Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings May 23, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY

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1 Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings May 23, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1910-Dode Paskert steals second, third and home in one inning against the Boston Doves in a win, 6-5 MLB.COM Reds top Tribe to take Ohio Cup opener By Mark Sheldon and Jordan Bastian / MLB.com 12:44 AM ET + 79 COMMENTS CINCINNATI -- For the first time in his brief career, Reds right fielder Scott Schebler has slugged a home run in three straight games. Schebler's homer to lead off the bottom of the second inning helped Cincinnati to a 5-1 victory over Cleveland in Monday's Ohio Cup series opener. The Reds already held a 1-0 lead thanks to Adam Duvall's two-out RBI single off Indians starter Josh Tomlin in the first inning. Schebler lifted the first pitch that Tomlin offered in the second inning -- an 85-mph cut fastball -- into the right-field seats for the homer. That had him tied for second in the National League with 13 homers for the season. "I happened to put a good swing on a pitch down the middle," said Schebler, who is 6-for-13 in his last four games. "[Tomlin] probably wasn't trying to throw it there, but you have to take advantage of the mistakes when they make them." Reds starter Scott Feldman struck out each of his first five batters and nine of his first 10 to keep Cleveland quiet much of his night. The Indians picked up a run when Jason Kipnis hit a 2-2 Feldman pitch for a leadoff homer in the top of the sixth. Feldman finished with one earned run, four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts over six innings. Tomlin was out after 6 1/3 innings, charged with five runs (four earned), nine hits, no walks and four strikeouts. "[Feldman] lived at the bottom of the zone," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "We didn't do a lot. We had a couple pretty good chances, and we didn't cash in. I just thought off of the fastball, there was some deception, and there's good movement on his fastball." Cincinnati created some space with a three-run bottom of the seventh that included an RBI squeeze bunt by pinch-hitter Arismendy Alcantara against Tomlin and Zack Cozart's two-out, two-run single against Dan Otero for a four-run lead. The Ohio Cup rivalry hadn't been much of one recently. Cleveland entered having won nine of 10 against Cincinnati since the start of 2015, including wins in all four games in '16. There is one more game at Great American Ball Park before the Interleague matchup moves along the shores of Lake Erie for two more games beginning Wednesday. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Big opportunity missed by Cleveland: Feldman appeared to hit a wall in the sixth, with the Kipnis homer followed by Francisco Lindor's double and a four-pitch walk to Michael Brantley that put the potential go-ahead run on base. After Carlos Santana bounced into a double play, Edwin Encarnacion nearly picked up the slack when he demolished a long foul ball to left field that narrowly missed being a homer. Encarnacion was ultimately caught looking at a sinker for strike three and struck out for the third time. The Indians wound up 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. "Late, at the end, it was far, and then I saw the ball move to the left. It's unfortunate," Encarnacion said of his near home run. "You want to get results. The only thing I can do about it is continue to keep working hard and continue to try to do the best I can do, and continue to work and find a way." More > You're squeezable: Back-to-back one-out singles by Jose Peraza and Tucker Barnhart against Tomlin in the seventh put runners on the corners. Instead of going with a power guy, Reds manager Bryan Price summoned Alcantara and put on the safety squeeze play. Alcantara perfectly bunted to the right side between the mound and first base, and Tomlin's rushed throw went into right field for an error. Peraza didn't break for the plate until the throw, which put two men into scoring position as the lead stretched to two runs.

2 "In that situation you don't want to sell out," Price said. "They might sniff something out and pitch out or just throw a pitch that we can't get down. A safety squeeze in that situation doesn't force the runner to break early or the hitter to have to bunt at the pitch. It ended up working in our favor." QUOTABLE "I could have sworn that thing was fair. Scott said the same thing. He thought it was going to hit the scoreboard. It was absolutely crushed. Luckily, it went foul. He threw probably the best pitch of the night on the [last] pitch, a backdoor sinker. After that hit-andrun, Edwin said, 'That was the best pitch he threw all night. It was nasty.' I said it came at a great time." -- Barnhart, on Encarnacion's long foul ball in the sixth SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Raisel Iglesias finished the game for the Reds in a non-save situation and pitched a scoreless ninth, with a leadoff double and two strikeouts. Iglesias has not allowed a run in his last 11 appearances and 12 1/3 innings pitched, tying the longest scoreless streak of his career. His last run allowed came on April 23, vs. the Cubs. He has a 0.76 ERA in 18 appearances this season. SANTANA'S EVENTFUL NIGHT With no designated hitter available in Cincinnati, Francona started Santana -- typically the first baseman -- in right field. In the second inning, the move nearly backfired on a foul popup off the bat of Peraza. While trying to chase down the fly ball, Santana crashed hard into the side wall, and remained on the ground in pain for several moments after jarring his back. After a visit with Francona and head athletic trainer James Quinlan, Santana stayed in the game. "It looked violent," Francona said. "So I was just glad when they said it wasn't his head or his knee. By the time I got out there, you could tell he was OK. He was just trying to catch his breath." That gave Santana a chance to show off his athleticism in the sixth, which he ended with a diving catch to rob Eugenio Suarez of a hit. Santana then threw to shortstop Lindor, who relayed it to Kipnis at second for a double play. According to Statcast, the catch probability on the play was 24 percent, making it Cleveland's first five-star catch of the season. WHAT'S NEXT Indians: Carlos Carrasco (4-2, 2.60 ERA) got through his week with no issues after experiencing tightness in his left pectoral muscle in his previous outing, on May 15. The big righty is scheduled to return to the mound for a start against the Reds on Tuesday in a 7:10 p.m. ET Interleague tilt at Great American Ball Park. Reds: Coming off a poor start in his return from Triple-A Louisville, rookie Amir Garrett will seek better fortunes when he faces Cleveland on Tuesday. Garrett, who is 3-3 with a 5.18 ERA, gave up six earned runs, five hits and four walks on Thursday in a 9-5 loss to the Cubs. 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 Read his blog, Mark My Word, follow him on and Facebook and listen to his podcast. Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from Read his blog, Major League Bastian, follow him on and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Feldman gives Reds sorely needed solid start By Jeremy Vernon / MLB.com May 22nd, COMMENTS CINCINNATI -- Weeks of poor starting-pitching performances had put a strain on the Reds' bullpen and left the team sorely in need of a solid outing from Scott Feldman on Monday. Feldman came through, tossing six innings of one-run baseball in a 5-1 win over the Indians. Before Monday, Reds starters were 0-7 with an 8.79 ERA over the previous nine games, a stretch in which the team went 1-8. Feldman had lasted just 2 2/3 innings in his previous start, giving up five runs in a 7-5 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday.

3 "You never want to throw up a clanker like that last one, but you have to have a short memory in this game," Feldman said. "And baseball's just one of those funny games. You have some good and some bad, and you've just got to try to battle.... It's a long season, and luckily, I did better than last time." Feldman burst out of the gate by striking out the first five batters he faced. His off-speed stuff fooled the Cleveland lineup the first time through -- all three strikeouts in the first inning came via his curveball. Through five innings, he retired 15 of 18 and gave up two hits. "We had a meeting before the game and talked about the game plan," catcher Tucker Barnhart said. "He said, 'You going to fill in the spots that I leave out as far as attacking these guys?' There was maybe one guy in there I offered some input on. It was like he was reading the [same] sheet of paper that I had. From the meeting, we were in a rhythm. We were on the same page." But things went smoothly for only so long. Feldman gave up a solo home run to Jason Kipnis to lead off the sixth. Then Francisco Lindor doubled to left, and Michael Brantley walked on four pitches. That brought pitching coach Mack Jenkins out from the dugout. "Mack came out for a visit and told me to get a double play," Feldman said. "And it worked out, luckily." Feldman and Barnhart opted for a changeup -- a pitch Feldman threw just four times all night -- to force the Indians' next batter, Carlos Santana, into a double play. Following a mistake pitch that Edwin Encarnacion nearly crushed for a homer -- it curved foul and hit the side of the scoreboard -- Feldman got Encarnacion to look at an inning-ending strike three, ending the best chance Cleveland had to take the lead. "Luckily, it went foul. He threw probably the best pitch of the night on the [last] pitch, a backdoor sinker," Barnhart said. Many of the Reds' struggles over the past few weeks have stemmed from their rotation. Coming into the series, Cincinnati's combined starters' ERA of 5.93 was the worst in baseball. But for at least for one day, they can credit a starter for leading the team to victory. "He gave us a chance to take a lead," manager Bryan Price said. "That's been tough for us here lately. He put up a zero, he was locked in and was able to get through their lineup that first time through with some strikeouts." Jeremy Vernon is a reporter for MLB.com based in Cincinnati. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Finnegan set for important step in recovery By Mark Sheldon / May 22nd, COMMENTS CINCINNATI -- Dealing with a strained teres major muscle near his left shoulder since he was placed on the disabled list on April 16, lefty starter Brandon Finnegan never expected to be out as long as he has. "I thought it was going to be a little, quick 10-day thing and start throwing again and be back in a couple of weeks, but it definitely took a lot longer than I expected," Finnegan said on Monday. "They're just being smart. Can't be mad at them for that. I feel good, though. That's all that matters." On Tuesday, Finnegan will take an important step, as he's scheduled to throw from a mound for the first time. He is expected to throw 20 pitches, and after a few days off, he will advance to 35 pitches on Saturday. He hopes that his rehab program will accelerate from there. "I think it'll go by pretty quick, especially once I start getting off the mound instead of playing catch every day," he said. "I think it will definitely start going pretty quick here starting tomorrow, so I'm pumped." Finnegan is one of three injured pitchers who were being counted upon to make large contributions to the rotation. But he made just three starts, with a 2.70 ERA; Homer Bailey (bone chips in right elbow) and Anthony DeSclafani (sprained ulnar collateral ligament in right elbow) have yet to pitch this season. "If everything goes well, we'll be able to continue on with his rehab, throwing and getting closer to getting him into games and getting back here sometime in June, hopefully back in our rotation," manager Bryan Price said of Finnegan.

4 Although DeSclafani isn't due back until after the All-Star break, Bailey and Finnegan could both return soon to boost a rotation badly in need of reinforcements. "They're very, very close," Price said. "Then again, take it with a grain of salt. [Finnegan could return] somewhere between [June] 19 and 24. That would be terrific. He might be a little later than that, just because he's just getting off the mound. It's not unrealistic to think we'll see them both in the month of June." 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. Garrett gets his first taste of Ohio Cup By Jeremy Vernon / MLB.com May 22nd, COMMENTS The Ohio Cup continues on Tuesday night as the Indians and Reds meet at Great American Ball Park to finish a two-game set before moving to Progressive Field on Wednesday to finish the season series. Taking the hill for Cincinnati is rookie left-hander Amir Garrett, and Carlos Carrasco will start for Cleveland. Garrett is coming off one of the worst starts of his young career. Against the Cubs on May 18, he gave up five hits and six runs in four innings. He has struggled with his command of late, walking at least three in each of his last four starts. Carrasco has been one of the lone bright spots in the Indians' rotation this season, as Cleveland is 6-2 in his starts. He came out of his last start early after experiencing tightness in his left pectoral, but manager Terry Francona said there haven't been any further issues. "Once he got examined, I think we felt pretty good. But then the next day [we felt even better]. When guys show up the next day, that's normally when, if something's going in the wrong direction, you get a pretty good indication pretty quickly." Three things to know about this game The Indians and Reds came into this series with two of the worst starters' ERAs in baseball. Cincinnati's starters have a combined ERA of 5.93, the highest in the Majors, while Cleveland's 4.98 ERA is worst in the American League. Only two Reds -- Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez -- have more than five career at-bats against Carrasco, but they have a combined.389 average and a pair of home runs against him. Among all pitchers who have ended at least 50 at-bats with offspeed pitches, Carrasco's.094 slugging percentage allowed is the lowest. He has given up one extra-base hit (a double) on his curveball, slider or change. Jeremy Vernon is a reporter for MLB.com based in Cincinnati. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Arroyo seeks answers after rough outing By Mark Sheldon / May 21st, COMMENTS CINCINNATI -- Giving up home runs in large amounts has often been part-and-parcel of Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo's body of work -- even when he was younger with an arm at 100 percent. But they're coming in bunches this season at a time when he's 40 years old with slower velocity and lesser stuff. Arroyo gave up four solo homers and six earned runs over 5 1/3 innings during the Reds' 6-4 loss to the Rockies on Sunday. That gave him nine homers allowed over his last four starts. In nine starts, Arroyo has a 3-4 record and 6.75 ERA. He realizes that even with manager Bryan Price firmly in his corner, he needs to be better or his feel-good comeback story might end. "You can't continue to give up a run an inning and expect a big league ballclub to keep running you out there, time after time," said Arroyo, who allowed nine hits. "But I think in the position we're in now, we've got a lot of guys that are still hurt that are going to be back in about a month or month-and-a-half. That's going to be my window of opportunity to see if I can solidify myself as somebody who can definitely continue to be successful at a rate that's good enough to be a big league starter." Injured starters Homer Bailey and Brandon Finnegan could be back in June or July, and Anthony DeSclafani might be back after the All-Star break.

5 Price has no plans to remove Arroyo from his rotation. "Certainly, he's a veteran pitcher. He's a quality human being and he's a big part of the culture here in our clubhouse," Price said. "It's a challenging game. It's unforgiving. It doesn't even respect the best of people or the best of pitchers and players. I just have a lot of optimism with him because he knows how to pitch and he's been a winner." Before his last two starts, the Reds had won five straight times when Arroyo pitched -- including a two-run, six-hit performance over six innings on May 11 at San Francisco. On Sunday, Arroyo held Colorado scoreless the first two innings with three strikeouts. He was showing multiple arm angles and feeding hitters a diet of slow breaking balls. With the Reds leading 1-0 in the third inning, the Rockies caught up and it was pitcher Kyle Freeland who hurt him by hitting a double in a sacrifice bunt situation to set up the decisive inning. "Even when you're aware, if it's well-located and the breaking ball has the teeth and the grab, it's still a really tough pitch to hit," Price said. "However, when you're conscientious of staying back and you're not concerned with an mph fastball, then the mistakes tend to get exacerbated or exploited. I think that's what happened today." According to Statcast, 55 of Arroyo's 89 pitches were offspeed pitches in the low-to-mid 70s mph. His fastball averaged 84 mph. "I had a sharp breaking ball today, early on. But I've got to find ways to get deeper in the game," Arroyo said. "In the past, I've had the ability to beat people in multiple ways. Right now, I feel I have a little bit fewer ways to beat people with different options. After I get through that lineup a few times, sometimes I might have to be showing the tricks in my bag a little too early. I don't know. I think the next two or three starts will probably tell you if I'm bouncing back and it's just going to be that up-and-down or if it's going to be really, really tough for me the rest of the year. I don't know." 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. CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Small ball and a narrow miss lead to Reds win C. Trent Rosecrans, crosecrans@enquirer.com Published 11:39 p.m. ET May 22, 2017 Updated 8 hours ago When Arismendy Alcantara was growing up, he knew he wasn t going to be the biggest player on the diamond, so he had to figure out other ways to contribute than brute force. Growing up you start bunting, because I'm not too tall, so I've got to play the little game, Alcantara said following Monday s 5-1 victory over Cleveland. You practice a lot. Alcantara s practice paid off with a perfectly executed safety squeeze in the Reds three-run seventh, giving Cincinnati a cushion to finish off the final two innings in the first game of the four-game, home-and-home series with Cleveland. It's just playing ball, it's just fun, guys out there executing, said Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart, who was a part of the inning that featured three runs on four singles. It's a fun brand of baseball, it's a way this team can play. We've got a lot of versatility throughout the order. It showed tonight. Holding a one-run lead in the seventh, Reds second baseman Jose Peraza hit a one-out single and that s when Reds manager Bryan Price turned to small ball, first calling for a hit-and-run with Barnhart. You can't steal off of (Cleveland starter Josh) Tomlin, he's too quick to the plate, he throws over a lot, he varies his times, nobody steals off this guy, Price said. So the options are something like that with Tucker, he's going to get the sign, he's going to get the ball in play and also if he hits the ball on the ground, he's a good double play candidate. We really wanted to get that runner in scoring position and have a shot at an add-on run. The switch-hitting Barnhart said he feels especially confident at being able to put the ball in play from the left-hand side. In fact, he prefers to have the hit-and-run on. There's so much thinking going into this game, that it's one of those plays that it's nice to have the thinking done for you and just go out there and try to put the bat on the ball, Barnhart said.

6 Not only did he have the thinking done for him, Tomlin offered Barnhart a perfect pitch, a cutter up and away that he was able to flick into left field. When he hits the ball and I see the shortstop, I say I'm going to third base," Peraza said. With runners on the corners and the pitcher s spot up, Price sent up Alcantara. Cleveland had both left-hander Boone Logan and right-hander Dan Otero up ready in the bullpen, so Price decided to go with the switch-hitting Alcantara over left-handed hitting Scooter Gennett. Alcantara offered speed if he did hit the ball on the ground and also the ability to bunt. Price didn t call for the safety squeeze on the first pitch, which Alcantara let go by for a strike, but did on the second pitch. I wanted him to be able to see a pitch and maybe see something good to hit and maybe he's able to put something in play, Price said. He's less likely to hit into a double play with his speed from the left side. In that 0-1 count, we kind of have to force the issue a little bit. I think he's smart enough not to bunt at a pitch that's not a strike, as well. You don't have to in a safety squeeze situations. I think the personnel was perfect for that exact situation. Not only was the personnel perfect, so too was the execution. Alcantara placed the bunt down the first-base line, forcing Tomlin to field it. Tomlin then rushed a throw to first where nobody was at the bag, allowing Barnhart to go to third and Alcantara to second. After Billy Hamilton struck out, Zack Cozart came through with a two-run single. It's just fun, it's like you're in the sandlot playing baseball, Barnhart said. The Reds were able to add to the lead because they still had it, instead of finding themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard and Cleveland s bullpen. Scott Feldman blanked Cleveland over the first five innings before Jason Kipnis led off the sixth with a home run to cut the Reds lead to 2-1. Francisco Lindor followed with a double and then Feldman, who had struck out the first five batters he faced on the night, walked Michael Brantley on four pitches. Reds pitching coach Mack Jenkins came out to talk to Feldman, who promptly got a double-play ball from Carlos Santana. With Lindor on third and two outs, former Red Edwin Encarnacion hit a 0-2 pitch nearly out of the stadium in the crack in left field. MLB.com s StatCast measured the blast at 428 feet but the fact that MLB.com s StatCast decided to report the length of the foul says enough. I could have sworn that thing was fair Scott said the same thing, he said he thought it was going to hit the scoreboard, Barnhart said. It was absolutely crushed. Luckily it went foul. Cleveland manager Terry Francona said he didn t know if it was fair or foul and their replay staff didn t have a good look, either. He didn t challenge because Encarnacion told him he thought it was foul. After two balls, Feldman got Encarnacion looking at a 91-mph sinker on his 98th and final pitch of the night. I got to first after that hit-and-run, Edwin said, 'that pitch he threw was nasty That's was the best pitch he threw all night, Barnhart recalled. I said, 'it came at a great time. Without the lead, Cleveland kept its best weapons, its shut-down relievers, out of the game. It certainly creates a different situation for maybe how they use their bullpen, Price said. Everyone they brought in is a very good relief pitcher, but you certainly like to try to stay away the best you can from (Andrew) Miller, (Bryan) Shaw and (Cody) Allen. I know that's their recipe to finish off games where they have a lead." Reds recap: Reds strike first in Ohio Cup battles Cincinnati Enquirer Published 9:57 p.m. ET May 22, 2017 Updated 12 hours ago The Reds took the first game of the Ohio Cup, beating Cleveland 5-1 at Great American Ball Park on Monday. Here are the main storylines from Monday s game: Feldman Ks 9: Scott Feldman struck out the first five Cleveland batters he faced and had a perfect game before his opposite, Josh Tomlin, blooped in a single with two outs in the third.

7 Feldman went six innings the Reds longest start since Lisalverto Bonilla s complete game in San Francisco on May 13 and struck out nine. He gave up just one run, on a solo homer by Jason Kipnis to lead off the sixth, cutting the Reds lead to 2-1. Feldman appeared to tire in the sixth, giving up a double to Francisco Lindor and then walked Michael Brantley on four pitches. Reds pitching coach Mack Jenkins came out to talk to his pitcher and Feldman reverted to his form of the previous five innings. Cleveland DH Carlos Santana hit the first pitch he saw to Reds second baseman Jose Peraza to start a double play, moving the tying run to third base. Former Red Edwin Encarnacion nearly gave Cleveland the lead, crushing a pitch 428 feet into the upper reaches of the bleachers in left field. It tells you all you need to know about how far the ball was hit that MLB.com s StatCast measured a foul ball. But Feldman bounced back to strike Encarnacion looking at 91-mph sinker, his 98th and final pitch of the night. Schebler strikes again: Reds right fielder Scott Schebler homered in his third straight game, giving the Reds a 2-0 lead in the second with a leadoff homer. Schebler now leads the team with 13 home runs on the season. Picture-perfect squeeze: With the Reds clinging to a one-run lead in the seventh, manager Bryan Price sent pinch-hitter Arismendy Alcantara to the plate with one out and runners on the corners. It seemed like a spot for Scooter Gennett to try to extend the lead, but after taking a called strike on the first pitch, Alcantara laid down a perfect squeeze bunt. Not only did the bunt down the first-base line score Jose Peraza easily from third, Tomlin then picked it up and fired toward first where nobody was close enough to the bag to receive the throw. Tucker Barnhart went to third and Alcantara to second. After a Billy Hamilton strikeout, Tucker Barnhart hit a two-run single off of reliever Dan Otero to give the Reds a 5-1 lead. After two lost years, Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco looks like himself Zach Buchanan, zbuchanan@enquirer.com Published 7:50 p.m. ET May 22, 2017 Updated 14 hours ago When he prepares for an incoming pitch, Devin Mesoraco does something that most hitters can t. He sets his hands back and almost at the lowest part of his ribcage. When he swings, he rips the bat directly to the ball, his hands remaining close to his chest all the while. The last few years, the 28-year-old Cincinnati Reds catcher hadn t been able to do that. Three surgeries in the span of two seasons to repair torn labrums in both hips and in one of his shoulders prevented his body from functioning that way. Finally healthy this spring, Mesoraco had to relearn his swing all over again. Reds hitting coach Don Long helped him do that in an odd way, at least considering Mesoraco s injury history. Long threw baseballs right at Mesoraco s surgically repaired front hip. Mesoraco had to not only hit them, but keep them fair. It doesn t matter how hard you hit it, but keep it fair with backspin, Long said. His swing has to work with his hands coming from the inside, like most guys. If he s able to take a pitch coming at his front hip and keep it fair with backspin, then he has to be making the move the right way. Mesoraco and Long have continued that drill since the catcher returned to active duty late last month. It seems to be working. After following his breakout, All-Star campaign in 2014 with two lost seasons, Mesoraco is excelling at the plate. Through his first 49 plate appearances, he s hitting.317/.429/.512. It s a small sample size, but there s further encouragement beyond his slash line. He s hitting the ball on average three miles-perhour harder than in his last two abbreviated seasons. He s barely produced anything that qualifies as soft contact, and he s shooting the ball up the middle with regularity. Mesoraco feels he s as close to his 2014 swing as he s ever been since that season ended. Long watches him hit especially the solo home run that sparked a huge Reds comeback Saturday and sees it too. When he hit that, Long said, I thought, That s what I remember. It s hard to overstate how difficult the last two years have been for Mesoraco, both physically and mentally. The left hip injury that ended his 2015 season in June had lingered for months before the Reds actually shut him down, limiting him to being a pinch-hitter. He recovered from the procedure in time to start the 2016 season in the Opening Day lineup, but didn t make it through the season s first month.

8 Now, his left shoulder needed repair. Once that surgery knocked out another season, Mesoraco had his other hip repaired proactively. In those two seasons combined, he played in 39 games. He missed the competition. I couldn t play board games to replicate that, Mesoraco said. I tried to beat my wife up in Monopoly, but sometimes that didn t go as well. Coming back from the first surgery was a slog, and coming back from two at once was even more mind-numbing. The Reds understandably wanted to be extra careful with him he s still due $20.2 million over this season and the next and it understandably tried Mesoraco s patience with the process. He made his 2017 spring training debut at about the same time as he did the year before, but didn t play in a regular-season game until April 28. He started the year on the disabled list, and his rehab assignment lasted the full 20-day maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The goal was to get him enough at-bats to find a groove, although he hit just.170. The caution the Reds showed was perhaps overabundant. The bigger factor in his success, Mesoraco thinks, was returning to Cincinnati and to Long. If I would have come up maybe earlier and worked with him earlier, maybe I would have gotten in a groove a bit earlier, Mesoraco said. Honestly, I m not sure that helped one way or the other. Mesoraco s been a productive offensive player ever since returning, never allowing his on-base percentage to slip below.300 as he fine-tuned his swing. He s been on fire recently, though. His last two games, he s gone 4 for 7 with a double, a home run and two walks. With a deep Reds lineup, manager Bryan Price has had the luxury of batting Mesoraco eighth. There was no need to put pressure on him, and Price admitted that he wondered if Mesoraco would ever be the same again. Mesoraco had the same doubts. Would his bat speed be the same? Would he have the same power? Would he ever regain that All-Star form? Early returns say yes. But Mesoraco emphasizes the early part. My goal is just to get through this year and kind of see where we re at, Mesoraco said. I don t think I ve proven anything yet. Reds notes: Scott Schebler crushing lefties C. Trent Rosecrans, crosecrans@enquirer.com 6:33 p.m. ET May 22, 2017 Bring in a left-handed reliever to face Scott Schebler at your own risk. Entering Monday s game with Cleveland, Schebler was 5 for 12 with all five hits going for extra bases against left-handed relievers and he hasn t struck out. Sure, it s a tiny sample size, and that was before Monday s game against Cleveland and lefty Andrew Miller, but it s still impressive. It s not just lefty relievers that Schebler s been hitting, but all southpaws. Entering Monday s game, he s crushed left-handers to the tune of a OPS versus a.807 OPS against right-handers. You re going to jinx me, Schebler joked when asked pregame about his hot start against lefties. Schebler has never seen himself as a platoon player and he wasn t for most of his minor-league career. A left-handed batter, he had an OPS (on-base plus slugging) within 55 points against left-handed pitchers and right-handed pitchers in each of his first four minor-league seasons. He struggled against lefties for the first time in 2015 when he got to Triple-A for the first time and then started 2016 in a platoon with Adam Duvall in left field. That turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as he hit put up just a.608 OPS against lefties versus a.782 against right-handers with the Reds (and.757 vs..888 with Louisville). Even though he has fewer than a third of the plate appearances against lefties (40 vs. 126) this season, four of his 12 home runs have come off of left-handers, including his last three home runs.

9 I think it's just sample size and getting the at-bats off of them more than anything, Schebler said. If you look at my minor-league stats, I've had really good years off of lefties, I've had OK years off of lefties. I think that's definitely a strength. I want it to be a strength. Finnegan to throw bullpen Left-hander Brandon Finnegan is scheduled to throw off a mound on Tuesday for the first time since going on the disabled list with a shoulder injury in April. Finnegan s return has been slower than he expected when he went on the disabled list, but now he s excited that the end is in sight. I thought it was going to be a little quick, 10-day thing and start throwing again and be back in a couple weeks, but it definitely took a lot longer than I expected, he said. They're just being smart. Can't be mad at them for that. I feel good though. That's all that matters." Reds manager Bryan Price said Finnegan may be slightly behind Homer Bailey, but both could be back sometime in late June. It's not unrealistic to think we'll see them both in the month of June, Price said. Flag planted Cleveland s use of Andrew Miller in their postseason run of 2016 has been lauded as a tipping point in bullpen management, but Price scoffed at the notion that it helped influence the way the Reds have used their bullpen in I d make an argument we did it first, Price said. We were doing that with (Michael) Lorenzen and (Raisel) Iglesias when they came back. We didn't want to limit them to being one-inning situational only guys. WCPO - Channel 9 Fay: If starters stay as strong as Feldman was Monday, Reds can hold the line John Fay 12:31 AM, May 23, hours ago CINCINNATI -- "Why can't I do that every time?" That was Scott Feldman's reaction to striking out the first five hitters of the game Monday night in the Reds' 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians. But it could have been Feldman's reaction to the night in general, as in, "Why can't I go six strong innings every time?" Feldman did that Monday, allowing one run on four hits. He stuck out nine and walked two. If the Reds could get starts like that on even a semi-regular basis, this team could contend. The bullpen and the offense have been going that good. "He gave us a chance to take a lead," manager Bryan Price said. "He put up a zero. He was locked in. He was able to get through their lineup that first time through." That's been missing. The Reds' starters have the worst ERA in the majors leagues (5.81) and have thrown the least innings, just under five a game. Feldman was the first starter to get through six innings in eight games. Feldman is the ace-by-default. If he -- or anyone, for that matter -- could go on a roll, the Reds might be able to hold the line until Homer Bailey, Brandon Finnegan and Anthony DeSclafani get healthy. If not, it's going to be a long summer on the riverfront. Feldman was coming off an awful start. He allowed seven runs (five earned) in 2 2/3 innings in a 7-5 loss in Chicago. "You've got to have a short memory in this game," he said. "Baseball is one of those funny games. You have some good and some bad. You've got to try to battle through the other ones. It's a long season." Feldman had a great breaking ball, as the strikeouts indicate, but he did battle to keep the lead. With a runner on third in the sixth, former Red Edwin Encarnation hit a 428-foot shot, just foul.

10 "That almost gave me a heart attack," Feldman said. "I would have hated to see the lead surrendered right there. I probably went in one too many times in a row. Luckily, it hooked foul." Feldman gave a 5-1 lead to the bullpen. That's how the Reds saw this season playing out. It hasn't lately -- they lost eight of nine -- largely because the starters have been so bad. "Every time we go out and start a game, we're trying to go as deep as we can," Feldman said. "There's never any additional pressure. We're in the big leagues. We're trying to do our best and pitch as many innings as we can." John Fay is a freelance sports columnist; this column represents his opinion. Contact him at johnfayman@aol.com Feldman, Schebler lead Reds to 5-1 win over Indians Joe Kay Associated Press 10:25 PM, May 22, :08 AM, May 23, 2017 CINCINNATI (AP) -- Scott Feldman struck out a season-high nine while ending Cincinnati's long stretch of ineffective starts, and Scott Schebler homered for the third straight game on Monday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The Reds took the opener of the annual intrastate series. The teams play two games in Cincinnati followed by two in Cleveland. The Indians had won their last four at Great American Ball Park and six straight overall in the Ohio series. Feldman (3-4) got the first victory by a Reds starter since May 9. He gave up four hits, including Jason Kipnis' homer, while becoming the first Cincinnati starter in the last 10 games to make it through six innings. The Reds' rotation is last in the NL in ERA and innings pitched. Three relievers closed out a seven-hitter for Cincinnati's second victory in 10 games. Fay: After three surgeries and months of rehab, Devin Mesoraco makes it back to normal John Fay 9:47 PM, May 22, :09 AM, May 23, 2017 CINCINNATI -- It was perhaps the most meaningful meaningless home run in the Reds history. On May 3, Devin Mesoraco hit a home run that made a 6-0 game against Pittsburgh a 7-0 game. Mesoraco put his head down and ran the bases like there would be a chance that he'd be thrown out at home. "He made it around the bases faster than I've ever seen him run the bases," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "I think there was so much adrenaline in being back, contributing to the team. It was a special moment for me, too. I wasn't lost in what it meant to Devin." The home run was 2 1/2 years in the making. "I was definitely excited," Mesoraco said. "It meant more to me than the situation of the game dictated. I never questioned that I'd hit a home run again. But to actually do it, yeah, that felt pretty good." Mesoraco had gone 920 days since last hitting a home run. He had three surgeries in the interim -- one on each hip and another on his shoulder. Mesoraco has kept on hitting. He was hitting.317/.429/.512 with two home runs going into Monday's game. Plenty of people doubted if Mesoraco would ever be the player he was pre-surgeries -- the guy who hit 25 home runs and drove in 80 runs in Much of social media had reached a verdict: He wouldn't catch again, and the best-case scenario was a move to outfield or to the American League where he could DH. Mesoraco never had such dire thoughts, but he did have doubts.

11 "I would say that my doubts were Am I going to be the same guy?'" he said. "'Am I going to feel capable of going out there having the same swing? The same bat speed?' All that is still to be determined. I've got 40-some at-bats. "My goal is to get through the season - whatever we have to do to get through the season. What the numbers end up, great." But Mesoraco has hit his biggest goal: He feels normal. The journey back to normal was a long one. Rehab is drudgery. It can be boring. It can be painful. It can be lonely. "We all talk about the physical stuff," Price said. "But it's the mental toll of not being able to compete and trying to get your body back. The mental beatdown of two or three seasons of continuous injury." Mesoraco explained that simply: "It sucks. "As a competitor, you can't compete in the weight room," he said. "You can't compete in the training room. That's what I missed -- being around the guys, being on the field. That part sucked." Mesoraco spent the winter in Cincinnati working with catching coach Mike Stefanski, who had to be more of monitor than a motivator. "I don't think anybody has any idea what he's gone through," Stefanski said. "He's always had to work very hard at his catching, even when he was healthy. The rehab adds a new dimension. He's such a hard worker and he wants to do so much. I had to throttle him back and keep him on pace instead of letting him overwork himself. "Absolutely, it's work. Beyond the rehab, just from the catching aspect, it would be work for anybody. I don't know how many guys put as much work into catching in the offseason as he does. The rehab is hard enough. To combine that with trying to get back to catch at the level he caught before he got hurt does take a lot work." The Reds went slow with Mesoraco. He spent 20 days on a rehab with Double-A Pensacola. "I think this year it was beneficial to let him go and play some games to work through that uncomfortableness of being behind the plate before he got here," Stefanski said. Mesoraco has played well since he was activated on April 28. He thrown out three of six would-be base stealers. He gives the credit for finding his swing to hitting coach Don Long. "I feel like we've gotten a lot better," Mesoraco said. "A lot of the credit has to go to Don. He really identified the ways that made me successful in '14 - how we can get back to that place. We've been staying steady with our work, trying to get better." "I didn't have any expectations based on results," Mesoraco said. "My expectations are more: I've got to get out there, work hard. Don put together a good plan for exactly what he thought would get me back to exactly where I need to be. I followed that. The results have been the results. "Whatever happens there, you can't control. I've been happy with my at-bats. Things are falling into place." DAYTON DAILY NEWS Feldman, bullpen strong as Reds top Indians 5-1 Mark Schmetzer - Contributing Writer 10:29 p.m Monday, May 22, 2017 Bryan Price talked before Monday s interleague Ohio Cup game against the Cleveland Indians about how he d like to be able to use his bullpen the way it s intended to close out a win. Scott Feldman gave him that chance. Wandy Peralta, Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias made it pay off.»related: Better eye, better contact key to Hamilton s offensive improvement Feldman pitched six innings of four-hit, one-run baseball, Peralta, Lorenzen and Iglesias handled the last three and the Reds snapped Cleveland s winning streak at a modest three games with a 5-1 win. Scott Schebler homered for the third time in three games as the Reds snapped Cleveland s win streak in Cincinnati at four games.

12 Former Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, who left Toronto over the offseason to sign a three-year contract with Cleveland as a free agent, struck out in his first three at bats before lining a double just inside the right field line to lead off the ninth. Feldman (3-4), whose single-game season high for strikeouts was six going into Monday, struck out the first five batters he faced before Jose Ramirez launched a line drive into left-center field that center fielder Billy Hamilton tracked down with a diving catch. Feldman matched his season high by striking out Lonnie Chisenhall to lead off the third before seeing opposing pitcher Josh Tomlin pop a bloop single down the right field line for Cleveland s first hit of the game. He gave us a chance to take the lead, which was huge for us, Price said. He put up zeroes. He was locked in the first time through their order. The bullpen came in and did a great job, and those tack-on runs were huge. What was Feldman thinking while wading so easily through the Indians order? Why can t I do that every time?, he said, sparking laughs. My breaking ball was pretty good tonight and I was able to locate it where I wanted to. I think that s what was going on there. Tomlin (2-6), who only hits against National League teams, went into the game with a.429 career average (6-for-14) and two career multi-hit games, the second on May 19 of last season against the Reds in Cincinnati. Jason Kipnis broke up Feldman s shutout with a home run to lead off the sixth inning. Francisco Lindor followed with a double and Michael Brantley walked, prompting s visit to the mound from pitching coach Mack Jenkins. On the very next pitch, Carlos Santana hit into a double play, and after Encarnacion launched a titanic drive to left field that hugged the foul line long enough for Cleveland manager Terry Francona to consider asking for a video review, the Indians first baseman struck out looking to end the inning. That almost gave me a heart attack, Feldman said of Encarnacion s foul ball. I would ve hated to give up the lead there. I probably went inside once too often. Feldman became the first Reds starter in the last nine games to log six innings. He turned in seven innings in Cincinnati s 3-2, 17- inning loss at San Francisco on May 12. He allowed two walks and finished with a season-high nine strikeouts on Monday. He lived at the bottom of the zone and we didn t do a lot, Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. We had a couple of pretty good chances and we didn t cash in. Hamilton had two streaks snapped on Sunday a six-game hitting streak and a career-high stretch of 21 consecutive games reaching base at least once with either a hit, a walk or being hit by a pitch but he bounced back with a lined single up the middle leading off the first inning. Breaking on the pitch, Hamilton reached second on Joey Votto s one-out grounder to Kipnis at second base and scored on Adam Duvall s two-out single to left field. Schebler led off the second by smashing Tomlin s first pitch deep into the right-center field seats for his 13th homer of the season, snapping a tie with Votto for the team lead. I came out feeling good, Schebler said. I felt good in (batting practice). I happened to put a good swing on a pitch down the middle. I don t think he wanted to put it there. You ve got to take advantage of mistakes. The Reds added welcomed insurance runs in the seventh on Jose Peraza s one-out single to center, Tucker Barnhart s single to leftcenter and pinch-hitter Arismendy Alcantara s perfect safety-squeeze bunt. Tomlin committed a throwing error on the play, allowing both runners to advance, setting up Zack Cozart s two-out, two-run single to center. Peraza extended his hitting streak to nine games, while Cozart pushed his to six games. ESPN.COM Feldman, Schebler lead Reds to 5-1 win over Indians 11:32 PM ET Associated Press CINCINNATI -- Scott Feldman fanned his first five batters with such ease that it got him wondering. "Why can't I do that every time?" he mused.

13 The right-hander did things no Reds starter has done in a long time. He struck out a season-high nine while ending Cincinnati's long stretch of ineffective starts, and Scott Schebler homered for the third straight game Monday night in a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The Reds took the opener of the annual intrastate series. The teams play two games in Cincinnati followed by two in Cleveland. The Indians had won their last four at Great American Ball Park and six straight overall in the Ohio series. Feldman (3-4) got the first victory by a Reds starter since May 9. He gave up four hits, including Jason Kipnis' homer, while becoming the first Cincinnati starter in the last 10 games to make it through six innings. The Reds' rotation is last in the NL in ERA and innings pitched. "He gave us a chance to take the lead, which was huge for us," manager Bryan Price said. "He was locked in the first time through their order." Three relievers closed out a seven-hitter for Cincinnati's second victory in 10 games. Schebler connected off Josh Tomlin (2-6) for his third homer in a span of seven at-bats. It's the first time he's homered in three consecutive games. "I came out feeling good," said Schebler, who leads the team with 13 homers. "I felt good in batting practice. I happened to put a good swing on a pitch down the middle. I don't think he wanted to put it there." It was the only glaring mistake by Tomlin, who gave up nine hits in 6 1/3 innings. Adam Duvall and Arismendy Alcantara had RBI singles against Tomlin. Zack Cozart's two-run single in the seventh off Dan Otero put Cincinnati in control. Tomlin gave up six runs in only 2 1/3 innings in his last start, a 7-4 loss to Tampa Bay. "I felt good my last start, but stuff just kind of snowballed in a hurry," he said. "Same thing here." The Indians were coming off a three-game sweep in Houston, but couldn't get much going against Feldman, who was coming off his worst performance of the season. He allowed seven runs in only 2 2/3 innings of a 7-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday. NO WALKS Tomlin didn't walk a batter. He has walked two or fewer in 40 straight starts, a club record. Since the start of the 2015 season, Tomlin has made 25 starts without walking a batter, most by any AL pitcher during that span. OUCH! Indians right fielder Carlos Santana stayed down on his back for a couple of minutes after he slammed into the padded wall trying to catch a foul ball in the second inning, hurting his back. He stayed in the game. "By the time I got out there, you could tell he was OK," manager Terry Francona said. "He was just trying to catch his breath." NICE PLAY Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor made an over-the-shoulder catch of Cozart's popup into center field in the third. Santana made a diving catch of Eugenio Suarez's liner in the sixth and threw to second base to double up Joey Votto. INTERLEAGUE Cleveland leads the series The Indians are 0-4 overall in interleague play this season. The Reds are 3-3. STATS Feldman's career high for strikeouts in a game is 12, for the Cubs against the Padres in Jose Peraza extended his hitting streak to nine games, matching his career high.... Kipnis' homer gave him an eight-game hitting streak. Lindor also has hit in eight straight. TRAINER'S ROOM