Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings March 11, 2016 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1974-With Hank Aaron only needing one home run to tie Babe Ruth’s career record, Commission Bowie Kuhn requires the Braves to start Aaron in at least two of the team’s three season-opening games in Cincinnati MLB.COM Schebler stays hot, Reds rally for late victory By Doug Miller / MLB.com | March 10th, 2016 + 36 COMMENTS SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Nolan Arenado continued a torrid spring at the plate by hitting his first homer of the Cactus League season, but the Reds rallied for three runs in the ninth to beat the Rockies, 5-4, at Salt River Fields on Thursday. Colorado's All-Star third baseman went 2-for-3 to raise his spring batting average to .500 and took Cincinnati starter Brandon Finnegan deep in the third inning. "He's just really good," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Arenado. "He made another unbelievable play to start a double play. We see it pretty much on a daily basis." However, down one run in the ninth, Reds third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean hit a two-run single and first baseman Brandon Allen delivered an RBI double to put Cincinnati on top. The Rockies cut the deficit to one run on Rafael Ynoa's sacrifice fly in the bottom half, but that was all they would get. Colorado took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Charlie Blackmon's RBI single before Arenado extended it to 2-0. That held up through the three-inning spring debut of Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa, who set down all nine batters he faced. De La Rosa struck out four. The Reds got on the board in the fourth, when Eugenio Suarez singled off Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood, Brandon Phillips walked and Scott Schebler delivered an RBI single to make it 2-1. Competing for the starting spot in left field, Schebler went 2-for- 3 and raised his spring average to .368. Colorado answered with a run in the fifth on a DJ LeMahieu RBI single, and the Reds pulled to within 3-2 in the seventh on a Juan Duran sacrifice fly. Finnegan's velocity was down, and he said he was going through the "dead arm" period that pitchers often deal with at this point in camp. "Not too good today," Finnegan said of how he felt on the mound. "It was one of those days that I didn't have electric stuff. Nothing was coming out, but I battled through it and made some good pitches when I needed to. They got some cheap hits, but that's baseball. It's going to happen. At the end of the day, it wasn't my worst outing and it wasn't my best." Reds Up Next: The Reds will have split-squad games on Friday. In the home game vs. the A's, shortstop Zack Cozart will start and make his long-awaited return from reconstructive right knee surgery in June. Rotation candidate Jon Moscot will be the starting pitcher vs. Oakland. In the road game vs. the Cubs, fellow rotation candidate Robert Stephenson will take the mound. Both games are scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET. NASCAR's No. 47 car pays tribute to Stowe Late Reds clubhouse manager honored with special decal on fender By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | March 10th, 2016 + 0 COMMENTS GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Typical of most cars used in auto racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ride belonging to A.J. Allmendinger is covered in logos of sponsors. But the No. 47 car had room for one special decal. Located above the right-side rear fender is a Cincinnati Reds wishbone "C" that read, "In loving memory of Bernie Stowe." "How cool is that?" said Reds clubhouse manager Rick Stowe, one of Bernie's sons. Bernie Stowe died on Feb. 9 at the age of 80, following an illness. The longtime clubhouse manager worked for the Reds for 66 years, beginning his tenure as a clubhouse boy for the team in 1947. On Thursday at the Reds' player development complex, the 47 Fry's Chevrolet owned by the JTG Daugherty Racing team was brought over for the club to see. The racing team is in town for the Good Sam 500 NASCAR Weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Fry's, an Arizona supermarket chain, is owned by Cincinnati-based Kroger. Allmendinger also carried the Stowe tribute on what was the 47 Kroger car while racing during the Daytona 500 earlier this month. Another of Bernie Stowe's sons, visiting clubhouse manager Mark Stowe, joined Rick Stowe and several players and coaches to take a look at the car. They were touched by the gesture. "It's incredible, it really is," said Rick Stowe, who became an assistant to his father in 1981 and is entering his 20th season as the home clubhouse manager. "Words can't describe the feeling, the outpouring of love we've been shown. Stuff like this is beyond words. I never would've dreamed it." Throughout Spring Training, there have been tributes to Bernie Stowe. Players and staff have worn T-shirts that simply say "Bernie" on the front. There is a memorial decal on the Reds dugout at Goodyear Ballpark. Outside the big league camp clubhouse at the team complex is a plaque commemorating Stowe's years of service. The team plans to wear a memorial patch on its uniforms during the regular season. "He would've been embarrassed right now, that's for sure," Rick Stowe said. Recovering righty Iglesias to debut Monday Reds shortstop Cozart set to make first spring start Friday vs. A's By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | March 10th, 2016 + 1 COMMENT SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Reds now have a date set for pitcher Raisel Iglesias to make his spring debut. Iglesias will start on Monday vs. the Angels in Tempe. "He should be pitching regularly at that point in time," Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said on Thursday. Before that happens, Iglesias is scheduled on Friday to throw "live batting practice" against Reds hitters for the second time this week. He threw 20 pitches to hitters on Tuesday. Iglesias started camp slightly behind other pitchers because he underwent a special shoulder flexibility program during the offseason to stave off the fatigue that cut short his 2015 season in mid-September. More notes from Thursday • In the bottom of the fifth inning during the Reds' 5-4 win over the Rockies, right fielder Jesse Winker and center fielder Jake Cave collided on a fly ball hit by Nolan Arenado. Winker, the Reds' No. 1 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, was lifted after the inning as a precaution with a contusion on his leg. It was not believed to be serious, according to Price. • Shortstop Zack Cozart, who had reconstructive right knee surgery in June, will make his spring debut when he starts Friday's split- squad game vs. the A's in Goodyear. • Center fielder Billy Hamilton, who has had a setback with his surgically repaired right shoulder at the beginning of the month, was scheduled to play catch on Thursday. Hamilton took swings off the tee on Wednesday. • Outfielder Kyle Waldrop has been limited to two at-bats this spring and hasn't played lately because of a sore groin. Waldrop was scheduled to try running on Thursday. "There's no lateral cutting or anything that would exacerbate the problem," Price said. "It's kind of baby steps at this point." • During Wednesday's 11-5 Reds loss to the Rangers, outfield candidate Yorman Rodriguez showed off his arm strength in the first inning. As Shin-Soo Choo tried to go from first to third base on Ian Desmond's lined single to right field, Rodriguez fired a strike to third baseman Eric Jagielo and easily threw out the runner. "He's worked hard on his throwing," Price said. "I know just recently he changed the way he's gripping the ball. He had some concerns his ball was cutting and he was throwing a lot of balls down into the ground." Votto: Leadership role completely unchanged Star first baseman plans to continue setting example for young Reds By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | @m_sheldon | March 10th, 2016 + 33 COMMENTS GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- During a recent drill at Reds camp called "27 outs," the team needed a runner on first base to start the play. Any Minor Leaguer or rookie could have done it, but it was first baseman Joey Votto who grabbed his helmet and jogged to the base. A few observers this spring have anecdotally mentioned that Votto is often among the last off the field during workouts. "I haven't done it intentionally," Votto said on Thursday. "I was doing the same thing when my leadership was questioned before." Votto, 32, has taken some hits in the media over the years for not being a vocal clubhouse leader. He has cringed in the past when players toss around the leadership word and announce that they will be team leaders. As far as Votto is concerned, leadership doesn't work that way. He generally aims to set a high standard on the field and be a good example. That could be even more important this season since the Reds are rebuilding and feature a slew of new and young, impressionable players. "I feel comfortable with these guys. I'm working the same," Votto said. "I'm running the bases the same. Nothing feels different at all. If people want to look at it differently, I can't do anything about that." Votto, who is tied for the second-longest tenure on the club with nine seasons and has eight years and $199 million left on his 10- year contract, has enjoyed this year's edition of Reds camp.