News
Reds start road trip the right way
Encarnacion's grand slam helps Cincinnati top Milwaukee
Brandon Phillips greets Edwin Encarnacion after his grand slam. (Jim Prisching/AP)
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
04/14/09 1:45 AM ET
MILWAUKEE -- No one said winning momentum had to be pretty or admired like a classic car. If momentum looked like a junked 1976 AMC Pacer, the Reds would gladly buy it and drive it into the win column. On the heels of Aaron Harang's three-hit shutout over the Pirates on Sunday, it would have been greatly welcomed had Edinson Volquez kept the solid starting pitching flowing. That didn't come close to happening, yet the Reds were winners nonetheless with a 7-6 victory over the Brewers on Monday night. "It wasn't easy. It's never easy when you come in here," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "[The Brewers] have some booming bats." Cincinnati picked up Volquez with a six-run top of the third inning after trailing by a 5-1 score through two frames. All of the third-inning runs came against Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo after there were two outs and no runners on base. Gallardo (1-1) had looked solid through the first two innings, despite giving up Jay Bruce's solo homer in the top of the second. "We knew we were behind, but we never got our heads down," Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion said. "We have to keep our head up and keep going. We knew the game was early. That's why we have to play aggressive every inning. You never know what can happen in this game." Joey Votto drove in the inning's first run against Gallardo with a lined single to center field. After Brandon Phillips walked to load the bases, Bruce was hit in the right hand by a pitch to force in another run. The very next pitch was a fastball to Encarnacion, who lifted it high and far into the left-field seats for a grand slam that gave the Reds a 7-5 lead using just three hits. The blast was met with stunned silence by the 25,016 fans at Miller Park. "That was huge. Those two-out RBIs -- that's what wins games," Baker said. Reds opponents have scored first in five of the first six games, and Milwaukee made Volquez (1-1) labor from the beginning. He threw 99 pitches over five innings and gave up six runs, seven hits and four walks with four strikeouts. Volquez also didn't help his own cause. With one out in the first, the right-hander was late covering first base to complete a would-be double play after Prince Fielder hit a grounder. There were two on in the second when Volquez was called for a balk while facing Jason Kendall, who snapped his 0-for-15 skid to start 2009 with an RBI single to left field. With two outs, Corey Hart jumped on a 2-1 hanging breaking ball for a three-run homer and a 5-1 Milwaukee lead. Prone to chewing up pitch counts like Hummers guzzle gas, Volquez had 55 pitches thrown through two innings. "For me, the best thing is we won," Volquez said. "It's all about winning." After Cincinnati took the lead, Volquez successfully clawed his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fourth inning. It started with two singles before Volquez hit a bunting Rickie Weeks in the collarbone with a fastball. A liner to shortstop, a fielder's choice back to the mound for a force play at home and a groundout helped Volquez escape clean. "Edinson has a way of getting into trouble and getting out of trouble," Baker said. "That was huge, because they could have blasted that game open." What's still missing is traction from Volquez, who has a 9.64 ERA and 13 hits allowed through 9 1/3 innings and two starts. His eight walks are tied for the National League lead, and he's already allowed three homers after giving up 14 all of last season. In Wednesday's 9-7 loss to the Mets, he gave up six runs while throwing 107 pitches in just 4 1/3 innings. "We're going to win, 8-7, 10-9, but we're going to win, 1-0, too. It's coming," Volquez said. "This was the first win this year. The others are coming soon." Volquez gave up J.J. Hardy's solo homer in the fifth, but the Cincinnati bullpen kept the Brewers at bay. Arthur Rhodes had a two-hit seventh, but he escaped with a big double play. David Weathers worked in and out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Francisco Cordero had a one-walk scoreless ninth for his second save. With back-to-back wins and three victories in their last four games, the 3-3 Reds have started the longest road trip of the season -- 11 days, 10 games -- the right way. "I think it's a sign of things to come here," said Bruce of the comeback. "That's been kind of the trend this season so far. We haven't given up at all. It just goes to show that no matter how much we're losing by, we can chip away and get right back in the game."Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
