Boos cascaded from every inch of the riverfront while the Arizona Diamondbacks built a six-run lead.
"It started out ugly but it ended up beautiful," Phillips said. Then the lecture began after the Reds 7-6 comeback win. Phillips had five RBI with his 11th home run and 16th double. The Reds have 22 comeback wins this season. The last time they overcame a six-run deficit was against Washington on May 21, 2007 in an 8-7 win.
Phillips role in the bounce-back victory earned him the right to scold the faithless fans.
"I love my fans. I love the fans out there but all the booing was unnecessary," Phillips said. "We're playing good baseball. We didn't do our jobs early in the game but it's not like we're doing it on purpose. I feel like if you want to boo someone, wait until the end of the game when it's over. The guys come up in key situations and we feed off the fans."
For some inexplicable reason the Reds' fans have been unworthy of its first-place team.
Mike Leake held his own for five innings and had a decent chance for his sixth straight quality start but gave up back-to-back doubles to Justin Upton, who has heard boos of his own in Arizona, and Chris Young. Backup catcher Henry Blanco hit his first home run of the season that knocked Leake out of the box with a season-high 11 hits allowed.
Arizona manager Kirk Gibson noted that the team that scored first won the first three games of the series, two of which went to his squad.
Willie Bloomquist, who was acquired by the Reds for its drive to its division title in 2010, led off with a single. He stole second, then scored on a line single by Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning. Bloomquist doubled in the third and scored on a single by Aaron Hill. Hill hit his 13th home run in the fifth to build a 3-0 lead against Leake as the boos rang long and loud.
Meanwhile Joe Saunders was mowing down the Votto-deprived Reds. The first 10 Reds went out in order before Wilson Valdez walked in the fourth. The Reds' first hit didn't surface until the fifth when Devin Mesoraco singled with two outs. The rookie catcher has hit safely in seven straight games.
The Reds hit bottom and bounced high.
Drew Stubbs, who has heard more boos than a tone-deaf karaoke singer, extended his modest hitting streak to four since moving into the leadoff spot and fifth straight overall. He is hitting .400 in the last four contests.
Valdez dumped a single into right. Phillips turned the boos around with a long home run into the upper deck down the line in left.
"It was a good pitch," Saunders said. "I don't know how he kept it fair. Maybe he was cheating inside. You have to just tip your cap to him and move on."
Phillips has been hitting the ball hard but the results have not been there until today.
"I just tried to stay short with my swing," Phillips said. "It was getting kind of long. It felt good to get the big part of the bat on the ball."
The momentum shifted big time and the fans began to jump on the bandwagon.
Newcomer Xavier Paul walked, facing Bryan Shaw, who had seven straight scoreless outings on the road. Stubbs also walked. Valdez ground ball to first got by Arizona firstbaseman, Paul Goldschmidt. That was the break the Reds needed.
Phillips doubled to tie the game and scored the go ahead run on Todd Frazier's two-out single.
"We feed off the fans. When Paul got on base, all the fans were cheering. The fans were in the game and it felt good. Today it was a beautiful thing. But I said what I said about the fans here."
Going unnoticed with the flame-throwing Aroldis Chapman's electric pitches that helped earn his 15th with two more strikouts, is the work of Alfredo Simon.
Simon has not allowed a run in his last six appearances. He picked up Leake and the Reds with an inning and 2/3 of scoreless baseball to earn his second win. His ERA is now lower than Chapman's-1.46 to 1.65.
Simon saved the bullpen in the first game of this series by working three scoreless innings. The Reds lost the game 5-3 but not only did Simon's work give the Reds a chance to comeback, it saved the bullpen for the rest of the series.
Leake had his streak of five straight quality starts snapped.
"We picked up the pitchers this time," Phillips said. "We're not in panic mode and we could be since Joey (Votto) is out."
The Reds are 2-2 since Votto has been on the DL.
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| Professionally edited by ML Schirmer for proofreading services Call 513-240-3120 |
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