Sal Stewart Blasts Key Blow To Even The Series

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Sal Stewart's amazing rookie season exploded in front of his closet rival for Rookie of the Year with a three-run home run that the Reds used to take a 5-4 win to even the series at two games apiece with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Reds went through the bottom of the fifth inning with four lonely singles in the last 14 innings, after being shut out on three singles on Tuesday. Matt Liberatore, the Cardinals' starter,  struck out the side in the fourth and two more in the fifth. 

"There was a lot of frustration, you know," Stewart said. "We haven't been playing the way we're capable of, starting with myself. It was exciting putting some runs on the board."

Stewart erased the frustration.

"One Sal is a really good hitter. I know he relishes those opportunities," Terry Francona said. "I'm thankful he does because up to that point we really had nothing going. It was like the last couple days, I mean McLain swung it and that was really all we had. Elly hit the line drive they couldn't quite get. Sal had a beautiful swing. We hung on for dear life."

Matt McLain doubled off the base of the left field wall in the sixth. Elly De La Cruz lined a single off the glove of  JJ Wetherholt, who is another candidate for Rookie of the Year,  into right field. McLain had to hold to make sure it wasn't caught. Sal Stewart hit a 2-1 pitch 422 ft off the base of the batter's eye in center field for his 27th home run and collected RBI's 92,93 and 94 to take over the Major League lead from Burleson.

Chase Burns retired the first seven Cardinal batters he faced. Blaze Jordan got an infield single that bounced off Eugenio Suarez glove and fielded by De La Cruz in short left field but he had no play. 

Wetherholt doubled to the gap in right centerfield. Dane Myers played it off the wall and threw to De La Cruz, who relayed the ball home in plenty of time to get Jordan for the third out.

The Cardinals got to Burns in the fourth inning. Alec Burleson walked and moved up on a wild pitch. With two outs Nathan Church singled through the hole at shortstop to score Burleson. Masyn Winn walked to send Church to second. Bryan Torres singled to right to plate Church.

The Reds didn't get a base runner until number nine hitter, Matt McLain singled to center. Cardinals' starter, Matt Liberatore, struck out De La Cruz.

It took Burns, who was trying to earn his 15th win against two losses, off the hook.

He pitched five innings, allowed two runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out six. Burns has pitched at least five innings in each of his 24 starts. He has allowed two runs or fewer in 20 of them.

"I try to do that every time, six innings, five innings," Burns said. "I was just trying to make good pitches. I was almost out of gas."

He threw 104 pitches.

"His pitch count was really high," Francona said. "They (Cardinals) did a really good job. They made him work really hard. That's probably the last thing I wanted him to do was throw 100 in five innings. That's tough. The kid competes like crazy. He got through that which was huge."

Brock Burke walked two Cardinals in the seventh inning but stranded them. Luis Mey walked one but struck out three in the eighth inning.

The Reds added insurance in a steady drizzle in the bottom of the eighth against Justin Bruihl. 

Jose Trevino singled up the middle. He went to second on a wild pitch. McLain bunted to third, Jordan bobbled it then threw it down the first base line. Trevino trotted home. McLain stole second and went to third on De La Cruz deep fly to center. Stewart was walked intentionally. Dane Myers laid down a squeeze bunt that scored McLain and no one covered first. Suarez walked to load the bases. Defensive specialist Ke'Bryan Hayes ran for Suarez. Tyler Stephenson took the count full but was called out on strikes. 

Jose Pagan survived some drama in the top of the ninth. He hit Wetherholt with a pitch, leading off the inning. Pagan retired Ivan Herrera on a routine fly to center. Burleson hit a smash that Stewart knocked down, he recovered to step on the bag to finish Burleson. Jordan Walker hit his 25th home run to make it a one-run game. It gave him 90 RBI on the season, two behind Burleson's team-leading 92. Jose Fermin brought on the drama with a double to left field. He went to third on a wild pitch as the count went full to Masyn Winn. Win hit a slow roller to Pagan, who had mud caked on his spikes. Pagan threw him out to earn his 15th save of the season. 

He has nine saves and three wins in his last 12 appearances.

Tony Santillan And Graham Ashcraft Nearly Ready For Prime Time

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

The Reds bullpen has been stretched to its limit this season to the point that the organization began to stretch late inning relievers, Luis Mey and Zach Maxwell out to pitch more than one inning.

In the meantime, Tony Santillan has been recovering from a strained oblique and Graham Ashcraft is nursing a strained elbow.

Santillan pitched a scoreless inning on Tuesday (081826) against Indianapolis. He struck out two and threw 15 pitches, nine for strikes. It was his third rehab outing.

"The plan is to activate him on Friday, give him a couple days to regroup and make sure he's ok. We will activate him on Friday in Arizona," Terry Francona said. 

Ashcraft threw live batting practice at Great American Ball Park on Thursday (081526). 

"He will throw to hitters Saturday in Louisville," Francona said. "He will pitch in Louisville on Tuesday (082526)."

Maxwell pitched 2 1/3 innings on Tuesday night. He had pitched 2 1/3 in Louisville in his last time out.

"He threw 41 pitches and had five days off," Francona said. "Brad (general manager Meador) have talked a lot about this. A lot of time the guys that are eighth and ninth pitchers at Triple A, when they come up here, they're not. You need them to go longer. They have been trying to make a point of stretching those guys out. Like Mey, the same thing. I think it helps them to throw strikes. It doesn't limit you to making a roster move after somebody pitches."

Spencer Steer will see a specialist in Arizona about his wrist injury.

Andrew Abbott Got No Support And Falls To The Cardinals

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Finally with good weather while he was on the mound, Andrew Abbott pitched as well as he ever has. The problem was the Reds' anemic offense mounted no threat at all as the Reds fell to the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0.

Abbott handled every other batter in the Cardinals' lineup but Masyn Winn, who had two doubles (although one was truly a foul ball) and a home run.

The home run would be enough as the Reds have scored one or fewer runs in six of their last 10 games.

In his last three starts, Abbott had to deal with oppressive heat, and heavy rain. He handled each but couldn't survive the lack of run support.

Abbott threw strikes on his first 17 pitches.

"That was the mission tonight to be in the zone," Abbott said. "Get ahead of guys and make them swing at what I want to throw, when I want to throw it. Me and (acting pitching coach Matt) Tracy talked about that this week. I was behind in the count a lot this year and got hurt with the ball in the zone. They can't take a pitch off. They have to be ready to hit."

The Cardinals' Kyle Leahy and the Reds' Abbott traded zeroes until Masyn Winn hit his fifth home run of the season in the fifth inning.

"It was a cutter in. It was a pretty good pitch. You have to tip your hat," Abbott said.

Winn had the first two Cardinals' hits. He hit a double in the second inning.

Leahy gave up singles to Sal Stewart, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Dane Myers in his five innings. He didn't walk a better and struck out six before turning the game over to Ryan Stanek. Leahy won for the 10th time this season.

"We did a good job of getting his pitch count up but didn't have anything to show for it," Terry Francona said. "It was frustrating."

Winn doubled with one out in the seventh inning and scored on a double by Jose Fermin. Abbott was relieved by Zach Maxwell after Fermin's double.

"The ball was foul. I came in and looked at it. I'm not sure if you can challenge it or not," Abbott said. 

He pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

"I thought Abbott was really good," Francona said. "He gave up a solo home run to win but he was in the strike zone with all his pitches. We've got to find a way to score some runs for him."

Maxwell gave up a bloop single to Pedro Pages but retired the last two batters to strand the runners.

Jordan Walker led off the eighth with an infield single. Alec Burleson belted a double to the gap in left center to put runners on second and third with no outs. Joshua Baez drove in the Cardinals' third run with a fly out to center. Maxwell finally got Winn out on a routine fly to right to end the inning.

The Cardinals bullpen pitched four innings of hitless baseball.

Riley O'Brien pitched a perfect ninth for his 32nd save.

Could Dane Myers Home Run Been A Hal King Moment?

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

It looked like the Reds were going to drop a double header to the St. Louis Cardinals that would have put them 5 1/2 games behind the Cardinals and 7 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres for the final Wild Card position.

There were two outs and the bases empty when Dane Myers pinch hit for Jose Trevino in the bottom of the ninth with the Reds trailing 5-4 against Peter Strzelecki who was one out away from a win.

Myers, who also homered in the first game of the double header, launched a 1-0 pitch into the left field stands to tie the game.

Instead of dropping a double header, right then and there, the home run sent the game to extra innings. Elly De La Cruz singled to score ghost runner, Tyler Stephenson with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Will the moment become the spring board to propel the Reds to the 2026 playoffs with 37 games remaining? That is to be determined. 

Long time Reds fans point to a moment in 1973 in which the Reds trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers by 11 games in the first game of a double header on July 1, 1973. The Dodgers had Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton about to complete a 3-1 victory when lifetime backup catcher, Hal King, came to the plate with two on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with a .182 average and two home runs.

King was brought brought up on June 20 after catching 38 games at Triple A Indianapolis, hitting .252 with seven home runs.

Tony Perez doubled to lead off the ninth inning but Sutton, who was a nine-game winner at the time, retired Bobby Tolan on a pop up to second base. Sutton struck out Larry Stahl. Johnny Bench pinch hit for Dave Concepcion. The Dodgers elected to walk Bench intentionally. Reds manager Sparky Anderson sent King up to bat for Bench's backup, Bill Plummer. 

King and Sutton went to a 2-2 count before launching his second home run of the season over the right centerfield fence at Riverfront Stadium to win the game. The Reds won the second game 3-2 in 10 innings.

The Reds went on a run of 60-26 and allowed them to overtake the Dodgers and win the National League West title.

King also homered in another pinch hit appearance in the 10th inning on August 17 to provide the winning run against the New York Mets, who the Reds ended up playing in the NLCS.

The Mets went on to the 1973 World Series against the Oakland Athletics.

Noelvi Marte Optioned Will Banfield Third Catcher Recalled

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

The Reds sent a .189 hitting outfielder to Triple A Louisville and recalled a third catcher.

Noelvi Marte hit .189 in 63 games with seven doubles, six home runs and 15 RBI. Since August first, Marte appeared in 12 games and had four singles in 30 at bats (.133) with 10 strikeouts.

His defense has also lapsed. 

Will Banfield, a 26-year old catcher, the second round pick of the Miami Marlins in the 2018 draft out of Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia will join the Reds for the third game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Banfield caught in 78 games in Louisville and was hitting .262 with 12 doubles, 11 home runs and 46 RBI for the Bats.

He was with the Reds for 10 games last season, while Tyler Stephenson was on the injured list and had a single in 10 at bats.

Tyler Stephenson has been one of the Reds' most productive hitters since June. Starting June 7, Stephenson is hitting .309 with 10 doubles, eight home runs and 22 RBI. He has slashed .309/.380/.537 for an OPS of .916. The catching rigors requires more days off. The Reds can now use him as a designated hitter to get him off his feet for a game here and there with Banfield here.

"It is just a chance. We got a kid here (Banfield) who can catch and throw really well," Terry Francona said. "We talked about a number of different scenarios and we thought this might be the best way to help our roster. He's a great kid. Hopefully, this can be a little bit of a learning experience while he's here. Stevo's had a big load too. This should help."

Francona asked Marte how things were going as they told him about the demotion.

"He said, not very well," Francona said. "It is kind of a pivotal time for him. He will probably find a way to get some hits in Triple A but he's got to play with some urgency and get after it. Be the first one out there, don't be the last one out there, take charge in the outfield. He has all the tools to be an every day player. Saying that, when you're playing, you have to find a way to help your team win. It is not just getting hits. It's playing the position and being accountable for so many different things. He was just having a tough time by his own admission."

Banfield has been learning on the job in Louisville.

"He's really done a good job, like learning how to follow the scouting report a little bit more and the game plan. He came from Miami where they were kind of calling stuff for him," Francona said. "He's chipped in offensively, way more than he did in the past."

Dane Myers And Elly De La Cruz Come Through In The Pinch Against The Cardinals

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Dane Myers hit a pinch hit home run with two outs and the bases empty in the ninth inning to tie the game. Elly De La Cruz, who was in a 2-for-33 slump coming into the game singled home ghost runner Tyler Stephenson with the winning run in the 10th. The Reds avoided a double header sweep with a 6-5 win.

"It felt good to deliver when the team needed it the most," De La Cruz said. "It's not just me. It's all the guys that do a good job. It has been a couple tough days but we have to stay through it. I feel good there were just a couple bad days. It is always like that, good days, bad days, you just got to stay to it."

Myers has been playing regularly the second half of the season as TJ Friedl has struggled. Early in the season Myers came off the bench a lot and had nine pinch hits when he batted against Peter Strzelecki who was working his third inning. The home run tied him for the Major League lead with Michael Conforto of the Chicago Cubs with 10 pinch hits. 

"You usually don't get to see a guy three innings in relief, so, seeing him kinda throw from inside the (batting) cage and getting some information from my teammates who have faced him, helped a lot. I was trying to get a good pitch to hit and I put a good swing on it."

"Maybe its a tick easier when you're playing more but it's still a tough job," Myers said. "I think pinch hitting has come from reps the previous years. I think I've grown a lot as a person and as a player. I'm just trusting myself and trusting that I'm prepared for the at bat and taking like I've had five already."

The Reds scored a run against old nemesis, Andre Pallante, in the first inning. De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and JJ Bleday singled with Bleday's landing just in front of a diving Nathan Church in center field. De La Cruz had to stop at third. Eugenio Suarez lined to Church to score De La Cruz. Michael Toglia lined to JJ Wetherholt at second base. A snap throw to Masyn Winn double up Stewart to end the inning.

Pallante made 21 appearances, 11 starts against the Reds in his career. He has an 8-4 record and a 2.18 ERA.

Ivan Herrera launched his 14th home run, leading off the fourth against Reds' starter, Rhett Lowder. Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker singled after the home run. Joshua Baez forced Walker at second. Winn was 1-for-20 coming to the plate but he punched an 0-2 pitch into right field to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.

Bleday and Suarez singled to open the bottom of the fourth but Pallante struck out Toglia and McLain. Hector Rodriguez hit a weak ground ball to first base and Pallante escaped.

Walker doubled to leadoff the sixth. He moved up to third when Baez flied to deep center. Church singled to make the score 3-1. Bryan Torres walked with two outs to put Church in scoring position. Blaze Jordan singled to score Church. Bleday's throw to the plate was cut off and Torres was tagged by McLain for the third out but the Cardinals led 4-1.

Bleday collected his third hit with one out in the sixth. Suarez went 2-for-2 with a single. Toglia doubled to right to close the gap, leaving runners on second and third with one out. McLain flied out to shallow left. Suarez chose not to run. Rodriguez, hitting .077 singled to tie the game. Rodriguez was thrown out when the throw by Baez was cut by Burleson. 

The 10 hits off Pallante was the most they had in 22 appearances. 

Lowder got the first two out in the seventh inning to tie his career-high with 6 2/3 innings pitched. He matched established the high on April 15 against the San Francisco Giants. He allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out five.

"Rhett going into the seventh really helped a lot," Terry Francona said. "I don't think we've seen him at his best yet. I think his best is ahead of him. He knows how to pitch. You know he's coming off a year where he didn't pitch. He's had some inconsistencies. Like even in the first three innings, it was 50/50 strike, ball. That's a hard way for him to be successful. He still battled and got through it then he started throwing more strikes."

Brock Burke entered to face Burleson and struck him out. It is Burke's 63rd appearance.

Strzelecki replaced Pallante in the bottom of the seventh.

Walker singled for his third hit of the game. Burke struck out Baez and retired pinch hitter Jose Fermin on a fly out to center. Burke walked Winn and Walker stole third. Torres put the Cardinals ahead with a ground single to left. Jordan struck out to end the inning.

Suarez third hit of the game was a double off the third base bag with two outs. Noelvi Marte came in to run for Suarez. Toglia flied out to center. 

Zach McCambley gave up an infield hit to JJ Wetherholt but held the score to give the Reds a chance to tie in the ninth. 

Strzelecki struck out McLain and Rodriguez to start the ninth. Dane Myers pinch hit for Jose Trevino and hit his fifth home run and second of the day to tie the game. Tyler Stephenson pinch hit and flied out to send the game to extra innings.

"Even early in the year when he (Myers) was getting that one at bat, he was always ready to hit. That's a good trait," Francona said. 

Emilio Pagan started the ninth with Walker on second as the ghost runner. Baez appeared to be hit by a pitch but the first base umpire, Edwin Moscoso ruled that he went around on a swing at the pitch. Pagan struck him out. Fermin walked. Winn was called out on a checked swing and Moscoso ejected manager Oliver Marmol from the game. Everson Pereira forced Fermin at second.

Stephenson was the ghost runner on second when De La Cruz shot a 3-2 pitch past Jordan at third to allow the catcher to score the winning run. It was the first time De La Cruz had ever delivered a walk off hit.

"It's about damn time," Stephenson chimed in when De La Cruz was asked about the hit.

Reds Thank Kent Emanuel And Send Him On His Way Big Sugar Coming Back

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

After Kent Emanuel got the Reds out of a tough spot with five solid innings in the first game of the double header with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Reds designated him for assignment.

Zach Maxwell, also known as, "Big Sugar" will return to the tired Reds bullpen. Earlier today, Ron Marinaccio was designated for assignment after throwing 47 pitches in an inning and a half on Sunday (081626).

Maxwell is 2-0 with a 3.99 ERA with two saves in 33 games at Triple A Louisville. He has thrown 38 1/3 innings, walking 28 and striking out 48.

He has also appeared in 10 games for the Reds this season with a loss and a 9.90 ERA. He has walked 10 and struck out nine in 10 innings with the big club. He gave up three home runs.

Maxwell last pitched at this level on June 19 at Yankee Stadium pitching one inning, allowing a run on one hit and two walks with a strikeout.

Emanuel pitched five innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Kent Emanuel Emergency Start Was Strong Reds Offense Was Not

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

The Reds emergency starter did exactly what the Reds needed but the St. Louis Cardinals did just enough to post a 2-1 win. It put 4 1/2 games between themselves and the Reds for a potential Wild Card berth.

Kent Emanuel climbed a major league pitching mound for the first time since, 2024 and was not greeted well by the St. Louis Cardinals. It was his first big league start.

Rookie sensation Joshua Baez, who hit home runs in his first three Major League at bats on Saturday, was hit on his right foot with a pitch. Ivan Herrera walked. Emanuel struck out Jordan Walker but Alec Burleson drove them both in with a double into the right field corner. It put him into the MLB lead with 92 RBI.

"The way the game started, he hit the guy in the foot and it goes first and second before he can even breath. He gives up the double and hung in like, I'm very proud of him," Terry Francona said.

Cardinals' starter, Quinn Mathews, struck out the side in the bottom of the first. 

Blaze Jordan tripled to dead center field to lead off the second inning. Emanual stranded Jordan at third. Everson Pereira grounded out to third with Jordan holding. Pedro Pages struck out looking an Baez lined out to center. 

The Reds loaded the bases with one out. Eugenio Suarez was Mathews fourth straight strikeout victim. Dane Myers singled. Michael Toglia and Matt McLain walked. Noelvi Marte popped out foul to the first baseman and Ke'Bryan Hayes grounded out to third base.

"We made him throw a ton of pitches but only had a run to show for it," Terry Francona said. "We got him out. After that they went one inning with their pen and we weren't able to get anything going."

A double play allowed Emanuel to escape the third inning after Herrera walked and Burleson singled. Jose Fermin hit a ground ball right up the middle where, McLain is working in his 110th straight game without an error. He fielded the ball stepped on second and threw Fermin out to end the inning.

Emanuel stranded two more base runners in the fourth inning.

Dane Myers led off the bottom of the fourth inning with his fourth home run at the end of a nine pitch at bat. Emanuel survived a one-out double by Walker to complete five innings.

Luis Gastelum relieved Mathews for the Cardinals in the fifth inning.

Emanuel left after five innings. He allowed two runs on five hits, three walks and he hit a batter. He struck out four. The first two batters he faced scored but the Cardinals stranded six runners.

Luis Mey started the sixth inning. He struck out the side in the sixth. He got the first two outs in the seventh, when Hayes took a double away from Baez with a diving stop. He walked Herrera, the third time he walked in the game. Walker singled but Mey got Burleson to pop out to McLain at second.

Pierce Johnson pitched a quick eighth for Cincinnati.

Gastelum, Gordon Graceffo and Ryne Stanek shut down the Reds on one hit through the eighth. Stanek struck out Elly De La Cruz for the fourth time in the game. De La Cruz has two hits in his last 34 at bats.

"It is kind of telling on De La Cruz when he challenged that pitch, it got the whole plate. Sometimes, you kind of lose where you are. The ball he thinks is in, is a strike. He's just going through a tough time."

Sam Moll started the ninth for the Reds. 

Former Reds' reliever, Riley O'Brien struck out the side to pick up his 31st save.

The Reds have lost three straight. They scored one run in the last two with both runs coming on solo home runs. The Reds struck out a total of 15 times. 

Myers had two of the Reds' three hits.

"It is tough. It's part of the game. I think everybody in the clubhouse still has confidence that we can make a run," Myers said. "Obviously, we're kind of running out of time and we need a sense of urgency but we're still confident."

The Reds have 38 games left including the second game of this double header.

Who Is That Left Hander On The Mound

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Kent Emanuel has 22 Major League appearances none as a starter but he will be on the mound to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the makeup of an early season rainout on Monday (081726).

Emanuel is 34-years old. He was drafted by the Houston Astros with the third pick in the 2013 draft out of The University of North Carolina. He was born and raised in Woodstock, Georgia.

He broke in with the Astros in 2021. Emanuel made 10 relief appearances and had a 1-0 record with a 2.55 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. He has been through the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Miami Marlins organizations. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2024 with the Marlins, where he made 12 relief appearances with another 17 2/3 innings with a 6.62 ERA.

Emanuel was granted free agency by the Marlins in October of 2024.

He pitched at High Point in Independent baseball and Mexico in the Mexican League last season. The Reds signed him on August 7 off the High Point roster.

Emanuel made nine starts at High Point this season and had a 4-0 record with a 2.30 ERA. He pitched 47 innings with nine walks and 53 strikeouts. He made just one start at Louisville. He pitched six innings, allowing a run on two hits, walking none and striking out eight.

"There were a lot of conversations the last several days," Terry Francona said. "You have the conversations, sayin that, you never know until you get to the end of it."

"He is like (Julian) Garcia, coming out of an independent team. I just got a text from PK (Louisville manager Pat Kelly). He said I wish I had more than one start to tell you about. I talked to Kent a few minutes ago. I introduced him to the coaches and told them this is our starter," Francona said.

Rhett Lowder will start the second game.

Call To Arms Reds Send For Pitching Help

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Dateline: Cincinnati  

Terry Francona sounded the alarm after the Reds dropped the third game of the Miami Marlins series. With a double header looming today (081726), "We're up against it," Francona said.

The bullpen is tired and struggling to tread water. The Reds used more arms than it wanted to use to finish off Sunday's game. Now they had to call for help.

Ron Marinaccio got the first two outs of the ninth inning but couldn't get the third one until nine more hitters reached against him, including a three-run home run to Javier Sanoja, only his fifth of the season. He threw 47 pitches. 

The Reds designated Marinaccio for assignment to add LHP Kent Emanuel. ,who will start the first game as his contract was selected from Louisville. They recalled Zack McCambley to be the extra bullpen arm as the rules allow for double headers.