Terry Francona may have stumbled into perfect Reds lineup solution nobody saw coming

The Cincinnati Reds wild come-from-behind victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon featured a lot of clutch moments, but Héctor Rodríguez's solo blast to begin the ninth inning might've been the catalyst for the team's comeback.

Reds manager Terry Francona inserted Rodríguez into the leadoff spot for Wednesday's series finale against the Giants, and the rookie responded by going 3-for-6 with a pair of solo home runs.

Given Rodríguez's .265 on-base percentage entering Wednesday's contest, moving him into the leadoff spot was a peculiar decision to say the least. But Rodríguez was riding a four-game hit streak, is now 8-for-21 (.421) over his last five games and has three homers during that stretch.

Has Francona finally found his leadoff hitter? I can tell you this much, I'd be stunned if Rodríguez isn't hitting atop the Reds' lineup on Friday when they pay a visit to Wrigley Field — though the Chicago Cubs plan to send left-hander David Peterson to the mound for the series opener — and that could complicate Tito's decision making.

Héctor Rodríguez could get Elly De La Cruz out of the Reds' leadoff spot

Elly De La Cruz had been batting leadoff for the Reds since June 27 — a move that Francona never really warmed up to. The Reds skipper previously stated that moving De La Cruz to the top of the batting order was born out of necessity more than desire.

“Truthfully, I’d prefer him not to be (hitting leadoff),” Francona told Cincinnati reporter Charlie Goldsmith earlier this month. “I’m not taking a shot at him. He can hit anywhere he wants. He’s good. I don’t know that right now we have a guy who we feel like could do that every day. When him and Sal (Stewart) don’t get hits, it gets pretty glaring for us. That’s a big load for them. Not altogether fair.”

One thing that could give Francona cause to pause would be the presence of a left-handed starter on the mound for the opposition. Rodríguez only has five at-bats against southpaws this season, and is 0-for-5 with a strikeout. Dane Myers has been hitting much better of late, and his career .820 OPS against left-handed pitching could offer Francona a viable substitute.

While Rodríguez may only be a temporary solution to the Reds' leadoff troubles, slotting him at No. 1 in the batting order would give the young rookie the maximum number of at-bats through the end of the season. This would give Cincinnati's leadership a longer look at one of their top prospects, and help them to determine how to construct the roster during the offseason.

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