Cincinnati Reds Finally Beat Cole Hamels and the Phillies, 6-4

Jun 8, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds center fielder

Billy Hamilton

(6) steals home in the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

6. 61. . 4. 6.

W: Leake (3-4, 4.29)

L: Hamels (5-5, 3.19)

SV: Chapman, A (11)

Cincinnati Reds fans rejoice! It wasn’t a pitcher’s duel, and it got dicey at the end, but after previously going 0-10 when Cole Hamels starts, the Reds finally can claim a win over the Phillies’ ace.

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Backed by the quality start from Mike Leake, who went six innings, struck out four and only allowed two earned runs, the Reds were fantastic tonight. Leake may not have been as good as he was last time against the Phillies (where he pitched 6 2/3 innings of no hit ball), but he did get the job done. The biggest jam Leake got himself into was in the sixth inning went he had runners on second and third base with no outs. Leake got out of it without giving up a single run, getting two strikeouts and getting the last batter he faced to ground out. To top off his night, Leake singled in the bottom of the sixth inning.

And it wasn’t just Leake who hit tonight, the Reds got things going when they scored in the first inning when Todd Frazier singled to drive in Brandon Phillips. And maybe most impressively, Billy Hamilton scored a run all by himself, after he singled with two outs in the second inning, stole second base, then stole third base. Hamilton even ran for home plate and scored while Brandon Phillips was jogging to first base after drawing a walk. Unfortunately, this was scored as a fielder’s choice instead of a stolen base, but Hamilton still scored and picked up his 24th and 25th stolen base for the year.

The Reds’ offensive was also powered by Zack Cozart, who doubled and scored Frazier in the third inning, and hit his eighth home run of the year in the eighth inning. The Reds offense also got a shot in the arm tonight by recent call up Iván De Jesus, who hit his first major league home run.

With the Cincinnati Reds up 6-3 in the ninth inning, Aroldis Chapman was brought in to close out the game. Chapman walked the first batter he faced, but quickly settled down and got the next two batters to ground out. With one runner on and two outs this one soon became a nail-biter, when Chapman threw two wild pitches, allowed the runner to score, then walked the next batter. But Chapman finished strong, striking out Chase Utley, getting his 11th save, and helping the Reds towards a 6-4 victory over the Phillies.

Next Up: The Reds will face the Phillies for game two of this series with Anthony DeSclafani facing Aaron Harang at 7:10 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

Next: Reds take Tyler Stephenson with first round pick

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