KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Less than 24 hours before Jonathan India hit a go-ahead double in the seventh inning Wednesday, he was pulled from a game because of an ankle injury.
Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said India was moving at “quite a bit less than 100%,” so they wanted to give him some additional time to rest. After the night game, India told Bell he wanted to be in the lineup the following day.
Who could argue with him?
India is playing through a few injuries, but he refuses to let anything slow him down. His two-run double was the difference in the Reds’ 5-2 victory against the Kansas City Royals in their series finale at Kauffman Stadium.
After a 72-minute rain delay between the seventh and eighth innings, the Reds added a pair of insurance runs for the bullpen. Shogo Akiyama hit an RBI double in the eighth and Tyler Naquin hit an RBI single in the ninth.
The Royals loaded the bases in the eighth inning, but reliever Art Warren escaped the jam with a flyout to the warning track. Heath Hembree pitched a clean ninth to earn a save.
The Reds have won 10 of their last 15 games. They will end the first half of the season with four road games against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Then they’ll play three home games against the Brewers immediately following the All-Star break.
It’s hard to underestimate the magnitude of those seven games. It’s a chance for the Reds to make up ground in the division and a way to put pressure on the front office to make moves ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Lose a chunk of those games and the road to the postseason becomes harder with two-and-a-half months left.
The Reds came back from a two-run deficit in the seventh inning with a rally from the bottom of their batting order. Tucker Barnhart opened with a single, the last batter for Royals starter Brady Singer. Facing reliever Scott Barlow, Shogo Akiyama snuck a ground ball through the left side of the infield for a single and Mike Freeman followed with an RBI single to left.
India, who reached base in four of his five plate appearances, followed with his two-run double to left field. India shouted, “Let’s go!” while standing on top of the second-base bag.
The rookie leadoff hitter is batting .333 in his last 15 games with a .463 on-base percentage. Talk about a perfect example of a table-setter at the top of the lineup.
Consider all he’s dealt with over the past week. India tweaked his shoulder on July 1 when he slid to stop a ground ball. Bell called it a “significant” injury, but India convinced him he was healthy enough to remain in the game, mimicking a swing at second base.
He injured his ankle when Javier Báez slid into second base Sunday, tagging from first base on a fly ball. India was scratched from the lineup Monday. Bell said he played at “quite a bit less than 100%” Tuesday when he reached base twice, scored a run and drove in a run.
If that wasn’t enough, India had another injury scare during a wacky fourth inning Wednesday. Trying to turn an inning-ending double play at second base, India hit his hand on Ryan O’Hearn’s helmet, who was sliding into second base. Carlos Santana scored from second on the deflected throw, beating first baseman Tyler Stephenson’s throw to the plate with a nifty slide.
India immediately fell to the ground after hitting his hand on O’Hearn’s helmet. He was checked by a trainer, but remained in the game responded with three hits in his next three at-bats, though he did grimace on a check-swing on the pitch before his two-run double.
The Royals added another run in the fourth inning against Sonny Gray when the next three batters reached base via two hits and a walk, which included an RBI single by Michael A. Taylor. Gray avoided more damage when he stranded the bases loaded, inducing a popup against leadoff hitter Whit Merrifield in a 3-1 count.
Gray didn’t seem happy with himself, flipping his hat and glove to an umpire during a foreign substance inspection.
That was Gray’s last hiccup of the afternoon. He retired his final 10 batters, including striking out the side in the seventh inning before the rain delay.
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