Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings April 16, 2017

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1 Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings April 16, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1934-The Reds Board of Directors change Redland Field to Crosley Field in honor of Powel Crosley, Jr., the new team owner MLB.COM Winker's clutch 2B highlights Reds' slugfest By Mark Sheldon and Andrew Call / MLB.com April 15th, 2017 CINCINNATI -- The Reds feasted on a bounty of extra-base hits and needed to be gluttonous to outslug the Brewers for a 7-5 victory on Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park. Eight of Cincinnati's 11 total hits were for extra bases. Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the Reds used a three-run rally to take the game back. Eugenio Suarez hit a leadoff triple to right field and scored on Scooter Gennett's RBI single. A two-run double by pinch-hitter Jesse Winker made it a 6-4 lead for the Reds. In the seventh, Joey Votto hit a leadoff double and scored on Gennett's one-out RBI double. "We think we can win every game," Reds shortstop Zack Cozart after his team's record improved to 8-4. "When you go up and down the clubhouse, that's the thing we have. There's no doubt I feel good at the plate, but it feels good to get to that eight wins. We want to continue this. For us, this isn't a fluke. This is us playing well with a lot of energy and we want to continue." The lead changed hands four times in the game as Milwaukee opened a 2-0 advantage in the first inning on Brandon Finnegan before he exited with a strained left shoulder. Cincinnati scored three in the second inning, including Scott Schebler's leadoff homer and Cozart's RBI triple that extended his hitting streak to 10 games. "The only pitch I regretted in that inning was the pitch to Cozart," said Milwaukee starter Zach Davies, who labored through five innings. "It was just a grind for me today." As the Reds' bullpen pieced together the final eight innings, Milwaukee did not go away and hit three homers of its own. Hernan Perez's leadoff homer in the sixth gave the Brewers a 4-3 lead. Eric Thames slugged a pair of long balls including one in the seventh against reliever Tony Cingrani. Often used later in games, it was Raisel Iglesias who pitched two innings in the fifth and sixth and was awarded the victory. Drew Storen chipped in 1 2/3 innings in the seventh and eighth innings while Michael Lorenzen bounced back from a four-run game on Friday, and notched the save with a scoreless ninth. "[Iglesias] is one of those guys that is stretched out and capable of throwing pitches right now," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "If I had to use him, I would have with the risk of beating up other guys that they might get hurt or sore." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Winker's winner: Pinch-hitting in the sixth against Carlos Torres with runners on second and third base, Winker attacked a firstpitch cutter and skied a fly ball that fell into short left field for his first big league hit. Ryan Braun overran the ball as it took a hop away from him towards the line, allowing both runs to score. It was ruled a two-run double. "The ball took a big hop sideways," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. "Ryan was kind of committed; he was aggressive in going after it." Winker, Cincinnati's No. 3 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, received his first callup to the Reds on Friday. "Today I came to the yard and it was like 'whenever I'm called upon, I'm just going to be ready to go to work.' I just wanted to hit the ball hard," Winker said. "I kind of got jammed but it worked. I drove them both in and I was really happy. I was happy we won. I just want to help contribute any way I can." No taming Thames: Thames has decimated Reds pitching with four home runs over the first three games of the series. In the third inning against Robert Stephenson, he lifted a 2-2 pitch to right field for a leadoff homer that made it a 3-3 game. His second homer with two outs in the seventh against Cingrani closed the Brewers' deficit to two runs.

2 "He's taking good swings right now; it's fun to watch," Counsell said of Thames, who is 6-for-12 with seven RBIs in the three games. More > QUOTABLE "It was the first at-bat my grandma has seen and my uncle has seen of me in the pros. They couldn't get to any of the Minor League games because they were busy. Last year when I was in Triple-A and we went to Buffalo, I was hurt so they didn't get to see me there. This was the first one. It was pretty cool my grandma got to see my first hit in the big leagues." -- Winker TAKING ANOTHER LOOK Leading off the top of the sixth against Iglesias, Perez lofted a fly ball to left field that kept carrying and appeared to hit the wall and bounce back into play for a double. The play was reviewed and the call was overturned -- giving Perez his first homer of the season. The replay definitively showed that the ball struck a fan in the seats beyond the fence. WHAT'S NEXT Brewers: Wily Peralta will be looking for a third consecutive solid start to begin the season when the four-game series at Cincinnati concludes at 12:10 p.m. CT. Peralta held the Blue Jays and Rockies batters to a combined.216 average in his first two outings (2-0, 2.45). Reds: The four-game series concludes at 1:10 p.m. ET Sunday with Sal Romano coming up from Triple-A Louisville to make his big league debut. Romano, who pitched well in Spring Training, had 1.38 ERA in two starts for Louisville this season. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV. Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from Follow him on and Facebook and listen to his podcast. Andrew Call is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Reds visit HS to discuss Robinson's legacy Hamilton, Garrett, Hatcher meet students at Hughes High School in Cincy By Mark Sheldon / April 15th, 2017 CINCINNATI -- Jackie Robinson influenced many generations of African-American baseball players in decades long after he broke the color barrier. In their own way on Friday, Reds players Billy Hamilton and Amir Garrett and third base coach Billy Hatcher wanted to pay it forward to the generation that follows them. Saturday marked the 70th anniversary of when Robinson broke baseball's color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, On Friday at Hughes High School in Cincinnati, the members of the Reds visited with student athletes to discuss Robinson's legacy. "It means a lot to give those kids motivation to do things in life and not just baseball, not just being about sports but their careers, things they want to do in school," said Hamilton, the Reds' center fielder. "We talked about doing what you want to do, knowing you can do it and not letting anything stop you." There was also a question-and-answer session with the students and the players were able to share things about their lives in baseball and beyond. "It was fun," Garrett said. "It was a good experience being around all of those kids, letting them pick our brains and us being able to share our knowledge with them about Jackie Robinson Day and what it means. The kids all wanted to know about us and what it took for us to get to the level we're at right now. It's a great feeling to share knowledge with the kids and about the hard work we put in." Odds are that very few of the student athletes at Hughes will go on to a career in professional sports. Hamilton said it was essential for the kids to have goals outside of sports, but also not to quit dreaming. "It's very important, especially for us, to go to those kids and give them a bunch of motivation to want to be successful in life," Hamilton said. "We talked about having a plan and not letting anything stop you from doing what you want to do. "Growing up for me, there were guys who had a bunch of talent but just didn't go through with it because they didn't know they even had the chance to do it. For me to come out of the small town I came from [in Mississippi] and look at those kids to give them motivation to want to be successful in life, it meant a lot for us to be at Hughes."

3 Perhaps the next Hamilton, Garrett or Hatcher will come from Hughes. Actually, there will definitely be another Amir Garrett that comes out of the school -- Garrett met a kid at the program who has the same name. "That was pretty cool," Garrett said. "A lady said we've got Amir Garrett here and I said, 'That's me.' She said, 'That's him, too.' I never met someone with the same first and last name as me." Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from Follow him on and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Gennett providing invaluable pop to Reds By Mark Sheldon / April 15th, 2017 CINCINNATI -- Scooter Gennett was brought in to be a role player for the Reds, but his contributions have been big to this point. Gennett shares the team lead in home runs and leads the club in RBIs while playing mostly part-time in nine games. Getting his first start as a left fielder on Saturday, Gennett was 2-for-4 with two RBIs against his former team during a 7-5 win over the Brewers. He's now batting.320/.346/.760 with three homers and 10 RBIs. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't [add oomph to the day]," said Gennett, who has hit safely in four straight games, going 7-for-14 over that span. "It was definitely a good win. They beat up on us pretty good [in Friday's 10-4 loss] so it was nice to get that win and get us going again. We'll show up tomorrow and hopefully split the series." Gennett notched his first hit in the pivotal three-run sixth inning that gave the Reds the lead for good. He hit an RBI single through the middle that scored Eugenio Suarez for the inning's first run. In the seventh with one out, Gennett added an RBI double to right field that scored Joey Votto. "He swung the bat well. He's shown us power, an ability to hit, to be aggressive in the zone. He's done a lot of things," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "A lot of times we think defense can hurt your offense. He's primarily been a second baseman, but I've had him at second, third, right and left now. He continues to play great baseball. He's definitely a gamer. He's a great addition to this particular ballclub and we're happy to have him. " Gennett was mostly a regular second baseman with Milwaukee, where he played from Since being claimed on waivers by Cincinnati on March 28, he's learned how to stay sharp on the bench. "I think everybody's got a routine of what gets them ready to go," Gennett said. "If I'm not playing, I try to go in the cage every few innings and get some BP. Just so I can stay locked in and ready to go if they do call my name." Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from Follow him on and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Finnegan exits early with shoulder strain Club unsure of how long Cincinnati left-hander may be out By Mark Sheldon / April 15th, 2017 CINCINNATI -- Brandon Finnegan clearly didn't have it in Saturday's start for the Reds against the Brewers. Finnegan lasted only one inning, walked three batters and threw 26 pitches, 16 for balls. The Reds' bullpen followed up with eight innings to get the 7-5 win over Milwaukee. Later, it was revealed that Finnegan was diagnosed with a strained left shoulder. It was not immediately known how much time he might miss because of the injury. "He had a little bit of a sensation after his last start and it seemed like everything was fine," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He did all his throwing progressions, threw his side, we couldn't create any soreness. [He] looked good to go. And then it popped back up in the first inning. It's a shoulder strain, so he won't be making his next start." After he walked his first two batters of the game on nine pitches, Finnegan later gave up a two-out, two-run double to Hernan Perez in the top of the first inning. Finnegan, who reached 96 mph two starts ago, was averaging 90.1 mph on Saturday and topped out at 92 mph according to Statcast.

4 "I couldn't throw the ball anywhere I wanted to," Finnegan said. "I just didn't have it. I just wanted to battle. We definitely needed it from one of our starters. "I wanted to go out there and continue to do well, but could only last one inning. Bryan said he didn't want me to go any longer, he didn't want to make anything worse. That's why he took me out." Finnegan wasn't concerned that he might have a more serious injury. "I talked to Doc and he said it's nothing serious, nothing to be concerned about. I just need to keep working on it and get it better," Finnegan said. "I've never dealt with any arm problems at all. It's definitely new to me. I just want to get back." Starting Monday, when Finnegan lasted only two-plus innings with 69 pitches, the Reds' bullpen has had to carry heavy workload. Rookie Davis lasted three innings before an injury on Wednesday and Scott Feldman pitched five innings on Friday before Finnegan went down on Saturday. This season, the Reds' rotation has worked 55 1/3 innings while the bullpen has logged 51 2/3 innings. "You do whatever you can. The starting pitching has to take on a bigger workload. There's nothing we can do about that. That's the environment we're in," Price said. "There was no way to avoid this one because it was one inning and a shoulder strain. Certainly eight innings of bullpen work doesn't set us up very well for [Sunday]." The Reds will call up Sal Romano from Triple-A Louisville to start Sunday in Davis' place. Don't be surprised if a reliever joins him to give the bullpen a fresh arm. "It's certainly an internal conversation at this point in time," Price said. "It will kind of depend on what we do with Finnegan, I imagine. We'll see if that creates a spot if we go that way." Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from Follow him on and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Romano set for debut against Brewers By Andrew Call / Special MLB.com April 15th, 2017 Major League debuts are becoming an almost daily bit of business for the Cincinnati Reds. Right-hander Sal Romano will become the sixth Reds player to take part in his first big league game Sunday when he is called up from Triple-A Louisville to face Milwaukee at Great American Ball Park. Romano, 23, will join Barrett Astin (April 3), Rookie Davis (April 6), Stuart Turner (April 6), Amir Garrett (April 7) and Jesse Winker (April 14) as first-time Reds. Romano has fared well at Louisville (1.38 ERA, 0.92 WHIP in two starts). He worked seven scoreless innings without issuing a walk against Toledo on Tuesday. He also impressed his bosses during Spring Training with a 3.13 ERA in six games. "For Sal, it's an opportunity," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "It might be a short stay. It might not," Price said. The length of Romano's stay hinges on both his performance Sunday and the health of Davis, who was struck on the forearm by a pitch Tuesday in Pittsburgh and is on the 10-day disabled list. Milwaukee will counter with Wily Peralta (2-0, 2.45), who has limited opponents to a.216 batting average during starts against Colorado and Toronto. Three things to know about this game Reds cleanup hitter Adam Duvall is expected to be back in the lineup Sunday. He was given a day off Saturday after going 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in the series' first two games. Zack Cozart is 3-for-26 (.115) with three strikeouts against Peralta. Peralta has fared considerably better than many pitchers at Great American Ball Park with a 2.63 ERA in seven starts there.

5 Andrew Call is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Garrett, Thames recall Robinson's influence By Alyson Footer / April 15th, 2017 CINCINNATI -- In a game steeped in tradition, it's fitting that little changes from year to year when it's time to honor Major League Baseball's most prolific icon. Twenty years after Jackie Robinson's number was officially retired, and 70 years after Robinson became the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues, April 15 continues to be a day of reflection and celebration in every ballpark, as teams and their fans commemorate the most significant day in baseball history. It's a day when everyone in uniform wears No. 42, in honor of Robinson, who debuted for the Dodgers on April 15, Seven decades later, Robinson's stature as an exemplary ballplayer and Civil Rights activist continues to resonate. In Cincinnati, prior to Saturday's afternoon tilt between the Reds and Brewers, Milwaukee first baseman Eric Thames recalled honoring Robinson as a 17-year-old kid playing for his high school. "I wore my summer ball jersey with my high school jersey on top of it," Thames said. "My summer ball jersey was No. 42. It was hot wearing two jerseys, but I wanted to always remember Jackie Robinson out there. Plus, it was good mojo." To Thames, Robinson was "the mentally strongest player to ever play the game," because of the scrutiny Robinson endured while on the field. "I think about him and what he went through to get out of myself when things are not going great, when I'm tempted to complain about the umpire or the weather of whatever," he said. "Just think about the whole stadium wanting you to fail because of the color of your skin. Yeah, it's going to be really cool to put on No. 42. Really cool." Reds left-hander Amir Garrett was also looking forward to wearing No. 42 with pride. "Jackie was a great person, not only a baseball player," Garrett said. "He was not only an ambassador for baseball but the whole world. He brought people together on the field and off the field as well." As part of the Jackie Robinson Day festivities, the Reds' pregame ceremony included recognition of Eckert Welding as their 2017 Most Valuable Business Partner, while first pitch honors went to Jackie Robinson scholar and University of Cincinnati student Timothy Davis and his friend Michael Ingram, who caught the pitch. Celebrations spanned 15 ballparks on Saturday, with more Jackie Robinson Day festivities coming up once teams who are currently on the road return to their home fields. It's a celebration that over the past 20 years has become a holiday and history lesson rolled into one. "A couple years ago, I was with my son's Little League team on an overnight trip," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "We put on the movie "42." I was blown away by how captivated the kids were with the story. Their jaws were wide open. "It really made an impression on me how powerfully they felt the impact of that story. It's important to baseball and the country that we recognize, honor, and respect it." Alyson Footer is a national correspondent for MLB.com. Follow her on This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Mesoraco nearing return to Reds By Mark Sheldon / April 15th, 2017 CINCINNATI -- Reds manager Bryan Price is big on saying injured players have to "check all of the boxes" before they can return from the disabled list or rehab from a surgery. Catcher Devin Mesoraco is close to achieving those goals. Mesoraco, who is working back from left shoulder and right hip surgeries in 2016, has played eight games on his rehab assignment with Double-A Pensacola. "He's doing great. I talked to him [Friday]," Price said on Saturday. "I talk to [Pensacola manager] Pat Kelly after every outing."

6 Mesoraco, who is 4-for-11 with a home run, caught all nine innings for the first time on Wednesday and followed with playing seven innings on Thursday. He was off on Friday and scheduled to play again on Saturday. Price expected Mesoraco to catch nine innings in three upcoming games, including back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, the Reds could decide to activate him. "We'll have a chance to take a look to see if he's ready," Price said. "We had checklist of three boxes he has to check off. The durability factor. How does he feel after the back-to-back nines? Is it realistic to think he could catch three games in the row without having any setbacks or causing any issues? How does he feel behind the plate? How's he moving behind the plate? The flow of the game, getting his feet out from under him to block. Will he be able to get out of stance and throw? That would be box No. 2. Box No. 3 is how he feels at the plate. Is he comfortable? Is he seeing the ball well? Is his swing where it needs to be? "When those three boxes are checked off, we'll bring him up to Cincinnati." Mesoraco's return would create a roster decision for current backup catcher Stuart Turner, a Rule 5 Draft pick. If the Reds don't keep Turner on the 25-man roster all season, they would have to return him to his former organization, the Twins. "All I will say to that is we don't what to lose Stuart Turner," Price said. "I like what Stuart does. I think he's a kid that helps us in the organization. I think he can play at this level now. He doesn't need more seasoning. However, in the three-catcher [system], it's hard to get him regular playing time, so we have to find a way to do it with a five-man bench." Worth noting Pitcher Homer Bailey, who is rehabilitating from February surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, is making progress. Bailey is long tossing at distances of 180 feet. "That's getting very, very close to being cleared to get off of the mound -- at least throwing some flat-ground bullpen stuff," said Price, who didn't expect to see Bailey back in the Majors until likely mid-june. Before he is cleared to resume throwing, the medical staff plans to have pitcher Anthony DeSclafani (right elbow ligament sprain) to undergo an MRI. That has yet to be scheduled. Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from Follow him on and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Scoreless streak by Reds' bullpen comes to end By Mark Sheldon / April 15th, 2017 CINCINNATI -- As the Reds embarked on their best start to a season since 1990, their bullpen deserved a fair share of the kudos. It was especially satisfying for a group that received much of the blame for last season's struggles. Reds relievers entered Friday night with the National League's best ERA. A 10-4 loss to the Brewers underscored how volatile the business of relief pitching can sometimes be. Milwaukee won the game thanks to a four-run sixth inning, and followed up with a four-run seventh -- all against the bullpen. Cincinnati, which came in with a 1.13 bullpen ERA, saw it jump to 2.67, but the group can only look ahead and not back. "You have to," said reliever Blake Wood, who pitched the sixth and took the bullpen's first loss of the season. "I think the main thing is we're going at guys. We're not walking guys. They just hit the ball tonight. They hit some balls hard. They hit some balls not hard that went through, and it was just their night. Things were going their way, and it just didn't go our way." Wood inherited a 3-2 lead in the sixth but gave up key hits with 0-2 counts. His 0-2 slider was hit for a single by Manny Pina. Following another single and a balk, a Jesus Aguilar RBI groundout tied the game to end a scoreless streak of 20 1/3 innings for the bullpen. Jonathan Villar lined a 0-2 Wood slider to right field that went off of Patrick Kivlehan's glove for a RBI double and the go-ahead run. When lefty Wandy Peralta took over, first batter Eric Thames slugged a 1-2 fastball for a two-run homer. Until then, Reds relievers had stranded all 12 inherited runners this season.

7 It was also the first time this season a Reds reliever allowed a homer to his first batter. Last season, 26 first batters hit homers off of the bullpen -- a single-season franchise record and the most in the Majors since "I can't complain the way [Wood] went after them," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "A couple of times he got into a two-strike count and a couple of guys got him. When Wandy came in and got to two strikes, he was throwing those sliders to Thames. Then he tried to sneak a fastball in there, and he never got off the fastball the entire at-bat and hit the three-run homer. It sent the game, not out of reach, but certainly the probabilities went down after that." Michael Lorenzen couldn't stop the wave in the seventh. After retiring his last 16 batters in a row entering the night, Lorenzen gave up four runs -- his career high as a reliever. "We did a nice job against their bullpen tonight, more than anything. Lorenzen is a good pitcher," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. In 2016, the Reds bullpen led the big leagues in homers allowed, walks allowed, runs allowed and batters hit by a pitch. One rough night doesn't mean a return to tough times, but it bears watching that the rotation is ranked 11th out of 15 NL teams in innings pitched through 11 games. One strand of a silver lining is Cody Reed pitched a perfect two innings in the eighth and ninth. In his last two appearances, Reed retired all 15 batters he faced. "Those are the things that you have to find when a game gets out of control," Price said. "You have to find things that are good." Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from Follow him on and Facebook and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Bullpen can't hold lead, allows eight runs in loss By Mark Sheldon and Andy Call / MLB.com April 15th, 2017 CINCINNATI -- For the first time since the end of the 2014 season, the Brewers are above.500. A 10-4 victory over the Reds on Friday -- boosted by Manny Pina's four hits -- gave Milwaukee its fourth straight victory and a 6-5 record. A four-run sixth inning, followed by a four-run seventh against the Reds bullpen turned a close game into a blowout at Great American Ball Park. Brewers lefty Tommy Milone pitched five innings with three earned runs, six hits, no walks and three strikeouts for the win. Milone trailed 3-0 after three innings when Zack Cozart hit a two-run home run in the second inning, and Joey Votto hit a booming solo homer off of the batters' eye in center field with two outs in the third inning. Starter Scott Feldman pitched five innings for Cincinnati and allowed two runs and four hits but also five walks while throwing 104 pitches. Pina put the Brewers back into the game in the fourth with a two-out, two-run double to right field that made it a 3-2 game. "On a night like tonight, the best thing I can take from the time I was in the game, is I at least kept the team in the game," Feldman said. "It was just a battle tonight. I really didn't have good command at all. It's something I've got to iron out before the next one and make sure it's better from here on out." Blake Wood was charged with three runs in the sixth, including Jonathan Villar's RBI double for the go-ahead run that made it 4-3. But Milwaukee kept banging away as Eric Thames followed with a two-run homer against Wandy Peralta. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Streak ends: In the decisive sixth inning, the Reds bullpen's scoreless innings streak ended at 20 1/3 innings. With a 3-2 lead, Wood gave up a pair of one-out singles to Pina and Orlando Arcia, followed by a balk to set up the tying run with Pina scoring on pinchhitter Jesus Aguilar's groundout. Tough, but catchable: The Brewers took the lead in the sixth on Villar's RBI double against Wood. On the liner to right field, Patrick Kivlehan appeared to take an awkward route and saw the ball skip off of the top of his glove as he fell down. But Statcast data showed it was a harder play than it initially looked. Kivlehan's catch probability on the play was 46 percent, meaning it was makeable but difficult. Considering he had had 3.5 seconds to go 48 feet, it would have been considered a four-star catch.

8 "He was running back. He was trying to make the leaping catch up over his head," Reds manager Bryan Price said of the rookie Kivlehan. "You wish that every ball that touches leather gets caught but baseball doesn't work that way. I didn't think that was a play he should have made. It was a tough play, and he wasn't able to make it." UPON FURTHER REVIEW Pinch-hitter Nick Franklin lined a hit to left-center field off of Michael Lorenzen in the four-run seventh inning with one out and was ruled safe with a two-run triple as he made a head-first slide just ahead of the throw to third base. The Reds challenged the call but upon replay review, officials determined that the call stands. WHAT'S NEXT Brewers: The series continues at 12:10 p.m. CT Saturday with right-hander Zach Davies (0-2, 10.61) trying to bounce back from two rough starts. Davies did retire 12 of the last 13 batters he faced in Sunday's 7-4 loss to the Cubs. Reds: As the series continues at 1:10 p.m. ET Saturday, pregame ceremonies will observe Jackie Robinson Day. Once the game begins, Brandon Finnegan will try to rebound from a poor last start that lasted two-plus innings and 69 pitches and twice loaded the bases before the bullpen had his back in a 7-1 win over the Pirates Monday. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV. Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from Follow him on and Facebook and listen to his podcast. Andy Call is a contributor to MLB.com and covered the Brewers on Friday. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Jesse Winker s first MLB hit helps Cincinnati Reds to win Zach Buchanan, zbuchanan@enquirer.com Published 6:51 p.m. ET April 15, 2017 Updated 13 hours ago Somehow, Jesse Winker knew exactly where to look. Right before he stepped to the plate for his first big-league plate appearance in the ninth inning Friday, he made a point to look around and soak it in. Almost supernaturally, his eyes found his parents in the stands. Then he struck out. So maybe it wasn t Glenn Close standing and draped in a sunbeam in The Natural. It s just as well. When Winker got another crack at it Saturday, his cheering section had swelled. His aunt, uncle and grandmother had made the all-night drive from Buffalo to see him. This time, he got the hit that put the Reds ahead for good in a 7-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the first at-bat my grandma and my uncle have seen of me in the pros, Winker said. They couldn t get to any of the minor league games because they were busy. Last year when I was in Triple-A and we went to Buffalo, I was hurt. If his first at-bat was a soft-landing, at the end of a lopsided loss, the 23-year-old Winker was thrown right into the fire in his second. When he came to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, the game was tied 4-4. There were two runners in scoring position, and two outs on the scoreboard. Winker knew Brewers right-hander Carlos Torres liked to throw cutters. He prepared for one, and took a swing on the first pitch. The contact wasn t hard, but it dropped into left for a run-scoring hit. Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun then misplayed the ball as it rolled his way, gifting Winker a defense-aided double. It kind of beat me because I got jammed but I stayed inside of it and did what I wanted to do, Winker said. Good things happen if you just try to stay short connecting to the ball. At the end of the game, Winker was told he d be returning to Triple-A on Sunday morning. His stay was always meant to be short, his stay lasting only as long as the Reds didn t need a starter. Sunday morning, Cincinnati will call up right-hander Sal Romano in his place. Winker will be back at some point this season. I was happy we won, he said. I just want to help contribute any way I can.

9 Reds bullpen comes up big again, but at what cost? Zach Buchanan, Published 6:13 p.m. ET April 15, 2017 Updated 13 hours ago The Cincinnati Reds always planned to do new and fancy things with their bullpen this year, and touted the versatility and compatibility of their relief pitchers all through spring training. But things are getting ridiculous. On Saturday, for the second time in six days, the Cincinnati bullpen had to pitch most of the game after Brandon Finnegan was pulled early. The first time, Reds relievers tossed seven perfect innings to lock in a road win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. This time, they were asked to handle eight. Finnegan lasted just one inning Saturday, leaving with a strained shoulder muscle that s sure to land him on the disabled list. Again, the Reds managed to win, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-5 at Great American Ball Park. So far this season, the Reds have received 55 ⅓ innings from the rotation. The bullpen has provided 51 ⅔, and has pitched to a 2.79 ERA. If things continue at that rate, the Reds bullpen either will be the most accomplished high-wire act in history, or someone will slip and fall. You do whatever you can, said manager Bryan Price. The starting pitching has to take on a bigger workload. There s nothing we can do about that. That s the environment we re in. Finnegan has had to be picked up more than most, but he s certainly not alone. Only left-hander Amir Garrett has pitched at least six innings each time out. On Monday, Finnegan struggled with command and was pulled before he could blow what seemed to be a healthy lead with no outs and the bases loaded in the third inning. But Saturday he was pulled for health reasons. Finnegan first felt the shoulder issue during his bullpen session two days prior. He alerted the training staff, but the issue seemed to dissipate over the next few days. Saturday it returned. Finnegan averaged just 90 mph with his fastball in his lone inning, down about three ticks from his usual range. Price let him gut through the first, but replaced him with Robert Stephenson for the second. The manager emphasized that there was nothing wrong with Finnegan s lat muscle contrary to previous announcements but that Finnegan would at least miss a start. Odds are it won t be the only one. It's not a good moment right now, Price said. He'll probably miss a little time. Losing Finnegan means losing the only pitcher in the rotation who made at least 30 starts in the majors a year ago. The options behind him either Stephenson or Cody Reed out of the bullpen, or Tim Adleman, Lisalverto Bonilla or Luis Castillo in the minors don t offer much in terms of predictability. If the rotation continues to turn in abbreviated starts, the bullpen s load won t lighten. The Reds do have some flexibility fresh arms can be flipped around between the big-league rotation, the big-league bullpen and the minors but some rotation stability would save a lot of head and arm aches. Already, Price is having to get more creative than he probably expected. Saturday, he had three different relievers take at-bats. In the fifth, the National League world inverted itself when hitter Billy Hamilton bunted over pitcher Raisel Iglesias. In the bottom of the seventh, Price was forced to let Drew Storen take his first plate appearance since his rookie year in Storen had batting gloves, but had to borrow a bat from catcher Tucker Barnhart. He used a spare batboy helmet from a storage room off of the clubhouse. He actually made contact, grounding out to first to end the inning. It's all hands on deck. This time, the Reds had enough offense survive the scramble. We ve gotten tested early, so any guys with low experience are learning quick, Storen said. It s always feast or famine down there, man. You re either asking to get into a game or you need the day off. At this point, it's more like Cincinnati relievers are being force-fed. Pretty soon, they ll be full.

10 Doc: Bullpen usage good for Price, for now Paul Daugherty, Published 6:17 p.m. ET April 15, 2017 Updated 13 hours ago Michael Lorenzen does it all! He pitches the 3rd inning, he pitches the 9th and it works out great either way! He also hits home runs! The Reds grand bullpen experiment might not have the durability needed for a six-month haul. There is no warranty on the Gang of Eight. If they keep putting in the innings they re putting in now, maybe they ll all need surgery by Labor Day. But now? Now, it s pure genius. Bryan Price is the master puppeteer, pulling all the unconventional strings. Last Monday in Pittsburgh, he called for Lorenzen with nobody out in the 3rd and his club already ahead, 5-1. Brandon Finnegan was throwing blanks, wildly. It wasn t genius to see Finnegan would be a short-timer. It was genius to take him out before things could get itchy. Conventional thought says to nurse Finnegan through five innings. Give him a chance to straighten himself out, and possibly earn a win. We have a decent lead. Price wisdom says, why take chances? Bring in one of your best relievers in a big situation, even if it s only the 3rd inning. Lorenzen got out of the jam with no damage, then worked two more innings in what was a 7-1 Reds cruise. On Saturday against Milwaukee, he pitched a tidy 9th for the save in a 6-4 win. That was after Robert Stephenson worked three solid innings and Raisel Iglesias two. Price is dealing aces from the bottom of the deck. He is leading the charge to de-la Russa-fy bullpen notions. It s a beautiful thing. And effective. We didn t sign any of these guys to be a closer, Price said. We don t have anyone where we say, don t go down to the bullpen until the 6th or 7th inning. The only way it works is if you have a group of guys willing to sign on for this, and we do. It s the perfect storm of the young and the guileless. Young pitchers not yet worried about roles, because (1) they re just trying to stay useful and (2) they re under club control financially, so being a great 8th-inning guy wouldn t be especially lucrative, anyway. And at least for the moment, the Gang of Eight have the live arms and the work ethic to pull it off. Pitching an inning on consecutive days is not an issue. Said Lorenzen, When you pitch, it s you against you. You re competing against yourself. Roles are a little overrated. But this is a business, and that s how guys go get paid, based on those roles. You don t get paid unless you re compared to someone else. When they have no one to compare you to... A manager can do what Price is doing now. He has no Aroldis Chapman prima donas, declaring when they must be used. He has no veteran relievers with tender psyches to pamper and contracts to worry about. He just has guys like Lorenzen, Iglesias and Stephenson. Stephenson started the 2nd inning Saturday, after Finnegan strained his shoulder. Stephenson is a starting pitcher by trade, and a much-hyped one at that. No matter. He s a member of the Gang of Eight now. Aside from a solo homer allowed to Eric Thames (who s homering off everyone) Stephenson steadied the day with three solid innings. Stephenson still wants to start, but he enjoys what s going on now. When he says, I m just going to go out there whenever they want me to go out there, he might actually mean it. We have this group of guys, no one is established enough to take control of anything, says Price. That s the message. Be ready. We re going to give you a heads up, but be ready to be brought in in the 3rd or 4th inning from time to time. This is smart baseball, engaged baseball. Baseball that asks a manager to stray from what is comfortable. Price has no Guys in his bullpen. He has no cruise control. He has to drive the car, every mile of the way. The manager doesn t want to make a deal of it. If he had Chapman, it s doubtful he d bring him into a game in the 3rd inning. But he doesn t. And just maybe, he s destroying some hardball dogma that needed destroying a long time ago.

11 I m not trying to make a point. We re trying to win every game, said Price. You do whatever you can. This is the environment we re in. Perhaps when Homer Bailey and Anthony DeSclafani return, the bullpen will not be unconventional musical chairs. As Price admitted after the game Saturday, Eight innings of bullpen work doesn t set us up well for tomorrow. Tomorrow is tomorrow. Living in the moment isn t so bad right now. Thanks to the Gang of Eight. Cincinnati Reds rebound, beat Milwaukee Brewers Zach Buchanan, zbuchanan@enquirer.com Published 4:27 p.m. ET April 15, 2017 Updated 13 hours ago We ll have more in a bit on the Cincinnati Reds 7-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday at Great American Ball Park. Until then, here are the main storylines. Box score:reds 7, Brewers 5 Brandon Finnegan struggled, and left with an injury after one frame. For his second consecutive start, the 24-year-old left-hander struggled to find the strike zone. Eight of Finnegan s first nine pitches were balls, and he walked three of his first four batters. He alleviated the pressure only somewhat by picking Jonathan Villar off at second. A two-out Hernan Perez double scored two runs, although Finnegan got Keon Broxton looking to end the inning. But at the beginning of the second, the lefty was replaced by right-hander Robert Stephenson, despite the fact that Finnegan had cruised after a rough first in his first start of the season. The answer to the riddle came in the sixth, when the Reds announced that Finnegan had exited with a strained left lat. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Robert Stephenson delivers in the second inning. (Photo: Kareem Elgazzar) Bryan Price continued to be aggressive with his bullpen. Stephenson allowed one run over three innings on a solo homer by Eric Thames but his presence on the mound could be explained by Finnegan s injury. When he was followed by righty Raisel Iglesias to start the fifth, the only explanation was that Price was leaning hard into his modern bullpen usage plan. Iglesias, arguably the team s best reliever, pitched a perfect fifth and then hit for himself to start the bottom half of the inning. He stroked a double and then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Billy Hamilton an odd bit of role reversal but was stranded there to keep the game tied. But even the best bullpen arms get hit. In the sixth, with the wind carrying out to right, Iglesias allowed a solo home run to Perez that put the Reds behind 4-3. It was initially ruled a double, but a replay review determined that the ball hit off a fan and bounced back into the field of play. The Reds stormed back, thanks in part to Jesse Winker. Winker, the team s No. 3 prospect who was called up Friday, struck out in his first big-league at-bat to end Friday s game. The Reds were well behind at that point, so it was a soft landing. Saturday, he was sent to the plate in a much more crucial situation. Eugenio Suarez had tripled to start the sixth, and then scored on a single up the middle by Scooter Gennett to tie the game at 4-4. After a Zack Cozart walk, both runners moved up on Tucker Barnhart s sacrifice bunt. Then Winker stepped in, batting for Iglesias against Brewers right-hander Carlos Torres. The 23-year-old outfielder offered at the first pitch he saw, a fastball at the bottom of the zone, and poked it into left for a go-ahead hit. Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun nonchalantly approached the rolling ball and sloppily let it roll past him, allowing another run to score. It was officially scored a two-run double, instead of a hit and an error. The Reds almost gave it back in the seventh. Left-hander Tony Cingrani took over after the Reds went ahead in the sixth, and got two quick outs. He then got ahead of Thames 2-0 before delivering a ball followed by a meatball over the middle. Thames crushed it to center field for his second homer of the game, and fourth in the last three. That cut the Reds lead to 6-5. The Brewers continued to threaten. Ryan Braun doubled to left, leading Price to replace Cingrani with Drew Storen. Storen walked Domingo Santana, but was saved from giving up the lead when Joey Votto made a nice catch of a Perez liner to end the inning. The Reds took advantage of the reprieve in the bottom of the inning. Votto smacked an opposite-field double to start things off, and eventually scored on Gennett s double to make it 7-5. Further damage was mitigated for the Brewers when Storen was allowed to hit for himself and grounded out to end the inning.

12 Storen remained in the game to strike out two in a scoreless eighth. Injury notes: Devin Mesoraco, Homer Bailey, Anthony DeSclafani Zach Buchanan, zbuchanan@enquirer.com 11:34 a.m. ET April 15, 2017 Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco will embark upon his final test before being activated from the disabled list this week, as he s slated to catch back-to-back nine-inning games Tuesday and Wednesday for Double-A Pensacola. Mesoraco will also catch nine innings Sunday before resting a day. He previously caught back-to-back games this past Wednesday and Thursday, but he exited after seven innings in the second game. Mesoraco has hit just.211 with a.579 OPS in 19 plate appearances on his rehab assignment as he works to build durability following shoulder and hip surgeries last season. We ll have a chance to take a look to see if he s ready, manager Bryan Price said. Right-hander Homer Bailey isn t eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list until June, but Price said the wait may be a bit longer than that. Bailey is currently playing catch at 180 feet, which puts him close to being able to throw off a mound. Still, Price said the team will be cautious with the veteran, who is coming off surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow. The procedure was Bailey s third in the last three years. I would say it s more realistic to look at him in the second half of June as opposed to the first half, Price said. Fellow righty Anthony DeSclafani is even further behind that. DeSclafani was shut down in spring training with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, and had a platelet-rich plasma injection to promote healing. It s been more than a month without throwing, but DeSclafani will rest for another couple weeks. At that point, he ll undergo an MRI and other scans to determine if the ligament has healed enough to return to throwing. WCPO - Channel 9 Fay: Reds bullpen allows for a 7-5 comeback over Milwaukee Brewers John Fay 4:59 PM, Apr 15, :49 PM, Apr 15, 2017 CINCINNATI It looked like reality showed up this weekend. For two games and one inning, the Milwaukee Brewers made the Reds look bad. A couple of bad starts. A bullpen blowup. Then Saturday, the Reds' starting pitcher left after one inning. But the Reds suspended reality a little longer with a 7-5, come-from-behind victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday at Great American Ball Park. The key? A lot of offense and more good innings from the unconventional bullpen. Michael Lorenzen earned the save; he's the third Red to get one. The closer, Raisel Iglesias, got the win after pitching the fifth and sixth -- but more on that later. Saturday s game shaped up early like a third straight loss. Brandon Finnegan struggled through a first inning. He walked three and gave up two runs, and he did not return for second. It was later announced that he strained a lat muscle. Reds manager Bryan Price said later it was a shoulder strain. Bottomline, Finnegan is going to miss at least his next start. Price was somber after the game, even with all the good things that happened coming back twice, Jesse Winker s first hit, Scooter Gennett s big day against old club. It s not a good moment right now, Price said. He ll miss a little time. Finnegan, the 24-year-old left-hander, has never had arm problems.

13 I talked to doc, Finnegan said. He said it s nothing serious. I have to work on it and get it better. Finnegan s departure left eight innings for the bullpen, which pushes the season average of innings pitched by the bullpen to 5.19 innings per game. That s a lot. That s a whole lot. The starting pitching is looking more and more like the disaster everyone predicted it would be. Consider the projected top three starters Homer Bailey, Anthony DeSclafani and Finnegan all could be on the disabled list by Sunday. The starting pitching has to take on more of their workload, Price said. There s nothing we can do about that. That s the environment we re in. Price has been masterful at dealing with a tough situation. He did it again Saturday. He sent Robert Stephenson out for the second. Price went unconventional and brought in Iglesias, his best reliever and quasi-closer, to pitch fifth and sixth. Actually, Price wasn t being unconventional. The reason was I felt he could throw three innings, Price said. There weren t a ton of options. Iglesias gave up a home run to newly minted power sensation Eric Thames in the sixth to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead. Iglesias s spot came up at the bottom of the sixth with runners on second and third, so Price pinch hit with Winker. Winker came through with his first hit was a two-run, bloop double. All first hits are memorable, but Winker s came in front his grandma who drove with his uncle and cousin from Buffalo last night to see it. It was the first time she saw him hit as a professional. They road-tripped it, Winker said. It was pretty cool that grandma got to see my first hit in the big leagues. The Reds added another in the seventh. That was more than enough for the bullpen, which allowed three runs over eight innings all on solo home runs. That s huge, Gennett said. I think our bullpen is really good, probably one of the best in baseball. I ve never seen so many guys throw 95, 96 in my life. If the starters get into a little trouble, we have a lot of confidence in our bullpen. We have a couple guys who can throw a few innings. They re giving us a chance to come back. They did Saturday. Reality will have to wait. But who knows? Maybe this is real Reds team. For the most part, it s trying to stay in the game and never give up. John Fay is a freelance sports columnist; this column represents his opinion. Contact him at johnfayman@aol.com. What needs to happen before Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco returns John Fay 11:36 AM, Apr 15, 2017 CINCINNATI -- Catcher Devin Mesoraco is getting close. Mesoraco is scheduled to catch back-to-back nine-inning games Tuesday and Wednesday. At that point, we ll have a chance to take a look to see if he s ready, Reds manager Bryan Price said. Mesoraco, recovering from shoulder and hip surgeries, is eight days into a rehab assignment at Double-A Pensacola. He s doing great, talked to him yesterday, Price said. I talk to (Pensacola manager) Pat Kelly after every outing. (Mesoraco s) doing good. He s going have a 9, a day off, and back-to-back 9s.