Feldman better than Cueto, shuts down Giants

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — Not even the iconic and legendary Johnny Beisbol could stuff a cork into the flowing offense manufactured these days by the Cincinnati Reds.

To the Reds, Johnny Cueto was just another former teammate named Johnny on Sunday afternoon in Great American Ball Park.

Oh, they didn’t pillage and plunder Cueto the way they did San Francisco pitchers Friday and Saturday while scoring 27 runs. They only scored four off Cueto, which is about par against Cueto.

AND WHO IN THEIR RIGHT baseball mind would envision Cincinnti starter Scott Feldman outpitching Cueto. But he did and he did it soundly. And why not? Scott Feldman (SF) equals San Francisco (SF) every time.

Feldman plugged up the Giants offense like grease in a sink and the Reds completed a three-game sweep, 4-0.

He pitched a complete-game shutout and gave up up only four hits, walked one and struck out five. And he needed only 119 pitches to do it.

It was the fifth complete game and third complete-game shutout for the 34-year-old righthander from Hunters Point, Calif., and his first complete-game shutout since mid-season 2014.

AND HE HAD TO LOBBY his way into the ninth inning because manager Bryan Price has pitchers warmed up and ready to take care of the ninth. Feldman wanted it himself.

“I just asked him if it was negotiable or not,” said Feldman. “A lot of time it isn’t even negotiable so you don’t even bother. He showed some confidence in me, which was nice, and I went back out there.”

And he pitched a quick 1-2-3 ninth.

“I could see the finish line so close and you get a little extra adrenaline,” he added. “I felt like I got a bit of a second wind in the eighth inning when I stranded a runner (second base with no outs). I really felt great and had a lot left in the tank.”

PRICE SAID FELDMAN EARNED the chance for a complete game, especially when earlier this season he removed him after seven innings in a 1-1 game, “When he was throwing good.”

Price said he was impressed when Feldman came to him after eight innings and said, “I had him coming out after eight innings and he came up and asked, ‘Hey, Bryan, is there any chance for me to go back out. I feel great. Maybe if one runner gets on you can bring in a reliever.’

“I talked with pitching coach Mack Jenkins about it and Scott’s pitch-count was OK and he earned it,” said Price. “He is a veteran and never got himself into too much trouble. You have to treat a veteran like a veteran. You can’t bring a veteran pitcher in here and then try to cover him with young studs in the bullpen every time there is a little bit of trouble.”

OF HIS FIRST COMPLETE-GAME shutout in three years, Feldman said, “That’s always satisfying and I haven’t had a whole lot of them in my career. I was excited to finish because our bullpen has thrown a lot and I felt a little bit responsible for that.”

At the suggestion of catcher Devin Mesoraco, who caught Feldman in his previous start, Feldman used his sinker more and quit nibbling and nit-picking around the edges. And it worked.

Feldman coaxed 16 ground ball outs, nearly wearing himself out covering first on flip throws from first baseman Joey Votto four times.

IT WAS THE REDS’ FIFTH straight win and seventh in their last eight games, pushing their record to 17-and-14.

They scored two unearned run off Cueto in the first inning after shortstop Christian Arroyo booted leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton’s ground ball for an error. Singles by Joey Votto, Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett gave the Reds a 2-0 lead.

Scott Schebler’s ninth home run of the season in the third inning and Zack Cozart’s second home run of the season in the fifth gave the Reds a 4-0 lead.

Feldman held the Giants hitless through three innings, until Hunter Pence led the fourth with a single, and scoreless through the entire game.

“I trusted my stuff, I was more aggressive, I threw to the target,” said Feldman after improving his work sheet to 2-and-3. “The last couple of games I got away from my strengths a little bit. I tried to pitch to a hitter’s weaknesses rather than to my strengths. I changed that today.”

Kivlehan makes amends the best way possible

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI – It is difficult to fathom that the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014 — judging by the way they’ve played the last two days and their below ground standings in the National League West.

Oh, how the mighty do fall.

Or maybe, just maybe, the Cincinnati Reds have something to do with it and have something special going on.

They certainly did the last two days. After cold-cocking the Giants Friday night, 13-3, the Reds followed it up Saturday with another punch to the solar plexus, 14-2.

The Reds have won four straight and six of their last seven while the Giants have lost five of their last seven and own an 11-and-20 record, making them the bottom feeders of the NL West. And the Reds are tied for first place with the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.

ONCE AGAIN BILLY HAMILTON’S SPEEDY feet left prints all over this game, just as they did Friday when he was on base five straight times with three hits, scored four runs, drove in two and stole two bases.

He continued his destruction Saturday, stretching it to eight straight plate appearances to get on base. In the first three innings, while the Reds were constructing a 10-2 lead, he tripled in the first, doubled in the second and singled in the first. He scored twice, drove in two and stole his 19th base. Finally, in his ninth plate appearance of the series, he popped out to shortstop on a full count in the fifth inning.

As always, though, his best play may have been on defense. The Giants had the bases loaded with no outs in the second inning when Eduardo Nunez smashed one to deep center. Hamilton fled to the wall to catch it. A run scored after the catch, but three might have scored if Hamilton doesn’t make the catch.

“Wasn’t it another big day for Billy? No doubt about it,” said manager Bryan Price. “He is wreaking havoc, swinging a hot bat, making things happen on the bases. And that play in center field? Think about that. He goes up against the wall, collides with the wall, and makes a big catch when things are starting to unravel a little bit. It was a big out because that could have been a big inning.”

AFTER SCORING RUNS IN EACH of the first six innings Friday, the Reds scored runs in each of the first five innings Saturday, pushing six across in the third inning.

The Reds didn’t hit any home runs while scoring 12 runs Friday, but they hit three Saturday. Adam Duvall, Eugenio Suarez and Patrick Kivlehan all homered while Kivlehan, making a cameo appearance in right field, collected four hits.

After punching 16 hits Friday, the Reds collected 18 Saturday — four by Kivlehan, three by Hamilton, plus two each by Zack Cozart, Joey Votto, Duvall and Suarez.

Kivlehan’s four hits were a saving grace for him. With two on and no outs in the second inning, he dropped a routine fly ball in right field that filled the bases and two runs eventually scored.

But the way he came back was a game highlight for Price.

“WHAT KIVLEHAN DID, COMING in and getting four hits, that’s a boost,” said Price. “The regulars don’t want to take days off but if they are going to give up a game for somebody else to get in there it sure is nice when that player comes in and does a great job.

“He ends up dropping the ball, then he runs into the wall chasing a ball and then he has to run in on a ball and right his body to make a throw home, all in one inning,” said Price. “Then he followed up with a base hit, four hits and a home run. I’m just happy for him because as a bench player you live for those opportunities to get a start and when you do you want to do well and he did it.”

KIVLEHAN SAID A MEMBER OF the Giants lifted his spirits after his error. When he singled in the bottom of the second and reached second base, San Francico shortstop Eduardo Nunez sauntered over and said, “Forget about it. Don’t worry about it. It happens to everybody.”

Said Kivlehan, “That was the worst way to start a game, making that error. But I was able to rebound and get that first hit to really relax. That took the anxiety and the stress away. I was able to play and finish the game.”

THE RECIPIENT OF THE RUN CASCADE this night was lefthanded rookie Amir Garrett. He pitched six innings and gave up two runs and five hits.

Garrett walked the first two Giants in the second and it cost him two runs. Both scored, one on a sacrifice fly and the second on a double by Gorkys Hernandez.

He gave up three singles in the fourth inning but escaped when Hernandez hit into an inning-ending double play and Garrett was on his way to his third victory in five decisions this season.

AND NOW THE GIANTS ARE calling upon former Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto (4-1, 4.86) to put a tourniquet around the bleeding Sunday afternoon against Scott Feldman.

“He loves pitching and the think I enjoyed so much about Johnny is that he loved his bullpen work,” said Price. “He didn’t go to the bullpen and just labor through a non-specific routine. He always challenged himself in the bullpen.

“And then in games he never, ever gave in to a hitter. He never felt he was in a bad position,” said Price. “There are not a lot of guys you can say that. Sometimes you’ll have pitchers that know that the easier guy to get out maybe is on deck. They’ll pitch around a guy. Well, Johnny just got after every hitter he ever faced.

“He just loves the competition and is never looking over his shoulder to the bullpen for help, hoping somebody will come in and throw a life-line to him,” Price added.

The Giants hope Cueto not only takes a life-line to the mound Sunday, but puts his drowning team in a very large life boat.

Long after Saturday’s game, Cueto was standing by an elevator waiting to leave the park when a San Francisco Writer asked him, “What? A two-hit shutout tomorrow?”

Said Cueto, “Don’t know. We’ll see. They hot.”

Good news: Arroyo ‘fit’ and the Reds hit, hit and hit.

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — It was Cinco de Mayo, so it was the Cincinnati Los Rojos against the San Francisco Gigantes on Friday night in Great American Ball Park — it said so on the fronts of their uniforms.

Everybody knew, though, it was the Reds and the Giants. And even though the game’s start was delayed an hour and 50 minutes by rain, the Reds offense was not on delay.

They raised cain with Giants starter Matt Cain in the first inning, scoring three runs in the first inning for the third time in their last four game. And it didn’t stop there and the Reds ended up with 30 baserunners.

That first inning launched the Reds on a late-night giggler, a 13-3 victory over the 11-19 Giants, occupants of last place in the National League West, during which the Reds scored runs in each of the first six innings.

The Reds won their third straight and pushed above .500 at 15-14 with an offensive splurge that featured 16 hits. Jose Peraza, Eugenio Suarez, Scott Schebler and Billy Hamilton each had three hits and Hamilton was on base five straight times, tying his career high and scored four runs. Zack Cozart and Adam Duvall contributed two hits apiece.

What? No home runs? Nope. Not by the Reds.

Bu a string of San Francisco pitchers did litter the bases with 11 walks, most in a game by the Giants since 2011.

DESPITE THE RUN SPLURGE AND the hit deluge the biggest news of the night was the fact that starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo said, for the first time this year, his arm didn’t bark at him and he felt like a major league pitcher again.

“My arm was normal today, for the first time all year,” said Arroyo after holding the Giants to two earned run and five hits over 5 1/3 innings. “I wasn’t really tired and I got in 95 pitches and I could have continued out there. And that hasn’t been the case and I hope we can build on this. I was finally comfortable and my stride length was a little farther.

“I wasn’t throwing any harder, but I definitely felt like I wasn’t inhibited by anything and I could get after it,” Arroyo added. “As long as I can keep my elbow in check — and right now it feels fantastic.”

CAIN CAME INTO THE GAME with a 2-and-0 record and a 2.30 earned run average that immediately took a heavy hit. He walked Billy Hamilton to open the bottom of the first and Hamilton took third on Zack Cozart’s single.

Hamilton scored on Joey Votto’s sacrifice fly, Eugenio Suarerz singled home a run and after Scott Schebler singled Jose Peraza singled home the third run and the Reds merry-go-round was in full swing the rest of the night.

THERE WAS A SIDE ANGLE TO this one and it was Cincinnati starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo against San Francisco third baseman Christian Arroyo.

They are not related, but in an amazing twist, they both attended Hernando High Scool in Brooksville, Fla., 18 years and a generation apart.

“When I was getting drafted, I was thinking, ‘Maybe one day I’ll face Bronson. That would be sick,’ ” Christian told San Francisco Chronicle writer John Shea.

So what happened? In the second inning, Christian Arroyo took ball one from Bronson Arroyo, then drilled the next pitch into the left field seats for a home run.

Tim Simms coached both Arroyos and Christian said, “He texted us both to tell us, ‘Have fun, enjoy the moment and everyone back in Brooksville is watching.’”

The Giants selected Christian in the first round of the 2013 draft, the highest drafted high schooler from Hernando County since Bronson was taken by the Pirates in the third round in 1995.

“It’s pretty awesome, to be honest,” Christian told the Chronicle. “I never figured I’d be here with an opportunity to face him. I talked to Bronson in high school before the draft, and he gave me valuable information about the draft process and professional baseball.”

ARROYO TOOK CARE OF THE other Arroyo on a line drive out on his next time up and pretty much took care of the rest of the Giants during his 5 1/3 innings. He gave up three runs (two earned) five hits, walked one and struck out four. And after losing his first two decisions, the 40-year-old righthander is nobody’s joke. He has won his last three starts.

Of the home run to the other Arroyo, Bronson laughed and said, “I was behind 1-and-0 and tried to throw a fastball down-and-away it leaked back in and up, probably the worst pitch I could have thrown to anybody in that lineup.

“He knocked it out of the park and I guess if I was going to give up a home run to anybody over there it would be to him,” said Bronson. “I’ll take that. I’ll look at the back of his baseball card when I’m not playing any more and I can say, ‘Hey, I gave you one. I gave you one.’”

CANE’S SECOND INNING WAS as bad as the first, maybe worse. He walked the bases loaded and with two outs Eugenio Suarez drilled a 2-and-0 pitch up the middle for a two-run single and a 5-1 Reds advantage.

The assault continued in the third when Jose Peraza singled and stole second while Arroyo was striking out, the fourth stolen base of the game by the Reds. From there Peraza scored from second on Billy Hamilton’s single to left.

The score every inning script continued for the Reds in the fourth when t scored three times and chased Cain to the showers. All three runs came on Jose Pereza’s bases loaded triple, giving him three hits and a career-high four RBI and producing a 9-1 lead.

Cain’s earned run average exploded from 2.30 to 4.70 when the Reds frisked him for nine runs, 10 hits and six walks (a career-high for Cain) in 3 1/3 innings.

Hamilton steals 200th, Adleman wins first

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — An all-morning rain drenched Great American Ball Park, forcing a 56-minute delay to the start of the Cincinnati Reds-Pittsburgh Pirates game Thursday afternoon.

For the Reds, it was worth the wait and worth dodging a few rain drops while Billy Hamilton ran the bases and Tim Adleman worked off the muddy mound.

For the second straight day the Reds were not overly impressed with a high profile Pittsburgh pitcher.

Ivan Nova walked to the mound Thursday with a 1.50 earned run average and the National League Pitcher of the Month for April trophy in his den.

The Reds scored two in the fourth and two in the fifth and used those runs to score a 4-2 victory over Nova and the Pirates to take three of four in the series.

ON WEDNESDAY JAMESON TAILLON entered the game with a 2-and-0 record and a 2.60 earned run average. The Reds rocked and rolled him for a pair of three-run home runs by Eugenio Suarez and Billy Hamilton en route to a 7-2 victory.

The pitcher of the day Thursday was Cincinnati starter Tim Adleman, who held the Pirates to a pair of runs over six innings and won his first game of the season.

“I’ve said all along that what I want is to go deep into games and keep my team in those games,” said Adleman. “If you had told me before this game that I’d go six and give up two, I’d take it.”

PITTSBURGH TOOK A 1-0 lead in the second on Francio Cervelli’s single and Gift Ngoepe’s double.

Jose Peraza, batting second on this day while Zack Cozart took a rest, led the fourth with a single and took third on Joey Votto’s double. Both scored on Adam Duvall’s hard single left for a 2-1 Reds lead.

“Cozart doesn’t need a day off, but I have to get Almendy Alcantara into a game,” said Reds manager Bryan Price. “So Jose Peraza slides back into second (in the batting order) for a day.”

Alcantara singled his first three time up and stole a base. But the big stolen base came in the fifth inning when Billy Hamilton singled and stole second.

It was the 200th major league stolen base for Hamilton, seventh on the all-time list, 21 behind Vada Pinson, sixth on the list.

After Hamilton’s theft, Joey Votto pulled a two-out double to right to make it 3-1 and Duvall tripled to left field to push the lead to 4-1.

The steal was Hamilton’s 16th in 17 attempts this year and Price said, “I’d hate to see him on another team and have to worry about him. And sometimes it can get lost among other things, like his ability to go first to third on a missile to the left fielder or take an extra base when nobody else on the field can do it.

“The big part of it is that in his first year his success rate wasn’t great,” Price added. “And what I’ve marveled at more than anything is what he has done in ’15, ’16 and ’17 because his success rate has shot up through the roof. It has been a phenomena.”

HAMILTON SAID HE WAS unaware of the 200 figure until a few days ago when he messed up his leg sliding and assistant athletic trainer Tomas Vera scribbled something on a wrap he placed on Hamilton’s leg.

“He wrote ’16’ on it and I asked why and he said, ‘Once you get to 199 steals I’ll let you know,’” said Hamilton. “The other day I got to 199 and he said ‘You have one more to go,’ and I said, ‘Oh, OK, now I know what you’re talking about.’”

ADLEMAN GAVE UP A RUN in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Josh Bell and Cervelli, cutting the margin to 4-2.

He left after six solid innings — two runs, six hits, one walk, five strikeouts. Michael Lorenzen replaced Adleman and contributed two perfect innings with a strikeout.

Raisel Iglesias inherited the ninth inning and gave up a leadoff single to Josh Bell. He struck out Franciso Cervelli, got a force play at second on pinch-hitter Jose Osuna and ended it by striking out pinch-hitter Jose Osuna for his fifth save.

OF ADLEMAN PRICE SAID, “He was terrific. He was great. Threw strikes. Went right after them. He didn’t get himself in trouble by nit-picking and going deep into counts. Six innings, under 90 pitches (88) was excellent.”

Adleman worked on a slider this spring to complement his fastball, change-up and curve, but it didn’t go well and he returned to his three-pitch repertoire.

“In the spring, I wasn’t right, I wasn’t myself,” he said. “Given what I did last year with fastball, changeup, curveball, I felt like staying with that mix for now would be good enough. So far it has helped me get back on track.”

PRICE WANTED TO EMPHASIZE what Alcantara did — three for three with a stolen base.

“That was really a nice thing,” said Price. “More than anything is that the bench players, other than Scooter Gennett, don’t get to play a whole lot. It’s hard to get them regular time because we have a set lineup. For him to go in and pick up a game like that, it is just a boost for him.”

REDS ALL-TIME STOLEN BASES LEADERS:

Joe Morgan, 406.
Barry Larkin, 379.
Dave Concepcion, 320.
Bob Bescher, 320.
Eric Davis, 270.
Vada Pinson, 221.
BILLY HAMILTON, 200.
Edd Roush, 199.
Brandon Phillips, 194.

Davis earns first win as Hamilton, Mesoraco homer

By HAL McCOY

While the Pittsburgh Pirates littered the bases with stranded runners Wednesday night in Great American Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds cleaned them off.

In the first four innings, the Pirates stranded eight runners and none scored. In the same time frame, the Reds clubbed a pair of three-run home runs to sweep the bases clean.

IT ALL ADDED UP TO a 7-2 Reds victory and the first major league win for rookie Rookie Davis.

Davis pitched out of problems in the second, third and fourth innings, leaving three on in the second, two on in the third and three on in the fourth. The Pirates went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

On the other side, Eugenio Suarez drilled a three-run home run in the first and Billy Hamilton crushed a three-run home run in the fourth to give Davis a 6-0 lead.

And the uprising didn’t come against any slouch. Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon came in with a 2-0 record and a 2.08 earned run average. He had given up only one earned run in 19 1/3 innings on the road.

THE REDS TOOK CARE of that.

Davis came in with a 0-and-1 record and an 11.17 earned run average. While he bent, he never broke and pitched five scoreless innings, giving up four hit and three walks.

—The Pirates had the bases loaded with one out in the second, but Davis struck out Gift Ngoepe and induced a ground ball from Taillon.

—The Pirates had two on with two outs in the third before Davis coaxed a pop-up from Josh Bell.

—The Pirates had the bases loaded with two outs in the fourth but John Jaso struck out.

“It was the way I was brought up. Never give up,” Davis told Fox Sports Ohio after the game. “I just had to compete and find a way to get through it.”

ZACK COZART SINGLED WITH one out in the first and Joey Votto walked. After Adam Duvall flied out, Suarez lined a home run into the left field seats for a 3-0 lead.

Jose Peraza singled to open the fourth and Devin Mesoraco was hit by a pitch. Davis bunted the runners to third and second, but the sacrifice bunt was not needed.

Hamilton turned on the first pitch and crushed it into the Reds bullpen in right field to make it 6-0. It was Hamilton’s first home run in 319 at bats, dating back to June 29 of last season against Jon Lester of the Chicago Cubs.

THEN CAME ANOTHER NOTEWORTHY home run. Mesoraco, who started only 17 games in 2015 and 2016, homered in the sixth. It was his first home run since September 23, 2014. It was 953 days between home runs and as he said after the game, “A hell of a long time. But I’ll hit a lot more home runs and I was happy to see Davis get off the schneid.”

After Davis left, Cody Reed took over and pitched a shaky two innings, walking four and giving up two hits, including a two-run home run to Andrew McCutchen.

All nine runs in this game, seven by the Reds and two by the Pirates, came via home runs.

Drew Storen and Raisel Iglesias finished it off with Storen pitching a 1-2-3 eighth and Iglesias pitching a 1-2-3 ninth.

Pirates say to Reds: ‘Enough is enough’

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI – It was sort of like the movie network: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more.”

That must have been how the Pittsburgh Pirates felt early in a game Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park.

They had lost four straight games to the Reds this season and they were down three runs before Pittsburgh pitcher Tyler Glasnow recorded an out. If it were a boxing match, Glasnot would have been out on his feet. But he never went down.

And the Pirates snapped in the fourth inning, led by Cincinnati slayer and Cincinnati native Josh Harrison. The Pirates scored six runs off Reds starter Scott Feldman, including a three-run home run by Harrison and it launched them toward a 12-3 Pirates’ revenge.

HARRISON HOMERED HIS LAST two at bats Monday night when the Reds won, 4-3, in 10 innings. He took two called strike threes his first two time up Tuesday — and wasn’t happy about either one.

The Pirates had scored three times in the fourth, two on a single by opposing pitcher Tyler Glasnow to take a 4-3 lead when Harrison clubbed his three-run blast. And the track meet was on.

“We’re going to send everybody to Harrison’s house to sleep tonight,” said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle.

IT LOOKED AS IF THE REDS might rival the 23 runs the Washington Nationals scored over the weekend against the New York Mets in the bottom of the first.

Glasnow walked Billy Hamilton, who stole second and third. Glasnow walked Zack Cozart on a full count. And Glasnow gave up a three-run home run to Joey Votto and it was 3-0 with nobody out in the first.

He then walked Adam Duvall before he got an out and Jose Peraza singled with two outs, putting runners on first and third. But Devin Mesoraco flied to center and the Reds were finished scoring in the first inning and, in fact, finished for the night.

“Tyler was in a hard spot,” said Hurdle. “It was fight or flight. And he fought. Ray Searage (pitching coach) was able to go out and have a nice talk with im and he was able to regroup.”

ROBERT STEPHENSON REPLACED Feldman and had two outs with nobody on in the seventh inning. But John Jaso doubled, Jose Osuna walked and Elias Diaz dribbled his first major-league hit behind the mound to load the bases.

Gift Ngoepe of Randburg, South Africa, the first man from the African continent to play Major League baseball, lined a hard single to left for two runs and a 9-3 Pirates lead.

Blake Wood replaced Stephenson and Wood walked opposing pitcher Glasnow on four pitches with the bases loaded, giving Glasnow a 10-3 lead and three RBI for the game. Wood then threw a wild pitch to permit another run and an 11-3 score and catcher Stuart Turner was charged with a passed ball that permitted another run and a 12-3 deficit.

It was ugliest at its mightiest for Reds pitchers.

MEANWHILE, AFTER GIVING UP three runs, two hits and three walks in the first inning, Glasnow gave up no runs, two hits and one walk over the next five innings en route to the first win of his major league career.

“He walked three in the first inning and got a fastball middle up to Votto and he hit it where he can hit it,” said Hurdle. “So he is three hitters into the game and he is down 3-0 and they’ve taken one swing. From there, his command of the fastball came back and with the mix of his changeup and his curve he got on a roll and he started making pitches, throwing strikes with everything.”

Glasnow has an early history of digging troublesome holes for himself in the first inning, but with the help from Searage he dug is way out of this one.

“That’s kind of been a theme for all my starts this year,” said Glasnow. “I don’t start out well so I guess I’ve had a lot of practice with it.”

And that’s where Searage comes in and Glasnow said, “The reason I did well after the first inning was Ray. I’ve been working with him and we have been working on some stuff. But in that first inning I went straight back to what I was doing before.”

So Searage came to the mound for some steerage for Glasnow.

“It has been two years of doing things that were uncomfortable, so Ray came up to me and said, ‘Remember what we did. Let’s fix it in the second inning.’ I made sure to focus on that, so go thank Ray. He has helped me a ton.”

Triumphant Trio: Garrett, Duvall, Hamilton

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — Billy Hamilton swung hard and watched his soft line drive heading toward Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell and Hamilton said to himself, “Is it high enough? Is it high enough?”

It was. Barely. Bell leaped and nearly nabbed the baseball, but it escaped his grasp and landed in the grass behind him.

Arismendy Alcantara sprinted home from second base and the Cincinnati Reds had a 10th-inning walk-off victory over the Pirates, 4-3, Monday night in Great American Ball Park, with nearly nobody there to witness it.

THE WAY THINGS HAVE GONE for Hamilton, it would not have shocked him had Bell snagged the ball. Hamilton entered the game hitting .213 and hadn’t had a two-hit game in nearly three weeks.

And he already had his one hit for the day, a single in the first inning, after which he stole second and third, but didn’t score.

But he converted this time and said, “I had some good at bats during the game and my confidence was up. I didn’t want to strike out in that situation (with two outs). I didn’t give up and battled even when I got to two strikes.”

REDS STARTING PITCHER AMIR Garrett didn’t get the win despite giving up only two hits over his seven innings. Unfortunately for him, both hits were home runs — Andrew McCutchen and Cincinnati native Josh Harrison.

But Garrett could have annexed the win after Adam Duvall crashed a three-run home run in the sixth, the first runs of the game against Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole.

That gave the Reds a 3-2 lead, but Drew Storen gave up another home run to Josh Harrison, a long blast in the eighth that tied it, 3-3, wiping away Garrett’s victory.

The Pirates ended up with only three hits, all three home runs.

THE LAST TIME GARRETT WAS on the pitching mound, the Milwaukee Brewers not only knocked him off his high horse, they trampled him with 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings.

That didn’t happen Monday night on the GABP mound. Garrett sat tall in the saddle against the Pirates, just the two hits in seven innings.

“It was a good bounceback game for me,” said Garrett, now 3-and-2. “I’m very happy with the outcome. The game against the Brewers? Everything was up for some reason. But it wasn’t something I could fix right away, not in that game at the moment.

“But I had a good bullpen and in the game tonight everything was down and I was able to work off that,” he said. The two errant pitches? McCutchen hit a hanging slider and Harrison hit a fastball away, “And he went with it and put a great swing on it,” said Garrett.

With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Tucker Barnhart worked a full-count walk against Pittsburgh relief pitcher Daniel Hudson.

Alcantara ran for Barnhart and Hudson twice nearly threw the ball away trying to pick him off. On his third try he did throw it away and Alcantara scooted to second, making it easy for him to score on Hamilton’s hit.

“The catalyst again, two days in a row, was Tucker Barnhart grinding out a walk to set the stage,” said manager Bryan Price. “That walk ended up leading to the winning run.”

Said Hamilton of Alcantara (pinch-running for Barnhart) drawing the pickoff error to get in scoring position, “For me, I don’t hit too many balls deep so it would be tough for me to drive him in from first base. When he got to second it makes it easier for a hitter like me.”

Of course, without Duvall’s big blast in the eighth after Hamilton reach on an error and Joey Votto walked on a full count, the Reds would not
have been in position to steal this one away from the Pirates, the Reds fourth straight win over Pittsburgh this season.

“Duvall is terrific and it is always sitting there pending with him,” said Price. “Nobody is going to be great every day, but the threat he has of an extra base hit, a three-run homer or a solo shot to tie it late, he never seems to be in a situation he can’t handle.”

And it was a tough go, but Garrett kept a handle on it until Duvall and Hamilton could clinch it.

Reds stage a comeback in St. Louis

By HAL McCOY

For five innings Sunday afternoon in Busch Stadium, it looked as if it was same ol’ and same ol’ and some ol’ for the Cincinnati Reds against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Put ‘em on base and leave ‘em there.

They left two runners on base in the first, two runners on base in the second and two runners on third against former teammate Mike Leake.

And they trailed, 4-0, after Matt Carpenter’s three-run double in the fifth inning.

FOR ONCE, THOUGH, it was the other team’s bullpen suffering a meltdown and the Reds came from behind to score a 5-4 victory.

With the win, the Reds avoided a road sweep. They were 1-and-4 on trip after losing three straight in Milwaukee and the first game in St. Louis. They were rained out Saturday.

LEAKE, WHO ENTERED THE game 3-and-1 with a 1.32 earned run average, gave up a run in the sixth on a double by Adam Duvall and a single by Scott Schebler.

Duvall, 2 for 17 during the first four games of the trip, finished the day with four hits, including three doubles.

Leake left the game after six innings, believing he finally owned a win over the Reds. He is 0-and-3 in five starts against the Reds while pitching for the Cardinals. The Cardinals have now lost all six games Leake has started against the Reds.

REDS STARTER BRONSON ARROYO was solid for four innings, holding the Cardinals to one run. But things got away from him in the sixth.

Leake started it with a single and Dexter Fowler singled. Aledmys Diaz walked to fill the bases and Carpenter unloaded them with a three-run double over right fielder Schebler’s head.

With Leake out of the game in the seventh, the Reds went to work against Matt Bowman and they did most of their damage with two outs.

Billy Hamilton led with a single before Zack Cozart struck out, one of three times he struck out Sunday. Joey Votto grounded out, putting a runner on second with two outs.

Duvall doubled to right to cut the margin to 4-2. Eugenio Suarez singled to right to make it 4-3 and Suarez went all the way to third on a Cardinals throwing error.

BRENT CECIL REPLACED BOWMAN and Schebler doubled to right to tie it, 4-4.

Trevor Rosenthal began the eighth for the Cardinals by walked Tucker Barnhart on four pitches. Pinch-hitter Devin Mesoraco singled and Rosenthal walked Billy Hamilton on four pitches.

That loaded the bases with no outs but the Reds scored only one run — just enough.

Cozart struck out. That brought up Votto, 0 for 5 with three strikeouts against Rosenthal. But Votto lined a 2-and-2 pitch into center field for a run and a 5-4 lead.

With the bases still full and a chance for the Reds to break it open Duvall struck out and Suarez popped out.

MANAGER BRYAN PRICE BROUGHT in Raisel Iglesias for a two-inning save and he wobbled but survived.

He walked Stephen Piscotty to open the eighth. Yadier Molina struck out and Piscotty was caught in a rundown. Iglesias then struck out Randal Grichuk.

The Cardinals put their first runner on base in the ninth, too, and he reached third base. Kolten Wong singled, took second on pinch-hitter Greg Garcia’s grounder, took third on Dexter Fowler’s grounder but stood on third as the game ended on Aledmys Diaz’s first-pitch ground ball to third.

In addition to the two scoreless innings for Iglesias, the Reds received scoreless innings from Michael Lorenzen and Wandy Peralta, who got the win.

And in addition to Duvall’s four hits, Schebler had three hits and drove in two, Votto had two hits and Tucker Barnhart had two hits.

The Reds have won three of their last 12, all three victories started by Arroyo. The other starters are 0-and-9.

Suarez’s ‘bonehead’ costs Reds

By HAL McCOY

Inexcusable. Unfathomable. Incomprehensible. The ultimate brain cramp.

What happened to Eugenio Suarez Friday night in Busch Stadium was something that shouldn’t happen to a college player or a high school player, let alone a major league player.

But the Cincinnati Reds third baseman was caught daydreaming on the basepath and it turned into a nightmare.

IT WAS A KEY SITUATION for the Reds in a game they eventually lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5.

It was the sixth inning and the Reds trailed only by 3-1 when Devin Mesoraco drew a full count walk with two outs.

That filled the bases, temporarily. Suarez trotted from second to third on the walk. Then inexplicably he rounded third base and took two steps toward home.

Then he turned his back on home plate and stared toward left field. St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina, still holding the ball after the walk, saw Suarez in a fog and fired the ball to third baseman Jedd Gyorko. He applied the tag on Suarez. Instead of bases loaded with two outs, the inning was over.

THEN IN THE BOTTOM OF the sixth the Cardinals scored three runs off starter Tim Adleman to seemingly put the game away.

And it became even bigger when the Reds scored four runs in the eighth inning to come from 7-1 behind to 7-5.

So the Reds lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games.

THE REDS TOOK A 1-0 lead when Scott Schebler hit his third home run in two days, a long blast in the second inning off St. Louis starter Lance Lynn.

The Cardinals scored three times in the third in an inning that began with third baseman Suarez drawing a throwing error on a ball that should have been handled by first baseman Joey Votto.

Kolten Wong quickly doubled for a run and Dexter Fowler lined a two-run home run to make it 3-1.

Gyorko homered with one out in the sixth, then came a walk and a single by Molina, ending Adleman’s night.

BLAKE WOOD TOOK OVER and Randal Grichuk singled for a run. After another walk pinch-hitter Matt Adams hit a deep, bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right for a 6-1 lead.

REDS MANAGER BRYAN Price made a slight adjustment in the lineup. Jose Peraza was given the day off and Zack Cozart was moved from seventh in the batting order to second.

It didn’t work.

Leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton had a hit, but he also struck out twice and has whiffed eight times in his last 19 at bats.

After the Clydesdales were already out of the barn, the Reds scored their four runs in the eighth, started with a single by Cozart and Joey Votto’s eighth home run.

With runners in scoring position, it is a sad story recently. In their last four games, all losses, they are 5 for 37 and 1 for 22 with runners in scoring position.

They were 0 for 20 until Scooter Gennett’s two-run double in the eighth that drew the Reds to within 7-5.

Hamilton came to bat in the eighth with two on and two outs and popped up the first pitch thrown by St. Louis closer Seung Hwan Oh.

Oh then quickly and silently put down the heart of the Reds order in the ninth — ground ball by Cozart, called strike three on Votto, which he disputed, and pop out by Adam (0 for 5) Duvall.

Catcher Devin Mesoraco, almost a year to the day since he last played a game for the Reds, returned to the lineup Friday.

He struck out with two on base in his first at bat, then drew the walk on which Suarez was picked off third base, and singled.