Observations from the Reds’ 8-6 Win Over Cleveland

The Reds came back from a 6-2 deficit by way of home runs from Devin Mesoraco, Jay Bruce and Scott Schebler to win, 8-6, over the Indians at Goodyear Ballpark on Thursday afternoon.

Here are three observations from the win:

Mesoraco returns

In his first game action of the spring, Mesoraco returned to the diamond and did it in a big way. He played only two innings and in his only at-bat, he homered to drive in two runs. This is good news for fans worried about Mesoraco coming back healthy or not. If there are any doubts, that home run should help to ease those doubts. Obviously it’s still early and he has only one at-bat, but players have to be able to swing with their hips and if Mesoraco has that kind of power now, he is probably feeling pretty good.

Stephenson struggles

Robert Stephenson started his third spring training game and had his worst start thus far. In 2.1 innings, Stephenson gave up six hits and six runs, five of them earned, with one walk and two strikeouts. His ERA ballooned to 8.59. However, for him and the other young pitchers, ERA doesn’t matter as much as getting familiar with all of their pitches, the batters and learning how to pitch. Stephenson is still learning and fans should expect games like these, especially in spring training.

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Stephenson didn’t get any help from the defense either. In the second, Eugenio Suarez committed an error at third that allowed a run to score and in the third, Jake Cave misplayed a ball in center that allowed Mike Napoli to score on a triple. Stephenson also threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the first. It was a rather messy game in the field for the Reds.

Diaz shines

Jumbo Diaz probably has one of the bullpen spots locked down as of now, but if he didn’t, Thursday’s game went a long way in helping his cause. He pitched two innings of shutout baseball, giving up one hit and striking out three, and getting his first win of the spring.

Notes:

• Jonathan Sanchez has not had the best spring thus far, but he pitched well in his appearance. He pitched one inning and gave up only one hit. If he wants to make the 40-man roster, he needs to start pitching better and Thursday was a good start.
• With his home run on Thursday, Schebler is now batting .276 in spring games. He’s making a good case to be one of the left fielders come Opening Day.