By HAL McCOY
The Cincinnati Reds did exactly what they should have done Saturday night in Chase Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It was Destruction in the Desert.
In his previous start, Arizona’s Zack Godley was raked for seven runs, nine hits and two home runs in five innings by the Atlanta Braves, who seldom beat up on anybody.
The Reds beat the bejabbers and the bejezus out of the 26-year-old right hander, 13-0, clubbing five home runs after hitting zero home runs in their previous five games.
Scott Schebler hit two while Joey Votto, Zacl Cozart and Adam Duvall launched one each.
THE BENEFICIARY OF THE run explosion was right hander Anthony DeSclafani. The Reds had lost six of the last seven games DeSclafani started, but he shut out the Diamondbacks on four hits to push his record to 8-and-2.
DeSclafani had never gone more than seven innings, but on this night he pitched his first career complete-game shutout. The D-Backs had two men on base only once. He walked one and struck out nine.
By the end of the second inning, Reds right fielder Schebler had five RBI on a two-run home run in the first inning and a three-run home run in the second inning.
THE REDS SCORED FOUR in the first on a two-run by Joey Votto and the two-run home run by Schebler.
Godley retired the first two batters in the second then the Chase Field roof fell on him.
Zack Cozart dribbled a single up the middle and Votto, who homered down the line to right field in the first, pushed a double down the left field line. Adam Duvall was hit by a pitch to fill the bases and Brandon Phillips blooped a single to right that scored two. Schebler, who homered down the right field line in the first, then launched his three-run home run to left field to push the Reds lead to 9-0 before anybody in Chase had a chance to purchase a second beer.
THE ONSLAUGHT IN THE DESERT and the padding of batting averages continued in the fourth when the Reds scored two more.
It began with Zack Cozart hitting his career-best 16th home run. With two outs Brandon Phillips singled, his third hit in four innings, and Schebler singled for his third hit in four innings. Then it showed how disinterested the D-Backs were by this time. Sure-handed outfielder Michael Bourn dropped a line drive hit right at him by Eugenio Suarez and a run scored to push the ever-mounting score to 11-0.
THE REDS RESTED FOR A while, until the eighth. With two outs, Adam Duvall cracked his home run one row deep into the left field seats, his 29th of the season for a 12-0 lead.
Eugenio Suarez doubled and later scored on Billy Hamilton’s infield hit as the Reds matched their season’s best run total, with 16 hits.
Catcher Ramon Cabrera went 0 for 5, the only position starter without a hit, but was ecstatic afterward because he had never caught DeSclafani. Tucker Barnhart was DeSclafani’s personal catcher, but has a wrist injury was couldn’t play.