A Slugfest Win For Reds

By Hal McCoy

Colorado Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner learned a painful lesson Sunday in Cape Canaveral/Coors Field:

Don’t hang 89 miles an hour sliders to the Cincinnati Reds.

Feltner, an Ohio State product, did it three times in the first two innings and all three landed where no outfielder could catch them.

Those three homers gave the Reds an 8-1 lead after two innings en route to a breath-holding 9-6 victory.

Giving Reds starter Hunter Greene a seven-run lead after two innings is like giving him a free pass to the U.S. treasury.

He pitched six innings and gave up three runs and four hits while walking nobody and strikingj out seven.

Half of those four hits came off the bat of Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, two home runs that drove in all three runs charged to Greene.

Goodman then homered again in the eighth off Sam Moll, hia 30th this season. He has six hits against the Reds this season, five are home runs.

***Feltner had two outs with two on in the first when Nathaniel Lowe unloaded a 420-foot missile on an 89 M into the right field upper deck and the Reds led, 3-0.

***Feltner then gave up a single to Eugenio Suarez and Tyler Stephenson rocketed an 89 MPH slider 435 feet over the left field wall and the Reds led, 5-0.

***Feltner gave up a leadoff double to Dane Myers to open the second. He walked Elly De La Cruz on a full count. Sal Stewart swung at the first pitch, an 89 MPH dangling slider and drove in 456 feet fofr a three-run homer and an 8-1 lead.

When Feltner issued a pair of one-out walks in the third, his day was done. He faced 18 batters and 11 reached base and eight scored.

His line was eerily similar to Cincinnati starter Rhett Lowder’s line Saturday — 2 1/3 innings, eight runs, 11 hits. Feltner’s line was 2 1/3 innings, eight runs, seven hits.

Stephenson added his second home run of the game in the fifth inning as the Reds were on their way to winning the series two games to one.

The Reds had lost five straight series since taking two of three in late June from Pittsburgh. But Sunday’s win didn’t gain the Reds an inch in the standings as all four fellow National League Central members won.

The Reds scored 17 of their 19 runs in the series via home runs, 10 for the series.

Goodman drove in five of his team’s six runs with his three homers. Combine that with Stephenson’s two homers and it was the most home runs in MLB history hit by catchers in one game.

The four home runs Sunday made it a breeze for Hunter Greene, who handled all of the Rockies except Goodman.

Goodman hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first and a two-run homer in the sixth, his 28th and 29th home run. His 30th was a two-run rip in the eighth off Sam Moll.

Emilio Pagan gave up a leadoff home run in the ninth to Willie Castro to make it 9-6 and Kyle Karros singled and suddenly it was precarious. But Pagan struck out the next two and ended the game on a foul pop-up.

The Rockies started the wrong pitcher. Tanner Gordon replaced Feltner in the third and held the Reds to one run (Stephenson’s second homer) and three hits over 5 2/3 innings while the Rockies outscored the Reds 5-1 the rest of the way.

Manager Tito Francona admitted he felt a nervous sweat late in the game when the Rockies crept back.

“Always in this ball park,” he said about his trepidation. “We held on for dear life. I looked over there and looked as if Goodman was swinging three bats. We caught a really good hitter on a day he felt good.

“It wasn’t as easy as you’d like it to be, but that’s OK,” he said.

Stephenson felt good, too, In addition to his two home runs, he drove another one that was caught at the wall and he doubled,

Stephenson, Lowe and Stewart each drove in three runs with homers and Dane Myers was on base four times with a single, double and two walks.

“Stephenson took some really good swings,” said Francona. “He doesn’t really need to swing to get home runs. He just needs to get the head of the bat to the area, to the spot.

“He’s a smart hitter, a veteran hitter who has a pretty good idea of what he is doing,” he said.

Stephenson’s outlook is positive.

“Just coming out of the break tying to get things going again,” he said. “Got some pitchess to hit. I got some the other day, on Friday, but I was a little off (0 for 3 with a walk),

“I got some good swings today,” he added. “I came close on my second at bat, too, but it was a good day.”

After a slow start to the season, Stephenson is on a hot streak.

“It’s a long year and it’s not my first rodeo,” he said. “It was tough early on when I had some really good swings and wasn’t rewarded for it. It is easy to veer off course and try to do a lot just trying to get things to fall..

“But we play so many games that in the long run things will take care of itself, just I just try to come prepared every day.”

Francona was ultra-pleased with Greene, too, pitching where misplaced pitches go to die.

“I thought he was really good,” said Francona. “Goodman knicked him up twice. But Hunter’s split-finger was really good, especially with two strikes.

“He threw the ball over the plate and wasn’t walking people (zero),” he added. “I thought he threw the ball really well.”

The Reds continue their trip with stops in three time zone (Moutain, Pacific, Central) by opening a three-game series Monday night in Seattle.