Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings March 23, 2015 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1962-Bill DeWitt purchases the Reds from the Crosley Foundation and immediately promises to keep the team in Cincinnati. MLB.COM Leake goes five strong, Satin plays hero as Reds rally vs. A's Satin hits homer, adds game-winning single in 9th By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com / [email protected] / @m_sheldon GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In a game that featured strong starting pitchers from both sides, the Reds emerged with a 4-3 comeback win over the A's on Sunday afternoon at Goodyear Ballpark. A's rotation candidate Kendall Graveman tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and five strikeouts. Oakland pitchers kept the Reds' bats mostly quiet until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Josh Satin, a non-roster invite, slugged a three-run homer off Brock Huntzinger to tie the game at 3-3. Satin added a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth off Fernando Rodriguez, scoring Kristopher Negron to cap his four-RBI day. Meanwhile, Reds starter Mike Leake gave up one earned run and four hits over his five innings with no walks and two strikeouts. It was the first run Leake surrendered in four starts during what's been a strong spring. Oakland reached Leake with three hits in the top of the fourth inning, including a double to right-center field by Mark Canha that scored Marcus Semien. A second run was prevented from crossing on a perfectly executed relay from center fielder Skip Schumaker to shortstop Zack Cozart to catcher Tucker Barnhart, who tagged out Ike Davis. "A few balls that I probably rushed got elevated a little bit," said Leake, who threw 75 pitches, including 10 in the bullpen after departing the game. "But all in all, I'm pretty happy. Just a couple of more [outings] to get back into it. So I'm trying to maximize the pitching." Semien was 2-for-3 in the game to up his average to .308. For the Rule 5 selection Canha, who is trying to break camp with the A's, it was his third double in two games and his fourth over his last four games. Oakland added a pair of two-out runs in the top of the seventh against reliever Pedro Villarreal. A pair of bench candidates, Tyler Ladendorf and Billy Burns, each hit RBI singles. Ladendorf lined his hit to center field while Burns reached on a blooper in front of left fielder Donald Lutz. Up next: In another opportunity to improve his chances of making the rotation, Jason Marquis will make his fifth start of spring when the Reds face the Rangers in Surprise on Monday at 9:05 p.m. ET. Marquis is coming off his shakiest start in camp, when he allowed four earned runs in five innings vs. the White Sox. Sam LeCure, Burke Badenhop and Kevin Gregg are expected to work out of the bullpen. The game is available on MLB.TV and Gameday Audio. Bailey feels good after starting in Minor League game Reds righty allows one hit in first appearance since surgery By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com / [email protected] / @m_sheldon GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In his first game since having surgery in September, Reds pitcher Homer Bailey worked two scoreless innings during a Minor League start on Sunday. Bailey allowed one hit and one walk with two strikeouts while throwing 29 pitches, including 20 for strikes, in a Triple-A game vs. the Indians. He felt like the outing went pretty good and more important, there were no health issues. "My elbow felt great," Bailey said. "We started with two innings. We'll just kind of go from there." Bailey had surgery on Sept. 5 to repair a torn flexor mass tendon near his elbow. Catcher Brayan Pena worked behind the plate for Bailey while pitching coach Jeff Pico and Reds owner/CEO Bob Castellini were among those watching on a field at the team complex. At one point, Bailey yelled at himself after firing a pitch, which had Pena immediately asking if the right-hander was feeling OK. "I just missed a spot," Bailey said. "I was trying to go in and kind of missed up. I got a swing and miss but I was mad I didn't make the pitch. I didn't think about that. I might have yelled more if I was hurt again. Everything was fine. You get in game situations, the last thing you want to think about is your health. You just want to compete and go throw. If something comes up, it will let you know. In my mind, I'm preparing for a season, not just coming back from an injury." In a 16-pitch first inning, Bailey issued a two-out walk but escaped with a called strikeout on three pitches. In the second inning, he threw more secondary pitches and started his first three hitters with off-speed stuff. He struck out the leadoff batter with an 85-mph slider. There was a two-out double to right field before a groundout to third base finished the outing. "Even before the game with Brayan [Pena], I felt 'let's mix it up and start playing around if you will.' We mixed in some sliders, splits and stuff like that," Bailey said. "We've already faced hitters once [in live batting practice] but with the speed of the game, it was really great to be out there. It was a nice, hot day so that helps too." Bailey is slated to make his next start on Friday in a Cactus League game vs. the Brewers. Although there have been no setbacks since his surgery, he will likely begin the regular season on the disabled list and miss one or two starts. "At this time of year, it doesn't really matter about the games themselves," Bailey said. "It's as long as we're in games in general." Byrd leads Reds at plate, but not yet satisfied Price says left fielder has made 'seamless transition' to new team By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com / [email protected] / @m_sheldon GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Reds' key offensive acquisition during the offseason, left fielder Marlon Byrd appears to be dialed in at the plate. Byrd leads the team in hitting with a .417 average in 10 games and has a five-game hitting streak that includes two hits in each of his last three games. The key word was "appears," because on Sunday morning, Byrd felt he was still not where he wanted to be. "Not yet. I need to start driving the ball to right-center field and start seeing more sliders and more curveballs," Byrd said. "When I'm able to stay over the middle of the field consistently, I'll be good." During the Reds' 8-1 loss to the A's on Saturday, Byrd was 2-for-3 with a walk in four plate appearances. In the first and fourth innings, he sharply lined singles to left field both times. There was a walk in the sixth before he struck out in the seventh. "It's Spring Training, you can get fooled by guys swinging in Spring Training," Byrd said. "Rhythm and timing is my big thing, and getting pitch recognition off of my rhythm and timing. Yesterday in my last at-bat, I swung at two cutters that were a little too low and I started a little bit late. I still had good at-bats yesterday and got my hits. Once I start driving the ball into the gaps and beating the outfielders, I'll know I'm ready for the season." Byrd, 37, is coming off of one of his best years. He played in a career-most 154 games last season and batted .264/.312/.445 with a career-high 25 home runs and 85 RBIs. Cincinnati acquired him, along with cash, from the Phillies for Minor League pitching prospect Ben Lively. Reds manager Bryan Price has liked what he's seen from Byrd throughout camp. "He's an experienced professional. Spring Training is a vehicle, I think, for the veteran player to get ready," Price said. "Most of these guys have a routine and a sequence that they follow that gets them ready for Opening Day. I think he's been great. I think he values the at-bats and the time playing left field. He puts in a real good workday. He fits in really well with our group. I think it's a seamless transition to our organization." Price to keep tinkering to decide on Reds lineup Manager aims to establish 'cohesiveness' for Opening Day By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com / [email protected] / @m_sheldon GOODYEAR, Ariz. - In all eight of his games this spring, Reds first baseman Joey Votto has batted second. In seven of his 12 games, second baseman Brandon Phillips has batted third. In five of their games together, including Sunday, Votto has batted second with Phillips behind him in the third spot. Is this a sign of how the Reds lineup will be constructed in the regular season? It sure seems like it. But as he has been since the offseason, manager Bryan Price declined to tip his hand about his lineup. "I can't commit to that at this point in time," Price replied Sunday when asked about lineup spots for Votto and Phillips. "You know, I'm just moving guys around a bit. Joey has stayed in the second hole.