ATLANTA – Joey Votto put his name next to Frank Robinson, Ty Cobb and Pete Rose in the record books Wednesday, and he nearly single-handedly carried the Cincinnati Reds back from a five-run deficit against the Atlanta Braves.
Votto did everything he could. He homered twice, reached base in five of his six plate appearances and hit a game-tying two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning.
He just couldn’t stop the Braves from pulling a comeback of their own in the bottom of the 11th inning. Atlanta was down to its final out when Ozzie Albies launched a walk-off, three-run homer to hand the Reds a painful 8-6 loss at Truist Park in front of a crowd of 23,375.
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"I think the biggest disappointment," Reds manager David Bell said, "is that so many great things happened to get us to that point."
Votto, the 37-year-old who continues to turn back the clock, was at the top of the list. He joined Frank Robinson (1962) as the only two players in Reds history to hit 14 homers in a 20-game span, according to STATS LLC.
When Votto heard Robinson's name in his postgame Zoom press conference, he immediately responded, "I love Frank Robinson." He paused during his answer to scroll through his cell phone for a picture he took with Robinson from the 2017 All-Star Game, holding it up proudly in front of the camera.
"I asked him some questions and he was generous with his time," Votto said. "I’m a huge fan of Frank Robinson. Played the game with a reputation. A great player in all facets of the game. One of the greatest hitters of all time."
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Trailing by two runs in the ninth inning, Nick Castellanos was hit by a pitch on his foot. That brought up Votto, who launched a first-pitch slider from Braves closer Will Smith over the right-field wall for a 412-foot, game-tying homer.
Votto was 0-for-10 with two walks and four strikeouts in his career against Smith before his two-run blast. The dugout erupted as he ran around the bases with some players raising two fingers. When Votto crossed home plate, Mike Moustakas, just kept pointing at him.
He passed Rose for third on the Reds’ all-time RBI list (1,038), trailing only Johnny Bench (1,376) and Tony Perez (1,192).
"Humbled, but also meeting expectations," Votto said. "I’ve had high standards for my play and I don’t expect to get 4,000-plus hits, but I feel like there are other things I can do. I don’t want to take a backseat to many players, so without getting too big for my britches, it’s certainly humbling but I wouldn’t have it any other way."
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Before Votto returned to the dugout after his ninth-inning homer, he high-fived a fan who was sitting near the on-deck circle. Votto gave her his jersey when he was walking off the field following Albies' home run.
"She kept calling everything I did, singles and home runs," Votto said. "She kept calling them. We made an agreement before every at-bat. I talked to her a little bit mid-at-bat and she was screaming at me and supporting me. I’m not sure if it’ll end up on social media, but she was incredibly supportive despite lots of people that were not on her side. We almost did it together."
The sixth inning, when the Reds began their comeback bid, looked virtually the same as the ninth. Castellanos was hit by a pitch that grazed his pants leg. He initially returned to the batter’s box before the Reds’ dugout initiated a replay review.
Votto followed with a towering 442-foot homer to straightaway center field, clearing the first row of trees behind the wall. It was Votto’s longest home run of the season, a majestic missile off his bat.
Since the All-Star break, Votto leads the Majors in homers (14) and RBI (32). No other player has more than 10 homers.
"It was a different game when I was younger," said Votto, who has three multi-homer games this season and 16 in his career. "You had to get hits all over the field. There were styles of pitching that would soften power, I felt like. Now you have to answer with power. I’ve kind of finally caught up with the league. I’ve always had this power. I just wasn’t understanding that I needed to take advantage of it."
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Votto, who is five hits shy of 2,000 in his career, drew a two-out walk to load the bases in the third inning, which tied him with Cobb for 53rd on MLB’s all-time walk list (1,260).
It's a special day when a player can be grouped together with Cobb, Robinson and Rose.
"We should be OK talking about (Votto) as being great like that," Bell said. "He deserves it. He's shown it. He's proven it. He doesn't seek that out, but it's OK when it does happen because he absolutely deserves it. To us, it's no surprise that he's being mentioned with the great players in the history of the game."
The Reds were trailing 5-0 entering the sixth inning after a rough start by Wade Miley. He didn’t have his usual command, especially with his changeup. He allowed five runs on five hits and three walks in five innings, the second time he’s permitted more than three runs in his last 14 starts.
Then there was Votto to spark the team with a two-run homer in the sixth. Tyler Naquin and Eugenio Suárez hit back-to-back doubles to score a run in the eighth before Votto's game-tying homer.
"(Votto) just continues to push himself and, I guess, reopen the doors, man," Miley said. "It’s been incredible to watch how special of a baseball player he is –offensively, defensively and how he helps the younger players. He’s been more vocal this year. It’s been really fun to be a part of."
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It felt like everything was falling into place for a dramatic win. Michael Lorenzen and Mychal Givens stranded two runners each in the ninth and 10th innings. Kyle Farmer gave the Reds their first lead in the top of the 11th with an RBI single down the first-base line.
The Reds’ bullpen permitted only one hit in 5 2/3 innings until Albies stepped into the batter's box against Lucas Sims. Albies said was looking for a fastball in a hitter's count and he didn't miss when Sims elevated one.
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