DENVER – Shogo Akiyama made his second start of the season Friday after coming off the bench in five straight games.
Reds manager David Bell said it's been a challenge finding him playing time with the way the other outfielders are hitting. Akiyama was hitless in his first 10 at-bats this season before he hit a line drive single into left field in the eighth inning Thursday.
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"Last night, somebody asked about him getting a hit," Bell said. "We need to get him playing time. We need to get him in there. It’s been tough just because the other guys were in a groove and playing well. It’s made it tough for Shogo, but he’s handling it great. Any opportunity we get him into the lineup is going to help him a lot."
Akiyama replaced Nick Senzel in the third inning Thursday after Senzel exited with a left heel contusion. Senzel remained out of the lineup Friday and Nick Castellanos received a scheduled off day from Bell.
“I really can’t help the situation," Akiyama said, according to interpreter Luke Shinoda. "Now, obviously, I was hoping for that first hit. With the situation with Senzel (Thursday), I was able to have closer to more normalcy and have a few at-bats in the game and finally have that first hit. I’m relieved.”
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Akiyama entered Friday with one hit in 12 at-bats and two strikeouts.
FUNNY MEMORIES: When Art Warren was asked how he watched Wade Miley’s no-hitter last weekend, he immediately became suspicious.
“Did anybody tell you about this?” Warren said. “Is that why you're asking?”
Warren was the Reds’ only player on the taxi squad during the first part of the Cincinnati Reds’ road trip in Cleveland. He works out with the team pre-game, throwing bullpen sessions to keep his arm in shape, but he’s not on the active 26-man roster. The league allowed teams to carry players on the taxi squad so they wouldn’t be shorthanded because of COVID-19 protocols.
The Reds brought just two players on the taxi squad in Colorado – Warren was promoted to the big-league roster Friday – because they want minor-leaguers to play in games.
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When Warren was the lone man on the taxi squad in Cleveland, he walked back to the team hotel during the game. He was paying attention to it and he was on the phone with his fiancée.
“Seventh inning kind of rolled around and I was telling some of the guys on the team I saw Wade Miley shake to a cutter inside,” Warren said. “And he dotted it. Struck out José Ramírez. At that moment I was like, ‘all right, Wade's on tonight and he's gonna throw it tonight.’”
When the Reds scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning, giving Miley a 3-0 lead for his chance at history, Warren knew he didn’t want to miss the celebration.
“I was trying to get a Lime scooter, but they turned off at 10 p.m.,” Warren said. “So, I ran back to the stadium. As soon as I got within a block, I heard everybody started cheering and I was like, ‘man, I hope that they didn't break up the no-hitter.’
“I was watching on the phone and talking to my fiancée at the time. She told me that the ball was in play with two outs. I heard the cheering, so I put two and two together and I was like, 'oh no.' Then I was watching on my phone and the seven-second delay came through and it was Farmer throwing the ball over to first, so I was ecstatic. I picked up my jog a little bit more and ran in and made it just in time for the celebration. It was really cool.”
WHO’S AT FIRST? Catcher Tyler Stephenson takes ground balls at first base before the first game of each series with Joey Votto sidelined with a broken left thumb.
Stephenson played one inning at first base this season, but as he gains experience there, he’s at least an option if Mike Moustakas isn’t playing the position.
“It’s going well,” Stephenson said. “I’ve actually never played first base in my professional career except when we were at home. It’s pretty funny, in the minor leagues, I never played. Growing up, I pitched, played first and caught. I’m very familiar with it and just kind of learning it again. They’ve been great. Obviously, it’s not a bad thing to learn just because you never know. It’s been fun.”
DIFFERENT GAME: Reds manager David Bell knows how quickly things can shift at Coors Field, probably the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the Majors. His dad, Buddy, managed for the Colorado Rockies from 2000-02.
Not that Bell needed another reminder – he’s talked to his dad about managing in Coors Field – but the Reds nearly erased a 10-run deficit in the top of the eighth inning Thursday when they scored eight runs on eight hits.
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“You’re never out of a game,” Bell said of Coors Field. “It’s a little bit different managing your pitching staff and the bullpen. You have to be careful not to run through guys too quick. I don’t think there’s any exact way to do it, but we have had a lot of discussions about it. I think that helps. He did spend quite a bit of time here.”
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