Cincinnati Reds Slug Four HRs in 10-4 Win Over Giants

W: Paul Maholm (1-0)

L: Chris Stratton (0-1)

Home runs were hit left and right on Monday, as the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants combined for six of them in Goodyear. It was the Reds who would out-homer and out-score the Giants, though, winning 10-4.

On the same day it was announced he would be a part of the starting rotation, Raisel Iglesias demonstrated why manager Bryan Price put him there. Outside of a walk to the first batter of the game, Iglesias was flawless, throwing two and two-thirds innings with two strikeouts.

The Reds pitching was backed up by a whole lot of offense in the form of 15 hits, including four home runs.

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After a two-run third inning, the bottom of the fourth inning saw the beginning of the home run barrage, as Brennan Boesch got his second hit of the day, this time a solo home run — his third of the spring — to give the Reds a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Giants finally broke through with a Joaquin Arias two-run home run off of Paul Maholm. The runs were the first given up by Maholm during spring training action. Maholm is still in the running for one of the final two rotation spots, but is probably at the bottom of the list of candidates at this point.

Jay Bruce gave the Reds a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run, his second of the spring.

The lead was further increased to 8-2 with three more runs in the sixth, including a two-run homer from Skip Schumaker.

Chris Dominguez hit the Reds’ fourth longball of the day, his first of the spring, to give make it a 9-2 game in the seventh.

After the Reds added another in the eigth, the Giants were able to cut into the deficit a bit in the top of the ninth. Carlos Triunfel hit a two-run shot off of Jumbo Diaz to make it 10-4, where the score would remain.

Other Notes

• The battle for the final bench spot should be interesting, as both Eugenio Suarez and Dominguez are making compelling cases. Suarez kept his spring average at .333, going 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while Dominguez homered. I’d give the advantage to Dominguez because he’s a right-handed power hitter, something the Reds currently do not have on the bench after the departure of Chris Heisey.
• Sam LeCure and Manny Parra threw scoreless innings today. LeCure went for two innings, giving up a hit with a strikeout and a walk, while Parra threw one perfect frame and struck out two.
• With an unsuccessful stolen base attempt from Kristopher Negron in the first inning, the Reds are now 3-for-11 on the spring. Negron did have a nice day otherwise, though, going 3-for-4 with a run scored.
• Joey Votto picked up his second hit of the spring (and his fourth walk) in a 1-for-3 effort today. He also scored a couple of runs.

Up Next: The Reds stay in Goodyear tomorrow, but they’ll be the visiting team as they take on the Cleveland Indians again at 4:05 p.m. EST. Mike Leake gets the start for the Reds and will be opposed by reigning American League Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. The game will be aired on Fox Sports Ohio for their third of four scheduled spring training broadcasts.

Next: Reds send Cingrani to bullpen, Iglesias to rotation