Cincinnati Reds Smack 15 Hits in 10-3 Over Dodgers

W: Keyvius Sampson (2-1)

L: Mat Latos (4-9)

In Mat Latos‘ first meeting with the Cincinnati Reds since they dealt him to the Marlins in December (and his subsequent comments about the Reds’ lack of leadership), his former team took it to him, taking home a 10-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.

Billy Hamilton and Eugenio Suarez led the offensive charge, combining for seven of the Reds’ 15 hits, six of their 10 RBI, and five of their 10 runs scored.

Hamilton notched a hit in all four of his at-bats for the first four-hit game of his career. The center fielder singled in his first three trips to the plate before lining a solo home run in the eighth inning, his fourth of the year. He also scored four times, knocked in a pair of runs, and picked up a steal. That’s some pretty good production from the No. 9 spot in the lineup.

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Providing the punch at the top of the order was Suarez, who went 3-for-5, with all of his hits going for extra bases. Suarez’s first hit was a fifth-inning double which made it a 5-1 game at the time and his second hit, a three-run bomb in the seventh inning, blew the game wide open at 9-2 in the sixth. Suarez would add a second double in the eighth.

Brandon Phillips and Todd Frazier each contributed a pair of hits, with the former driving home three runs out of the leadoff spot.

The Reds’ offensive outburst knocked Latos from the game after 4.2 innings, in which he gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven.

The eruption of runs also meant that life was a little easier for rookie starter Keyvius Sampson. He wasn’t quite as crisp as he had been in previous starts, but he didn’t really need to be, either. Sampson threw five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three en route to his second career win.

Ryan Mattheus gave up an unearned run in the sixth after an error by Phillips, but the bullpen went untouched otherwise. Burke Badenhop worked around two hits in the seventh, Manny Parra fired a perfect eighth, and Pedro Villarreal also came away unscathed after allowing a couple of hits.

Other Notes:

• Marlon Byrd was the only Reds position player to not pick up a hit, though he did have a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
• The Dodgers also had plethora of baserunners (11 hits, three walks), but could only get three runs to show for it as Reds pitchers worked their way out of several jams throughout the game.
• Don’t look now, but Frazier seems to have gotten himself straightened out at the plate. He now has hits in three consecutive games and is 6-for-his-last-11 with three doubles, one home run, and three RBI.

Up Next: John Lamb will make his major league debut when the Reds face the Dodgers for game two on Friday. He’ll be opposed by recent Dodgers acquisition and fellow left-hander Alex Wood. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. EST.

Next: Reds, Dodgers series preview