Watch: Reds sluggers Jesse Winker and Josh VanMeter pulverize home runs

Jesse Winker and Josh VanMeter demolished home runs in the Reds 5-4 loss.

The Cincinnati Reds may have lost last night’s contest to the Kansas City Royals, but two of the team’s left-handed bats did their best to rally their squad to victory. Jesse Winker and Josh VanMeter both pulverized home runs during the bottom of the seventh inning on Wednesday night.

Reds starter Wade Miley got off to a rough start, and the Cincinnati defense let the team down once again. Miley fell behind 1-0 in the first inning and was lifted after 1.2 innings of work. The Reds gave up one run in five of the first six innings last night and the bats couldn’t get revved up against Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller.

However, down 5-0 entering the seventh inning, Reds designated hitter Jesse Winker took reliever Ian Kennedy deep to to right field. According to Baseball Savant, Winker’s blast left his bat at 108.3-MPH and traveled 390 feet.

After trimming the lead to four, two batters later, Freddy Galvis stepped in and hit a home run of his own to right field. Galvis’ homer wasn’t as impressive as Winker’s, as the Cincinnati shortstop had a 30-degree launch angle on the blast that landed a few rows deep into the right field seats.

Not to be outdone, after Scott Barlow replaced the aforementioned Ian Kennedy, pinch hitter Josh VanMeter joined the home run party. VanMeter hadn’t had a hit all season, but his first one was certainly memorable.

On a 2-2 count, VanMeter let loose on a four-seam fastball on the inner-half of the plate and blistered it into right field. The round-tripper was VanMeter’s first of the season after hitting eight during his rookie season a year ago.

Josh VanMeter, who’s been praised in the past for his swing, put up an exit velocity of 108.5-MPH according to Baseball Savant, barely edging out Winker’s big fly. Last season, Aristides Aquino had the best exit velocity among Reds hitters with his 445 foot blast against Chicago Cubs pitcher Cole Hamels. That ball left the bat at 118.3-MPH.

Of course, all those measurable don’t mean much of anything if you don’t win the game. The Cincinnati Reds left the bases loaded to end the game in the ninth inning after Christian Colón bounced into a double-play.