When the Cincinnati Reds lost on Tuesday by one run, the difference was the highlight play that Reds first baseman Joey Votto just missed in the first inning. A sharp ground ball down the first base line barely got past a diving Votto and his outstretched glove.
Even though it would have been a difficult play to make, Votto took more infield practice than any of the Reds starters over the next few days. Facing the Chicago Cubs on Saturday at Great American Ball Park, Votto stepped up with one of his best defensive plays of the season.
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By turning an acrobatic double play in the top of the seventh inning, Votto prevented the Cubs from taking the lead. And then Votto scored the go-ahead run on Saturday as the Reds beat the Cubs, 3-2.
With the score tied in the top of the seventh inning and a runner on third base, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo hit a high chopper to first base. Votto leapt, snagged the ball with the webbing of his glove and got the force out at second base.
Votto then returned to cover first base, and shortstop Kyle Farmer made the throw to Votto for an inning-ending double play that kept the runner at third from scoring. After making the play, Votto flexed and shouted in front of a cheering crowd of 36,815 fans.
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For the second consecutive game, Votto was also the catalyst for the Reds offense.
On Friday, Votto hit a two-run double as the Reds beat the Cubs 2-1. On Saturday, Votto crushed a 417 foot home run near the batter’s eye in center field in the fourth inning. It was his 11th home run of the year, which would put Votto on a 33 home run pace over 162 games.
Then in the bottom of the seventh, Votto started the inning with a walk. He hustled from first to third on a double by catcher Tyler Stephenson, and Votto scored on an RBI single from third baseman Eugenio Suárez.
Earlier this week, Reds manager David Bell gave Suárez consecutive days off. Suárez had the second-lowest batting average among all qualifying hitters in MLB, and he has responded by making minor adjustments to the way he grips the bat to get more comfortable at the plate.
On Saturday, Suárez’s go-ahead, RBI single in the seventh inning was one of his most important hits of the season. After Suárez reached base and Votto scored, Votto pointed to Suárez to give him credit for the moment.
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Starting pitcher Tyler Mahle allowed just one earned run in five innings, and the Reds bullpen stepped up after Mahle left the game. Over the previous two games, the Reds had won two games by one run. During that stretch, relievers Amir Garrett, Brad Brach and Art Warren pitched in consecutive games.
The Reds turned to a few relievers who had been pitching in lower leverage situations. Sean Doolittle, Ryan Hendrix and Josh Osich had recently mostly pitched when the Reds were trailing. On Sunday, they pitched three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit.
Reliever Heath Hembree pitched the ninth inning. He recorded his second save in the last two days and the fifth save of his entire nine-year career.
With the win, the Reds improved to 42-40 and passed the Cubs in the NL Central standings. For the first time since April 22, the Reds sit in second place in the division standings.
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