Reds catchers powered the Reds to an 8-3 win in the first game of the four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Homer Bailey dominated the Brewers for most of the game. He allowed eight hits but six were bunched together to score three runs.
Billy Hamilton robbed Carlos Gomez with a diving catch of a gap shot on the first pitch of the game. Hamilton stayed in for the rest of the inning but left with sprained knuckles on his left hand.
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Gomez robbed Joey Votto of at least a double in the Reds' half of the first, leaping high against the centerfield wall. Gomez robbed Votto of a game-tying home run last year. He also robbed Jay Bruce of a game-winning home run in September.
With one out in the second, Khris Davis, Mark Reynolds and Jean Segura singled in consecutive at bats to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
Marco Estrada, the Brewers starter, held the lead until the fifth.
Tucker Barnhart hit his first major league home run to tie the score. Barnhart, a switch hitter, had only 12 home runs in his first five years as a Reds' farmhand.
"Ir was awesome," Barnhart said. "I have the ball right here. My family (Brownsburg, Indiana near Indianapolis) was here and got to see it. This is a tribute to all the hard work we put in. We push each other in spring training to get ready for this."
Todd Frazier hit a two-run home run in the sixth after Bruce walked. His team-leading fifth home run, put the Reds up 3-1.
Bailey got the first two Brewers in the top of the seventh but the Brewers bunched three more hits to tie the game at 3.
Segura singled. Pinch hitter Rickie Weeks, who was 13-for-26 against Bailey with two home runs, hit a ball back up the middle that caromed off Bailey's ankle to Frazier at third. There was no play. Gomez doubled to score both runners.
The Reds had a chance to break the game open in the bottom of the seventh against Brandons Kintzler. Heisey singled. Votto walked. Brandon Phillips advanced them with a sacrifice bunt. Kintzler issued an intentional walk to Bruce. Frazier popped out to shallow right and Ryan Ludwick took a called third strike.
Bailey pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.
The Reds cast aside a months worth of frustration in the bottom of the inning against Jim Henderson.
Zack Cozart started the inning with a clean single to left, raising his average to .194. It was his third straight two-hit game. Barnhart put Cozart in scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Brayan Pena, who hit his first home run as a Red on Wednesday, pinch hit for Bailey. On the first pitch Pena hit his second of the season into the bullpen, nearly the same spot as his first homer.
"I didn't want to let my teammates down or the skipper. He had faith in me," Pena said.
"Pena doesn't try to do too much," Price said. "He kind of scooped the ball and got it down the line. That's why we got him. He can do a lot for us off the bench."
The Reds weren't finished with Henderson.
Heisey singled and stopped at third when Votto doubled off the wall in left. Bruce walked for the third time. Frazier worked another walk to drive in his third run of the game and his team leading 15th run of the season. Ludwick singled off the glove or Aramis Ramirez at third to score Votto and Bruce.
Bailey redeemed himself after a few rough starts this season by battling through eight innings against the hottest team in baseball.
""This team has picked me up all year. Tucker Barnhart did a great job. For a young guy he really knows what he's doing. This game was good for all of us. We're fixing to turn things around. We've had a lot happen already this year. This one showe we're starting to come together as a group," Bailey said.
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