Arizona 11, Cincinnati 2
When: 7:10 PM ET, Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature:
90°
Umpires:
Home -
Eric Cooper, 1B -
Gary Cederstrom, 2B -
Gabe Morales, 3B -
Adrian Johnson
Attendance:
19989
By The Sports Xchange
CINCINNATI -- On a night when they acquired slugging outfielder J.D. Martinez in a trade with the Detroit Tigers, the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks produced one of their biggest offensive outputs of the season.
Chris Hermann and Rey Fuentes homered, and the Diamondbacks tied a season high with nine extra-base hits in an 11-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.
"It's the game we've been waiting for, for a while," said manager Torey Lovullo. "The guys have really been staying with the process and believing in each other. They've been grinding every day, maybe trying too hard to be the guy to make things happen."
David Peralta was among a franchise-record nine D-backs batters to register an extra-base hit, going 3-for-5 with a double and RBI, helping Arizona (54-39) snap a season-high, five-game losing streak. The D-backs set a franchise record with six extra-base hits in the fifth inning.
Fuentes' three-run homer in the seventh inning off Lisalverto Bonilla was his first career pinch-hit home run and only his second homer of the season.
"It felt really familiar," Fuentes said of the D-backs' offensive outburst. "That's what we've been doing all year. It was nice to hear our bats make a lot of noise."
Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray (9-4) made his first appearance in 11 days and allowed two runs on four hits in six innings. he retired seven of the final eight batters he faced. Ray recorded his 500th career strikeout in the fourth inning and finished with four on the night against three walks.
"Felt good to get back out there, everything felt good," Ray said. "Able to go out and get six solid innings. And, the team got the win, which is good. We're very capable of putting up big numbers on the scoreboard. It was just a matter of time."
Martinez, who hit .305 with 16 homers and 39 RBIs this season for Detroit, was acquired for three minor league infielders. Most of the Arizona players learned of the trade prior to the Tuesday night game. The excitement was palpable.
"My wife texted me that we got J.D.," said Ray, who played with Martinez for one season in Detroit. "He'll make us that much better. He's got his approach for every pitcher. He uses the whole field."
Another oft-rumored trading chip, Cincinnati shortstop Zack Cozart, homered and had three hits on Tuesday for the Reds (39-54), who have dropped five straight since the All-Star break by a combined 46-14.
"From a position-players standpoint, those guys go out and bust their tails," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "It's hard to dig yourself out. We've had a lot of losing streaks. We've had a lot of turnover in both the rotation and the bullpen. The one theme has been trying to rebuild a pitching staff."
Right-hander Sal Romano (1-2) was recalled from Triple-A to start the game for Cincinnati, and he allowed six runs and five walks in four-plus innings.
Cozart's solo home run, his first long ball since June 4, put Cincinnati ahead 1-0 in the first. It was his 10th homer of the season, and it snapped an 0-for-11 skid.
"It was a fastball in," Ray said. "I was pitching a few pitches here and there. Didn't hurt me too bad."
The Diamondbacks tied the game when Chris Owings doubled and scored on Daniel Descalso's sacrifice fly in the second and took a 2-1 lead on Paul Goldschmidt's RBI double in the third. Goldschmidt walked in his other four plate appearances.
The Diamondbacks managed only two runs on three hits through four innings against Romano. However, with the score tied 2-2 in the fifth, Arizona erupted for four doubles, a triple and a home run to take control.
The big blow was Jake Lamb's two-run triple down the right field line, putting the Diamondbacks ahead 5-2. Lamb scored on Brandon Drury's double to make it 6-2. Herrmann then launched his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot, to give Arizona a six-run advantage.
"As a team, we're really excited and pumped for tomorrow," Fuentes said. "We had a tough stretch, not much was going our way. Every team goes through that. I'm glad we came out of it today."
NOTES: Arizona dealt INF Dawel Lugo, INF Sergio Alcantara and INF Jose King to the Detroit Tigers in the deal that netted OF J.D. Martinez. ... The Reds placed RHP Scott Feldman on the 10-day disabled list with right knee inflammation, recalled RHP Sal Romano and RHP Lisalverto Bonilla from Triple-A Louisville and optioned OF Jesse Winker to Triple-A. ... Romano is one of seven rookie pitchers to start a game this season for Cincinnati.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Arizona |
|
Cincinnati |
Robbie Ray
|
Player |
Sal Romano
|
Win |
W/L |
Loss |
6.0 |
IP |
4.0 |
4 |
Strikeouts |
3 |
4 |
Hits |
6 |
3.00 |
ERA |
13.50 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Arizona
|
12 |
2 |
26 |
.343 |
17 |
6 |
11 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
Cincinnati
|
6 |
1 |
13 |
.188 |
13 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |