Reds Smack Three Home Runs, Defeat Mariners, 10-1

W: Jason Marquis (1-0)   L: J.A. Happ (0-1)    SV: Raisel Iglesias (1)

Led by three home runs and great pitching, the Cincinnati Reds evened their spring record (3-3) with a 10-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

The Reds got on the board in the second inning when a Zack Cozart single was followed by a Donald Lutz two-run home run to right field off of Mariners starter J.A. Happ. Lutz is out of options and vying for one of the final spots on the bench.

Starting on the mound for the Reds was Jason Marquis, who pitched three perfect innings, striking out three and getting the win.

Reliever Manny Parra came in to pitch the fourth inning for the Reds and immediately got into trouble. After Parra gave up a single and stolen base to Mariners outfielder James Jones, outfielder Austin Jackson hit an RBI double, cutting the Reds lead to 2-1. The left-hander limited the damage, though, retiring the next three Mariners hitters.

The Reds responded in the bottom half of the inning, as Jay Bruce led off with his first home run of the spring off of Danny Farquhar to put the lead back at two.

The lead was stretched to 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, when Felix Perez doubled off of Mariners’ reliever Charlie Furbush to score Irving Falu, who had walked earlier in the inning.

The game was really blown open in the eighth, as the Reds pushed six runs across the plate against Joe Saunders. Falu started the inning off with a base hit, followed by Yorman Rodriguez‘s second double of the day. After Saunders walked Perez, Eugenio Suarez smacked a base-clearing triple to left field to give the Reds a 7-1 lead. Suarez scored after Chad Wallach singled him in the very next batter. The Reds were given a 10-1 advantage after their third home run of the day, courtesy of Kyle Waldrop.

The pitching was just as impressive as the offense, as they shut down the Mariners aside from the fourth inning. Keyvius Sampson, claimed off of waivers from the San Diego Padres in January, pitched very well, giving up just one hit in three scoreless innings with one strikeout.

Raisel Iglesias pitched the eighth and ninth innings in his second spring appearance. Iglesias struggled in his first appearance, but was much better this time around. In earning his first save of the spring, he pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, despite giving up a double in each inning.

Other Notes

• The day got off to a strange start for the Reds, as several lineup changes occurred before the start of the game. Billy Hamilton, Todd Frazier, Brandon Phillips, and Devin Mesoraco were removed from the lineup. According to C. Trent Rosecrans, Hamilton is dealing with a shoulder injury, Frazier has back spasms, Phillips has a groin injury, and Mesoraco has a concussion. None are expected to miss much time.
• Zack Cozart had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored. He’s batting .500 (4-for-8) so far this spring.
• Jay Bruce is off to a good start, going 4-for-8 with a home run and two runs batted in.
• Chad Wallach, acquired in the Mat Latos trade, has also played well, batting .750 (3-for-4) with two runs batted in.
• Before the game today, Homer Bailey threw a 49-pitch bullpen session without any issues.

The full box score from today’s game can be found here.

The Reds are back on Monday with split squad action. One squad will play the Los Angeles Angels in Goodyear at 4:05 p.m. EST, while the other will go on the road to take on the Colorado Rockies at 4:10 p.m. EST. Anthony DeSclafani will start the game against the Angels, while Andrew Heaney will oppose him. David Holmberg will start against the Rockies, who have yet to announce their starter.