HalMcCoy.com

By HAL McCOY

The Cincinnati Reds ‘Apprentice Pitching Program’ continued Saturday afternoon and this time it was Lisalverto Bonilla making his starting debut.

Bonilla became the eighth different starting pitcher used by the Reds this season and the fourth to make his Reds debut.

And afterward, nobody said, “You’re fired.” In fact, Bonilla was stunningly good against the San Francisco Giants in AT&T Park.

UNFORTUNATELY FOR HIM AND the Reds, the offense was absent without leave again and Bonilla was charged with a 3-1 defeat.

Making his first Major League start since 2014 for the Texas Rangers, the soon-to-be 27-year-old right handed Dominican, was credited with a complete game. And a loss.

He pitched eight innings (the Giants didn’t bat in the bottom of the ninth) and gave up three runs, six hits, walked two and struck out five. It was only the sixth time in the last five years a Reds pitcher threw a complete game and lost.

Unfortunately for him and the Reds, two of the six hits he gave up were solo home runs, a bolt to right field by Brandon Belt in the first inning and a 420-foot blast by No. 8 hitter Justin Ruggiano in the second, his first of the season.

AND BOTH CAME TWO OUTS in the inning. The third run came in the seventh on Michael Morse’s leadoff single and Kelby Tomlinson’s infield hit to shortstop.

After tearing the Giants asunder last week in Great American Ball Park, winning three straight and outscoring the Giants 31-5, the Reds have scored six runs in the first three games this week in San Francisco.

And they’ve managed to win one of those games, 3-2, Thursday. But they lost, 3-2, in 17 innings Friday and 3-1 Saturday.

IT WASN’T AS IF THE Reds didn’t have chance after chance. They were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11. They left seven on base in the first three innings and didn’t score against Giants starter Matt Moore, 1-and-4 with a 6.52 earned run average when the day began.

—They had two on with one out in the first before Adam Duvall and Eugenio Suarez both flied out.

—They loaded the bases after the first two Reds made outs in the second, but Arismendy Alcantara struck out.

—They had two on with one out in the third before Scott Schebler lined to third and Patrick Kivlehan struck out.

After the two home runs against Bonilla in the first two innings it stayed 2-0 until Scott Schebler led the sixth with his 10^th home run. That’s all the Reds would get, though.

BECAUSE THE TWO TEAMS went 17 innings Friday night, emptying their bullpens, they needed length from their starters and got it. Bonilla went eight and San Francisco’s Moore went 7 1/3 innings, giving up one run, eight hits, three walks and struck out seven in a gutty 120-pitch performance.

Moore pitched into the eighth and when he gave up a one-out double to Schebler he was replaced by Hunter Strickland, making his third straight appearance in the series. Kivlehan popped to shortstop on the first pitch and after Strickland balked Schebler to third Devin Mesoraco grounded to second.

Jose Peraza walked with one out in the ninth against Giants closer Derek Law. Alcantara lined hard to center field and Joey Votto popped to shortstop on the first pitch and that was that.

BILLY HAMILTON WAS NOT in the starting lineup and is nursing a strained calf he suffered swinging at a pitch in the 17^th inning Friday. Manager Bryan Price said the day off was not injury-directed. It was a planned day off.

Because of the 17-inning game, Price did rest shortstop Zack Cozart. Jose Peraza moved from second to shortstop and Alcantara played second. To cover Hamilton, Schebler moved move right field to center and Kivlehan played right field.

Schebler had two hits, the only Cincinnati hitter with more than one hit, after he had three in the 17-inning game, the only Cincinnati hitter with more than two hits.

After winning the first four games of the year against the Giants, the Reds have lost two straight and the four-game series finishes Sunday afternoon in AT&T Park.

By HAL McCOY

The Cincinnati Reds-San Francisco Giants baseball game Friday night/Saturday morning was a couple of Alfred Hitchcock movies — ‘The Birds’ and ‘Vertigo.’

In the last segments of the 17-inning game, dozens of sea gulls circled above AT&T Park, waiting for fans to clear out so they could munch on scraps.

And from the fifth inning on, both teams staggered back and forth from home plate as if everybody was suffering from vertigo.

IT ENDED AT 3:43 A.M. Cincinnati time when San Francisco catcher Buster Posey crushed a one-out home run off Robert Stephenson in the bottom of the 17^th for a 3-2 Giants victory.

It was San Francisco’s first victory over the Reds this season after four losses and the run off Stephenson was the first the Giants scored off the Reds bullpen after 19 scoreless innings this season.

IT ALSO WAS A ROUGH night for the umpires, especially home plate umpire Tony Randazzo. He was hit four times by baseballs, one that knocked him off his feet. After the 13^th inning all four arbiters left the field for a potty break and Randazzo left the game.

The last time Reds starter Scott Feldman faced the Giants, last week, he pitched a complete-game shutout.

His shutout Friday night didn’t survive the first batter. Giants leadoff hitter Denard Span homered into McCovey Cove outside the stadium on the eighth pitch of his at bat.

The Reds scored two runs off former teammate Johnny Cueto in the second inning on a single by Scott Schebler, a triple by Scooter Gennett and and sacrifice fly by Tucker Barnhart for a 2-1 Reds lead.

And then the Reds couldn’t find home plate for 15 consecutive innings — the same team that scored 31 runs in three games against the Giants last week in Great American Ball Park.

The Giants tied it in the fifth in a strange way. The first two batters, Christian Arroyo and Buster Posey both dropped bunts down the third base line and beat them out for hits without drawing throws.

Denard Span singled to right field to tie it, 2-2.

THEN CAME A LONG, LONG, LONG string of futility on both sides.

The Reds went from the sixth inning to the 12^th without a hit before pinch-hitter Devin Mesoraco singled. They drew four walks, but couldn’t bribe a hit.

But the Giants were doing no better against the Reds bullpen and the game droned on and on and on.

Feldman pitched seven solid innings, giving up two runs and seven hits. Cueto was even better — seven innings, two runs, five hits.

THE GAME WAS STUFFED WITH base-running blunders.

The Reds had two on with nobody out in the 14^th after Scott Schebler and Scooter Gennett singled.

Tucker Barnhart bunted the runners to third and second. Alas, Jose Peraza grounded to short and Schebler was thrown out at home. Then Giants pitcher Bryan Morris picked Scooter Gennett off second base.

Joey Votto also blundered in the first inning when the Reds had runners on second and first with one out. Adam Duvall popped out to short and Votto was doubled off first.

AND THE GIANTS WERE GUILTY parties, too. Christian Arroyo singled to lead the fourth and Posey missed a pitch on a hit-and-run and Arroyo was out at second base from San Francisco to Oakland back.

When Span singled in the fifth to tie the game he tried to go from first to second on his hit and was thrown out at second.

With two outs in the eighth, Brandon Belt shot a double up the right center gap and should have been content with a double. He tried to stretch it into a triple and made the third out at third on a Billy Hamilton to Zack Cozart to Eugenio Suarez relay play.

It was that kind of night — and early morning.

AFTER FELDMAN LEFT, Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless inning (one hit), Michael Lorenzen pitched a scoreless inning (one hit), Blake Wood pitched two perfect innings, Drew Storen pitched a scoreless inning (one hit) and Austin Brice pitched two perfect innings.

Stephenson pitched two scoreless innings before Posey said enough is enough.

After Cueto left, seven Giants bullpenners held the Reds scoreless for eight innings, three by Bryan Morris (three hits and a walk) and the last relief pitcher available to manager Bruce Bochy, Corey Gearrin.

THE REDS MUFFED AN opportunity in the 15^th when they loaded the bases in the 16^th with two outs. Billy Hamilton went to 3-and-1, but struck out and was 0 for 7. And he injured himself swinging at strike three but had to remain in the game because manager Bryan Price was out of position players.

That also meant that pitcher Stephenson had to bat with two outs in the 17^th and lo and behold he blooped a single, his first major league hit. Eugenio Suarez was hit by a pitch, moving Stephenson to second, but Scott Schebler grounded to first to end that threat.

Both catchers, Cincinnati’s Tucker Barnhart and San Francisco’s Buster Posey caught the entire game.

There were some ugly numbers besides Hamilton 0 for 7. Zack Cozart was 0 for 6 with two strikeouts. Suarez was 1 for 7 with four strikeouts.

There were more than 41,000 fans at the game’s beginning, the Giants 529^th straight sellout, counting post-season games, but there were more sea gulls than fans when it ended.

By HAL McCOY

Not long ago the MLB Network listed the top ten shortstops in the majors and nobody with the initials Z.C. was named.

Zack Cozart, the Rodney Dangerfield of shortstops. No respect.

As have many teams this season, the San Francisco Giants felt the sting of Cozart’s reverberating bat Thursday night at AT&T Park.

Cozart’s rifle-shot double to the wall in left center field in the eighth inning broke a tie and gave the Cincinnati Reds a 3-2 victory.

AFTER DESTROYING THE GIANTS in three games last week in Cincinnati, outscoring them 31-5, the Reds used timely hitting and solid pitching to win their fourth straight of the season over the Giants. And the Reds have won 15 of their last 21 in the City by the Bay.

It was 2-2 in eighth when Scooter Gennett, who entered the game as part of a double switch, tripled off the glove of Denard Span at the right center wall.

After Billy Hamilton grounded out, Cozart drilled a 0-and-2 fastball offered up by Hunter Strickland.

AND DON’T FAULT HAMILTON for not driving home Gennett. Hamilton scored the Reds first two runs of the game. He has scored runs in 11 straight games, the most since Bip Roberts scored in 11 straight in 1991.

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo survived a bumpy start, two early solo home runs and several hard hit balls early in the game.

But he stuck around for six innings and gave up two runs and six hits.

Brandon Belt homered with one out in the first inning and Denard Span homered with one out in the fifth. But that’s all the Giants would get.

TY BLACH STARTED AGAINST the Reds last week and gave up 10 runs in three innings. On Thursday night he retired the first nine Reds.

Hamilton broke the spell leading off the fourth with a single and that man Cozart doubled to right, sending Hamilton to third. He scored on Joey Votto’s ground ball to first base.

Span’s home run in the fifth put the Giant back on top, 2-1, but Hamilton got things started in the sixth with another single.

Cozart’s grounder to second moved Hamilton to third and Votto singled to left for his 33^rd RBI this season, tying the game, 2-2.

THEN CAME SOME escape acts.

Drew Storen started the seventh and retired the first two, then gave up back-to-back singles to pinch-hitter Michael Morse and Span.

Manger Bryan Price brought in lefthander Wandy Peralta and he retired Belt on a fly ball to left.

With one out in the eighth, Brandon Crawford lifted a high, high pop-up to short right. Second baseman Gennett waved everybody off and then missed the ball. He didn’t touch it. It plopped into the grass for a double.

It didn’t perplex Peralta. He struck out Christian Arroyo and ended the inning on a ground ball to first by Joe Panik.

Then came Cozart’s big hit in the eighth to put the Reds ahead and Raisel Iglesias came in for the ninth — and more excitement.

WITH ONE OUT, Nick Hundley blooped a single to center. Pinch-hitter Buster Posey line one hard to right and Scott Schebler made a superior catch waist-high after a long run.

Span then singled, his third hit, putting the tying run on third and the winning run on first.

Belt swung at the first pitch and flied to left, ending the game. Peralta was the winning pitcher and opposing batters are 5 for 49 (.102) against him and one of those hits was the pop-up double that Gennett missed.

By HAL McCOY

If Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price has a piece paper in his desk, diagramming how to use his pitching staff, it was followed to the last comma and last period Tuesday night.

What he wants these days, with the Reds short of quality starting pitchers because three of his best are on the disabled list, is to get five good innings from his starter.

Then, if he has a lead, he can turn it over to Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias.

AND THAT IS EXACTLY how it played out Tuesday night against the New York Yankees in a 5-3 victory.

Starter Tim Adleman held the Yankees to three runs over five innings, Lorenzen pitched two scoreless innings and Iglesias closed it out, albeit shakily, for a scoreless two-inning save.

Iglesias is 6 for 6 in saves and four have been more than one inning.

AND THE REDS STUFFED all their offense into one inning, scoring all five runs on six singles in the second inning.

They had only two other hits and all eight hits were singles. After the five-run second inning, they had a single by Billy Hamilton in the sixth and he was out at second trying to stretch it into a double. And Devin Mesoraco was credited with a single in the eighth after center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury dropped his fly ball after a long run.

The Reds singled Yankees starter CC Sabathia to death in the second inning.

THEY WERE DOWN 2-0 after Adleman gave up an upper deck 448-foot home run to Gary Sanchez in the first and a home run to Didi Gregorius in the second.

The Reds’ second began with back-to-back singles by Scott Schebler and Jose Peraza. Devin Mesoraco drew a walk to fill the bases with no outs.

Adleman struck out, but Billy Hamilton, a .400 hitter with the bases loaded, drilled a two-run single to left field to tie it, 2-2.

Zack Cozart singled to reload the bases and Joey Votto singled to center on a 1-and-2 pitch for two more runs and a 4-2 lead. The fifth run scored on Adam Duvall’s single.

And that was it. And that was enough.

ADLEMAN GAVE UP A run in the fourth when Starlin Castro doubled and Gregorius singled.

Adleman left after five, giving up three runs, five hits, two walks and he struck out six. The native of State Island, N.Y. lifted his record to 2-and-1 after he was called up from Class AAA Louisville to replace injured Brandon Finnegan.

Lorenzen took over in the sixth and retired the first two Yankees, then ran into trouble. He walked Aaron Judge, Gregorius singled for his third hit and Lorenzen hit Chris Carter with a pitch to fill the bases.

He escaped, though, when he coaxed a ground ball fielder’s choice from Ronald Torreyes to end the inning

IGLESIAS TOOK OVER IN the eighth and gave up a one-out single to Judge then retired the next two.

It got scary for the Reds in the ninth when he issued two straight one-out walks, putting the potential tying runs on base.

It ended quickly, though, when Sanchez lined out to third baseman Eugenio Suarez and his snap throw to second base doubled off Aaron Hicks to end the game.

So after losing Monday, 10-4, to the Yankees, the Reds split the series and ended New York’s five-game winning streak.

By HAL McCOY

If the New York Yankees were sleepwalking Monday night in Great American Ball Park, they were sleepwalking with a purpose.

After playing an 18-inning game in Chicago Sunday night that lasted more than six hours, the Yankees arrived in Cincinnati Monday morning as the sun was rising.

Then they put the Cincinnati Reds to sleep Monday night, 10-4, snapping the Reds five-game winning streak and extending their own winning streak to six.

It was difficult to discern which team was up all night.

THE REDS STARTED ROOKIE Davis, a pitcher they acquired from the Yankees in the Aroldis Chapman trade. As it has been for most of Davis’ professional career, he had command and control problems.

It took him 91 pitches to travel 4 1/3 innings and he gave up five runs (four earned), seven hits, walked three and struck out four. And he went to five 3-and-2 counts on the patient Yankees.

And the Reds were left dozing on the basepaths early in the game when they had chances to score.

THE GAME STARTED OMINOUSLY for the Reds when leadoff hitter Brett Gardner grounded toward first. First baseman Joey Votto fielded it and flipped to Davis, covering first. But he didn’t cover the first base bag. He missed it and Gardner was safe.

After a walk, Gary Sanchez singled for two runs and former Reds shortstop Didi Gregorius singled for another run.

So the Reds were down 3-0 before they came to bat.

Then came the frustration. The first three Reds all singled — Billy Hamilton, Zack Cozart and Joey Votto — for a run. But Adam Duvall popped up and Eugenio Suarez grounded into a double play.

IT WAS WORSE IN THE third when the Reds filled the bases with no outs — and didn’t score. Jose Peraza popped up and Tucker Barnhart grounded into a double play.

Then things turned bizarre.

The Reds trailed by only 5-2 when Drew Storen took the mound in the seventh.

Storen became visibly upset with umpire Angel Hernandez’s strike zone and lost his composure.

He hit three batters. And he walked one. When he hit Chase Headley, the third batter he hit in the inning, the bases were loaded and it forced in a run. Then he game up a run-scoring single to former Reds farmhand Ronald Torreyes to make it 7-2.

Storen is the first Reds pitcher to hit three batters in one inning since Raul Sanchez hit three Philadelphia Phillies on May 15, 1960.

Over and out?

NOT YET. WITH starter Masahiro Tanaka still in the game, Zack Cozart drew a two-out walk and Joey Votto crushed his 10^th home run, cutting the Yankee advantage to 7-4.

Then in the eighth, with Barrett Astin pitching, it was Bombers Away. Pinch-hitter Starlin Castro led with a single and Brett Gardner homered. One out later, Matt Holliday, who killed the Reds when he played with the Cardinals, hit a home run, his 20^th career home run against the Reds. And now it was over — 10-4.

Tanaka staggered most of the game, but survived and lifted his record to 5-and-1. He pitched seven innings and gave up four runs (three earned), 10 hits, walked only one and struck out six.

When it finally ended, Reds pitchers had walked seven and hit three while giving up 10 runs and 13 hits. Mix in an error and the Yankees had 24 baserunners.

It was apparent that despite getting to Cincinnati at 6 a.m. Monday, they were wide awake at game time.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.