News
Votto powers Reds despite illness
Suffering from ear infection, slugger hits go-ahead blast
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
05/27/09 12:30 AM ET
CINCINNATI -- It's an obvious question, and one that National League opponents should be asking. If Reds first baseman Joey Votto is doing this well while hampered by an inner ear infection, what is he capable of once he's 100 percent again? The inner ear infection has often made Votto dizzy, but it hasn't affected his bat. His two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh was the decisive moment in the Reds' 6-4 victory over the Astros on Tuesday night. "It's amazing what he's doing and what he might do," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "I'm just glad we've got him." After Jerry Hairston Jr. drew a leadoff walk from lefty reliever Tim Byrdak (0-1) in the bottom of the seventh in a 4-4 game, Votto took a ball, then sent a low fastball into the first row of the left-field seats for his eighth homer of the season. "I just put a good swing on a ball I normally wouldn't swing at," said Votto, who is batting .364 and trails only the Mets' Carlos Beltran in the NL batting race. In his first relief appearance back from the disabled list, Nick Masset (2-0) pitched the seventh inning and earned the victory for Cincinnati. David Weathers worked a perfect eighth, and Francisco Cordero made it 13-for-13 in save chances in the ninth, but not before a brilliant play by third baseman Adam Rosales. With a runner on first and one out, Lance Berkman hit a screamer on the ground to Rosales, who snatched the ball on one hop, threw a rocket to second base and started a game-ending double play. "It got there just in time," Rosales said. "Hairston turned it. It was a big play. Hopefully, we'll take that momentum into tomorrow and get a sweep." Rosales was informed it was actually shortstop Alex Gonzalez that turned the unconventional 5-6-3 double play. "It was Gonzalez?" Rosales said. "I didn't even know who I threw it to. I just threw it." No matter how they've done it, the Reds have won four of their past five games, including the first two of three games vs. Houston. It's been done largely without Votto or regular cleanup hitter Brandon Phillips, who has been out since Saturday with a broken thumb. At 25-20, the Reds are 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Cardinals and Brewers in the NL Central race. "I look at every guy in the clubhouse and I feel like everyone is contributing," Votto said. "It's probably the first team I've been on that really felt like that. It feels like everyone is working together." For the third time this season, the Reds were unsuccessful at hanging a losing decision on Astros starter Roy Oswalt. But he hasn't gotten a win either and remains at 23-1 vs. Cincinnati lifetime. There were chances to beat Oswalt. The Reds took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a two-out, two-run rolling single up the middle by Ramon Hernandez. Houston scored three in the top of the fourth against Micah Owings, who was drilled in the right hip by a Carlos Lee line drive. Laynce Nix's solo shot in the fourth inning tied the game at 3. Owings continued and finished with three earned runs and six hits allowed over a five-inning no-decision with 99 pitches. In the sixth, Jeff Keppinger hit reliever Mike Lincoln's first pitch for a homer to left field and a 4-3 Astros lead. Oswalt, bothered by bare-handing a Votto grounder in the fifth that left his right hand numb, gave up the lead in the Reds' sixth. With a runner on first and one out, the Astros ace walked Gonzalez and hit Rosales with a pitch that loaded the bases. A four-pitch walk to pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes scored the tying run. Votto was 0-for-3 vs. Oswalt and struck out in his first two at-bats. "He hasn't been playing that much," Baker said. "His timing isn't 100 percent either. We needed him against that guy [Oswalt]. Joey knew it, and we knew it." Throughout this month, the 25-year-old Votto has alternated between illness in the trainer's room and greatness in the batters' box. Baker makes starting Votto a day-by-day decision. "I check with him, check with the trainers," Baker said. "We're doing the honor system thing." It all started on May 7, when Votto missed four games with the flu. Two weeks ago, dizziness forced him out of a game in Arizona, and it happened a few days later in another game in San Diego. After a brief hospitalization and a flurry of tests, the inner ear infection was diagnosed. On May 10 as a pinch-hitter vs. St. Louis, Votto slugged a homer in his first at-bat back from the flu. On Saturday vs. the Indians after missing one week with the inner ear issue, Votto hit two homers over his first two at-bats. "The coaching staff and the training staff probably has been the important part," Votto said. "All the doctors that they've used have been perfect for me. I definitely couldn't have done it without their help. Today was probably the first game that I felt pretty good. I have to do it again tomorrow."Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
