Dragons catcher Hendrik Clementina was 0-for-3 with a walk and his batting average dropped to .266. Clementina was one of the Midwest League’s hottest hitters for much of the first half. He is batting .161 in his last 27 games since June 9. He still leads the Dragons with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs.

Reds’ Winker out for season with shoulder injury Reds place outfielder on DL By David Jablonski July 26, 2018

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds placed outfielder Jesse Winker, a Rookie of the Year candidate who has been one of the team’s hottest hitters in July, on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder subluxation Thursday.

The news is even worse than that. He will need surgery and is done for the season.

Winker injured his shoulder Monday but said he has had problems with the shoulder for a while.

“It has bothered me for a couple of years now, on and off,” he told Hal McCoy on Tuesday. “I’m not going to address the injury or how long it might be or what might happen. I’m not comfortable talking about it.

Winker is hitting .299 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs. He ranks second in the National League in on-base percentage (.405) behind teammate Joey Votto (.419). In July, he’s hitting .442. He had a career-high 12-game hitting streak snapped Sunday.

The Reds promoted outfielder Mason Williams from Triple-A Louisville. Williams, 26, was hitting .280 with six home runs and 30 RBIs for the Bats. He appeared in 26 games over the last three seasons with the New York Yankees.

The Reds also placed infielder Alex Blandino on the 60-day disabled list. He underwent season-ending right knee surgery Monday to reconstruct his ACL and to repair his MCL.

Reds overcome ‘fluky stuff,’ beat Cardinals By Mark Schmetzer - Contributing Writer Posted: 2:48 p.m. Thursday, July 26, 2018

One error. One collision. One near collision. One missing cutoff man, leading to one overthrow. One botched rundown play. Two runners erased on the bases. No, the Reds didn’t exactly play one of interim manager Jim Riggleman’s coveted “clean” games on Wednesday, but they produced more than enough offense to make up for their defensive and baserunning gaffes.

Eugenio Suarez homered in a third straight game for the first time in his career, Tucker Barnhart added his own two-run shot and Adam Duvall contributed a solo homer, leading the Reds to a satisfying 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the finale of their three-game series at Great American Ball Park.

“It is nice, man,” Suarez said. “I didn’t expect to hit that one out. One more against St. Louis is nice. We always want to beat St. Louis, especially today. My family was here. I know I have a little bit of pop. The ball was out, off the plate. My barrel caught the ball and hit it out.”

Phillip Ervin broke the game open with a two-run double in the ninth, salting away Cincinnati’s second win in the series and giving the Reds consecutive series wins over St. Louis for the first time since 2011.

Suarez tied Monday’s game with a two-out solo homer in the ninth inning and Tuesday’s game with a two-out, two-run, seventh- inning shot.

The Cardinals had rookie starters each go deep without allowing a hit in the first two games of the series. The Reds went 7 1/3 innings without a hit on Monday and 6 1/3 without a hit on Tuesday.

The Cardinals loaded the bases against Sal Romano with two outs in the first inning when Suarez dropped a popup in short left field while trying to avoid left fielder Adam Duvall and shortstop Jose Peraza and second Scooter Gennett collided behind the mound going after a chopper. The Reds also botched a rundown play with the bases loaded before Sal Romano, pitching for the first time in 10 days and starting for the first time in 15, got out of the jam by getting Dexter Fowler to ground out to Suarez.

“That inning, I talked to Scooter and everybody,” Suarez said. “That first inning was crazy. A couple bloopers – it was like, ‘Wow, what happened?’ I tried to tell (Romano), ‘We got your back, to throw a strike.’ Fowler hit a little ground ball to me and we got out of the innings.”

“It’s baseball,” said Romano, who was pitching for the first time in 10 days and starting for the first time in 15. “The balls they hit hard that inning were right at guys. The balls they didn’t hit found a hole. It makes you a better pitcher when you get out of those innings.

“I didn’t feel any different not to pitch for 10 days,” he added. “I just took a deep breath and decided to trust my stuff.”

Peraza also was charged with Cincinnati’s only official error, and the Reds allowed a runner to advance in that same inning by messing up a cutoff play. They also lost two runners on the bases, with Billy Hamilton getting picked off first base and Scooter Gennett getting caught off second on a soft liner to the shortstop – in front of him.

“We played poorly in the first,” Riggleman admitted. “There was a lot of fluky stuff. Somehow or other, (Romano) came out with a zero. It shows how hard he competed. He battled. He knew our bullpen was short. He gets a lot of ground balls as the game goes on.

“I hate to say we didn’t play well but there was a lot of fluky stuff. They got out of a rundown on us. It felt like we were losing the game, we were in so much trouble each inning.”

The outcome still was in doubt in the eighth when the Cardinals loaded the bases against Jared Hughes with two outs and Yadier Molina at the plate. Molina, who hit his 23rdcareer against the Reds an inning earlier off David Hernandez, could manage only a routine fly ball to Ervin in right field.

“Hughes is such a great competitor,” Riggleman said. “As much as (Matt) Carpenter can hurt you. Yady – that is the situation he’s famous for. He’s made his bones on those situation, but Jared got him. He’s a Reds killer.”

Except on Wednesday. ASSOCIATED PRESS Phillies’ 7-homer binge produces 9-4 win over Reds Today

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies are having so much fun right now that Nick Williams compared them to kids at recess.

Williams, Rhys Hoskins and Maikel Franco each hit two of Philadelphia’s record-tying seven home runs, and the Phillies overpowered the Cincinnati Reds 9-4 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.

Carlos Santana added a two-run homer as the NL East leaders tied the franchise record for home runs in a game, set on Sept. 8, 1998, against the Mets.

Manager Gabe Kapler described the night as “historic.”

“We were getting into deep counts and then doing damage at the end of those counts,” Kapler said.

Left-hander Ranger Suarez (1-0) won his major league debut, allowing six hits and four runs with one walk and three strikeouts in five innings. Eugenio Suarez and Tucker Barnhart each reached him for two-run homers.

Santana’s 16th homer of the season gave him a 3-0 lead in the first inning, giving the rookie pitcher an early cushion.

“Obviously, it made me feel more confident,” he said through interpreter Diego Ettedgue. “Having the lead was huge. It helped big- time.”

The Phillies opened a six-game road trip with their fourth win in five games, including two out of three against the West-leading Dodgers in which Philadelphia scored a combined 20 runs.

“The Dodgers have great pitching,” Hoskins said. “We put a lot of runs on the scoreboard against them, and it carried over into tonight.”

Twelve of the game’s combined 13 runs were produced by homers. Philadelphia’s seven home runs were the most given up by the Reds in a game this season. The Phillies tacked on three doubles for a season-high 10 extra-base hits.

Hoskins hit solo home runs in the first and sixth innings, giving him six in his last six games and pushing his season total to a career-high 20. He hit 18 last season.

Franco’s first homer, off reliever Michael Lorenzen (1-1), snapped a 4-4 tie in the fifth. Williams led off the fourth with his 13th homer, one more than the 12 he hit as a rookie last season, and added his 14th in the ninth to tie the record.

Suarez’s first-inning liner into the left-field seats gave him homers in a career-high four straight games.

Reds rookie Tyler Mahle set a career low in innings for the second time in three starts. Mahle, who lasted 2 1/3 innings on July 11 at Cleveland, logged just one on Thursday, throwing 53 pitches while allowing six hits and three runs with a walk and three strikeouts.

“I’m missing spots,” Mahle said. “It happened so fast. I didn’t go to my breaking ball soon enough. When I did, I got swings and misses, but they were sitting on the fastball.”

REMEMBER HIM?

Eugenio Suarez is the first Reds third baseman to homer in four consecutive team games since Chris Stynes in July 2000. OF Jay Bruce homered in five consecutive games in July 2016.

HISTORIC SURGE

For the first time in franchise history, three Reds players have homered in four straight appearances. Suarez joins Scooter Gennett and Joey Votto in the club. All three were All-Stars.

OFF SCRIPT

Ranger Suarez notched his first career major league plate appearance before he threw his first official pitch. Suarez struck out to end Philadelphia’s nine-batter first inning.

SLOW RE-START

The Reds, last in the NL Central, slipped to 2-5 on their 10-game homestand coming out of the All-Star Game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: SS J.P. Crawford had his first session of batting practice on Thursday since going on the disabled list on June 20 with a broken left hand.

Reds: OF Jesse Winker will have season-ending surgery to repair a right shoulder injury. The Reds promoted former Yankees OF Mason Williams from Triple-A Louisville and moved IF Alex Blandino to the 60-day disabled list.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Nick Pivetta (6-8) allowed eight hits and six runs, four earned, with nine strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in a 10-2 loss to San Diego in his last start last Sunday.

Reds: RHP Anthony DeSclafani (4-3) has allowed 11 hits and nine runs in 7 2/3 innings over his last two starts. TRANSACTIONS 07/26/18 claimed RHP Oliver Drake off waivers from . Milwaukee Brewers optioned RHP Jorge Lopez to . recalled LHP Ty Blach from Sacramento River Cats. San Francisco Giants placed 1B Brandon Belt on the 10-day disabled list. Hyperextended right knee. San Francisco Giants optioned 2B Kelby Tomlinson to Sacramento River Cats. San Francisco Giants recalled RHP from Sacramento River Cats. San Francisco Giants activated 3B Evan Longoria from the 10-day disabled list. San Francisco Giants optioned LHP Ty Blach to Sacramento River Cats. New York Mets sent 2B Ty Kelly outright to Las Vegas 51s. Colorado Rockies sent 2B Daniel Castro outright to Albuquerque Isotopes. Los Angeles Angels optioned RHP Dayan Diaz to Inland Empire 66ers. Washington Nationals recalled SS Matt Reynolds from Syracuse Chiefs. Washington Nationals placed 3B on the paternity list. selected the contract of C Michael Perez from . Tampa Bay Rays designated C Adam Moore for assignment. Tampa Bay Rays activated LHP Jalen Beeks. New York Yankees activated LHP Zach Britton. New York Yankees selected the contract of CF Shane Robinson from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. New York Yankees optioned RHP Luis Cessa to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Philadelphia Phillies recalled LHP Ranger Suarez from Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Philadelphia Phillies optioned RHP Drew Anderson to Lehigh Valley IronPigs. optioned LHP Ryan Carpenter to . Seattle Mariners signed free agent RHP Jordan Desguin to a minor league contract. Toronto Blue Jays traded LHP J.A. Happ to New York Yankees for LF Billy McKinney and 3B Brandon Drury. San Francisco Giants sent 2B Joe Panik on a rehab assignment to Sacramento River Cats. activated C Francisco Cervelli from the 7-day disabled list. Pittsburgh Pirates optioned C Jacob Stallings to . optioned RHP to Pawtucket Red Sox. Cincinnati Reds placed RF Jesse Winker on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to July 24, 2018. Right shoulder subluxation. Cincinnati Reds transferred 3B Alex Blandino from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list. Torn ACL in right knee. Cincinnati Reds selected the contract of CF Mason Williams from Louisville Bats. Milwaukee Brewers transferred LHP Brent Suter from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list. Torn UCL in left elbow. White Sox traded cash and RHP to Milwaukee Brewers for LHP and RHP Wilber Perez. designated C Tim Federowicz for assignment. Los Angeles Angels selected the contract of C Francisco Arcia from Salt Lake Bees. Los Angeles Angels traded C Martin Maldonado to Houston Astros for Future Considerations and LHP Patrick Sandoval. activated RHP Matt Andriese. placed 3B Kris Bryant on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to July 24, 2018. Left shoulder inflammation. Chicago Cubs recalled 2B David Bote from Iowa Cubs. Washington Nationals designated 1B Jose Marmolejos for assignment. Washington Nationals selected the contract of LHP Tommy Milone from Syracuse Chiefs. Toronto Blue Jays traded RHP Seunghwan Oh to Colorado Rockies for 1B Chad Spanberger and 2B Forrest Wall. Tampa Bay Rays traded LHP Jonny Venters to for Future Considerations. Milwaukee Brewers recalled SS Orlando Arcia from Colorado Springs Sky Sox.