When Cincinnati Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos came off the injured list for Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Reds starting lineup was suddenly deeper than it had been in a while.
Shortstop Kyle Farmer, who entered the game hitting .366 since July 1, was batting sixth in the order. Center fielder Tyler Naquin, a power hitter who has 57 RBI this season, was batting seventh. And third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who’s tied for the team lead in home runs, was batting eighth for the first time since 2015.
"If you have the Venezuelan home run king hitting eighth," Farmer said, "Then your lineup is pretty stacked."
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On Thursday, Pirates rookie starting pitcher Will Crowe couldn’t contain a lineup that deep. The Reds scored six runs in the second inning on their way to a 7-4 win at Great American Ball Park in front of 19,393 fans.
"We’ve had some injuries and other players have been able to make the most of the opportunity and get better," Reds manager David Bell said. "Now as we get guys back, it does create more depth throughout our lineup. I think we saw that tonight."
On the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning, Reds second baseman Jonathan India hit a second deck home run that gave Cincinnati an early lead. Then in the second inning, Farmer and Naquin reached base before Suárez drove them all in with a three run homer.
"He’s got like 22 home runs, that’s incredible," Farmer said. "I asked him how many 20-plus home run seasons he’s had and I think he’s had six, which is incredible."
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This is a big week for Suárez, who entered the game with the second lowest batting average in MLB. With third baseman Mike Moustakas set to return off the injured list soon, playing time for Suárez at third base going forward is up in the air.
Suárez has made two significant adjustments recently, looking for more fastballs to hit and using a longer and higher leg kick. Now he has four home runs over his last nine games as well as a six-game hitting streak.
"Such an important player on our team," Bell said. "Even when there’s been times he has struggled, he’s still capable of doing what he did tonight. The big home run. He’s going the right direction, that’s for sure."
After the Reds got back to the top of the order, first baseman Joey Votto hit a three-run homer to score the team’s sixth run of the second inning.
With Castellanos back in the lineup, Farmer moved from third to sixth. Naquin and Suárez also moved down in the order and the Reds had their eight best active hitters in the lineup.
The Reds had the best offense in baseball when Castellanos was on the injured list, and Castellanos has been the team’s biggest threat in the middle of the order all season. With Castellanos back in the lineup, the Reds scored five-or-more runs for the 12th time in their last 13 games.
"We scored a lot of runs, that’s what we do," Reds second baseman Jonathan India said. "We can hit as a team. It’s not surprising but it was a good feeling for us.”
Reds starter Sonny Gray allowed four runs in the fifth inning after the Pirates had three infield singles. After struggling for two straight starts in July, Gray struck out seven batters on Thursday and threw 98 pitches.
After two scoreless innings by Jeff Hoffman and one from Justin Wilson out of the bullpen, trade deadline acquisition Mychal Givens got his first save with the Reds in the ninth.
With the win, the Reds improved to a season-high seven games over .500.
"The clubhouse is nice, it’s fun," Farmer said. "Good to have Nick (Castellanos) back in the lineup as well. It’s a good group of guys and a lot of fun to be around."
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