The Reds feared rain and moved the starting time up an hour and a half to 12:10.
Jonathan India and Nick Martini had timely hits to lead the Reds to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It was the first winning series for the Reds since they took two out of three from the Philadelphia Phillies April 23 - April 25. It was their first sweep since they took three from the Los Angeles Angels from April 19 - April 21.
The Dodgers have lost a season-high five straight.
The Reds used a bullpen day to vanquish a talented Dodger lineup.
The Reds broke through with four runs off Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the third inning. Jacob Hurtubise singled to left field. Elly De La Cruz walked. Spencer Steer forced Hurtubise at third base. Jake Fraley's bid for an RBI single was thwarted by a diving stop by Gavin Lux. All hands were safe and loaded the bases. Jonathan India got two home with a ground single to right. India stole second and Nick Martini doubled the score with a bloop hit to left.
"It's a really good team, a talented team," Martini said of the Dodgers. "It is a great feeling any time you Sweep. We were able to scratch some runs across."
Brent Suter started the game for Cincinnati. He gave up a single to Mookie Betts but retired Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, the two tough left-handed hitters in the Dodgers' lineup.
David Bell brought in Nick Martinez, who finished off the inning. He continued to pitch 4 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out three.
"My focus was way better today than last game, Martinez said. With a team like that there is not a lot of room for error."
On May 16, pitched five innings against the Dodgers in a similar role when the Reds needed the relief pitchers to carry the leroad. He has totaled 9 1/3 against the Dodgers in 10 days.
The Dodgers' starter Yamamoto faced Martinez in the Japanese League.
"Yamamoto got a lot of wins against me in Japan," Martinez said.
Martinez has a 0.83 ERA as a reliever and a 7.36 ERA as a starter.
"Nick continues to show when he executes his pitches how good he is. To pitch so well against this team really says a lot," Bell said.
Carson Spiers was called in to start the sixth but the umpires ordered the grounds crew to put the tarp on the field.
Spiers returned after an hour and nine minute rain delay to hold the Dodgers scoreless until one out in the ninth.
Ohtani reached on a single off the glove of Steer at first base. He went to second on defensive indifference and scored on a Freddie Freeman's double. Ohtani was 2-for-12 in the series.
Alexis Diaz replaced Spiers. He struck out Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages to earn his 10th save in 12 tries.
"It starts with our pitchers.," Bell said "It doesn't matter (where in the game they pitch) They're ready to take the ball. Starting with Brent Suter, who did his job. It can easily throw you out of your routine. They are willing to do what it takes. That's where it starts. Nick Martinez took over."
No comments:
Post a Comment