Game: Florida Marlins @ Cincinnati Reds
Venue: Great American Ballpark
Start Time: 7:10 P.M. Eastern Time
Attendance: 15,233
Length of Game: 2:37
Starting Pitchers: Burke Badenhop (Marlins) vs Aaron Harang (Reds)
Jeff Keppinger and Brandon Phillips hit two-run homers in the seventh inning Monday night, breaking open a tied game and sending right-hander Aaron Harang to a long-awaited victory, 8-7 over the surging Florida Marlins.
The Marlins arrived with a seven-game winning streak and the best record in the major leagues. Things looked good early, when they piled up three solo homers off Harang (2-5), including another one by Dan Uggla.
Finally, Cincinnati’s wildly inconsistent offense came through for its No. 1 starter.
Harang hadn’t won since April 10, going 0-4 despite one solid performance after another. The Reds scored two runs or less in half of his first eight starts, the main reason for that ugly record.
Keppinger, the Reds’ most consistent hitter, snapped a 4-all tie with his homer off Taylor Tankersley (0-1), who came in to start the seventh. Phillips later connected for his seventh homer.
The Reds hadn’t scored more than five runs in any game behind Harang, who gave up four runs and seven hits in seven innings before turning his rare lead over to the bullpen. It almost slipped away.
After Luis Gonzalez singled home a run in the eighth, cutting it to 8-5, closer Francisco Cordero came on and hit Wes Helms to load the bases with two outs. Ken Griffey Jr. dropped Mike Rabelo’s fly ball to shallow right field for an error that let in two more runs, and a walk loaded the bases again.
Griffey bobbled Alfredo Amezaga’s fly to the warning track before holding on with his bare hand for the last out of the inning. Cordero pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save in as many chances.
Cincinnati is the only team in the majors without a blown save.
The home run has figured prominently in the best start in Marlins history. Harang already knew what the Marlins could do—he gave up five homers in his last two starts against them.
Make it eight homers in his last three.
Jeremy Hermida and Hanley Ramirez hit back-to-back homers in the first inning, and Uggla connected in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. It was Uggla’s fourth homer in his last three games—one was a grand slam—and his eighth in 10 games.
Uggla has 12 homers overall after hitting a career-high 31 last season.
Right-hander Burke Badenhop gave up four runs in six innings, leaving with the score tied at 4. A throwing error by third baseman Jorge Cantu let in one of the runs.
Up Next: Game 2 of the series between the Marlins and the Reds will feature a pair of 5-1 starters. For the Marlins Mark Hendrickson, who as previously mentioned has a 5-1 record with an ERA of 3.56. He will face Edison Volquez, who a 1.06 ERA to go along with his 5-1 record.
Scouting Reports: Hendrickson:Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said Hendrickson has earned the right to try to win games. Unfortunately for Hendrickson, the lefty was a bit uncharacteristic with his pitch count during his last start Thursday against the Brewers. Hendrickson, who usually conserves his pitches pretty well, threw over 60 pitches through three innings and exited with 109 after 4 1/3 innings -- being unable to log the required five innings to be eligible to get a win. Still, Hendrickson goes into his start against the Reds having given up three runs or less in seven straight starts.
Volquez pitched seven scoreless innings in the Reds' 9-0 win over the Cubs and gave up four hits and six walks while tying a career high with 10 strikeouts. He has yet to allow more than one earned run in any of his seven starts. Meanwhile, it's good bet that the Reds' bats will participate big when Volquez pitches. In his five wins, the team has scored 44 runs, including three games with nine or more runs.
First pitch is set for 7:10 P.M Eastern Time-- Game will be televised locally on FSN Florida. Tomrrow nights game can also be heard on 790 The Ticket AM Radio (English) or 1140 WQBA (Spanish).