ATLANTA – When Kevin Herget entered Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the seventh inning, it was the first time he faced a hitter in 13 days.
There were no signs of rust. Herget pitched two scoreless innings, and he earned his first Major League win after the Cincinnati Reds erased a one-run deficit in the ninth inning for a 6-4 comeback win.
Herget was the scheduled starter at Triple-A Louisville last Wednesday, the day he was promoted to the big leagues. The Reds called him up when they were light on fresh arms in the bullpen, but their games Wednesday and Thursday were postponed.
That meant a longer wait for Herget. The last time he pitched, March 27, was the day before Louisville’s roster broke camp in Arizona.
“I didn’t feel like I was out of it for that long,” Herget said.
The 32-year-old Herget made his MLB debut with the Tampa Bay Rays last season after beginning the year pitching in an independent league. He spent nine seasons in the minor leagues before receiving his first call to the majors. His journey made days like Sunday, where he had the game’s lineup card in his locker, even more rewarding.
"Looking back now," Herget said, "I wouldn’t change anything."
Herget grew up in New Jersey, fewer than a two-hour drive from Citizens Bank Park. He had family and friends at the first two games of the series against the Phillies, but nobody Sunday.
“Kind of the way it works,” Herget said Sunday. “My debut last year, my family came and I didn’t pitch and I got sent back down. This year, same thing. My family was here two days ago. I had a couple of friends (Saturday). My fiancée was here until this morning and is on a flight right now. That’s kind of the way it always works for me.”
Stuart Fairchild snags first career stolen base
Look at Statcast's leaderboards and Reds outfielder Stuart Fairchild can be found near the top of the list in sprint speed (91st percentile).
One thing he had yet to do with his speed, until the ninth inning Sunday, was successfully steal a base. Fairchild drew a four-pitch walk against Seranthony Domínguez with one out in the ninth inning, and he swiped second on Domínguez’s second pitch to the next batter, Jonathan India.
“The stolen base by Stuart kind of changed the inning, got the inning going in the right direction,” Bell said. “That takes something right there to steal a base in that situation.”
The decision to steal came from Fairchild. Reds coaches, of course, gave him the green light and wanted him to move into scoring position, but it was left in Fairchild’s hands to determine whether he felt he had a good read on the pitcher, solid footing and could take a larger lead.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto had already thrown out two runners during the three-game series, but Fairchild knew Domínguez had slower times in his delivery to the plate.
“The way I’ve always thought about stealing is you’re stealing off the pitcher,” Fairchild said. “If he’s slow to the plate, even the best catcher in the game isn’t going to throw you out if you get a good jump. That was the right situation with a slow pitcher to the plate and you have to take your chance there.”
Despite Fairchild’s speed, he’s never been a prolific base stealer. He stole 23 bases when he was in A-ball in 2018, but he hasn’t stolen more than seven bases in a season afterward.
“There is obviously sprint speed and then understanding situations to go in, knowing counts to go on, pitchers to go on, so there is a lot more that goes into base stealing," he said. "I’m trying to improve that part of my game, for sure.”
Louisville shooting: Reds’ Triple-A team all OK
Four people were killed and nine injured in a shooting at Old National Bank in Louisville on Monday morning, Louisville Metro Police confirmed at a press conference.
Old National Bank is located across the street from Louisville Slugger Field, which is the home of the Reds' Triple-A team, the Louisville Bats. No Bats players or staff were affected in the shooting, Bell confirmed.
“I actually woke up and the first I heard of it was from (General Manager) Nick Krall,” Bell said. “He let me know right away that no one was affected. I hadn’t seen it before I knew all of us in our family, our baseball family, was OK.”
Louisville had an off day Monday, but was expected to depart for the team’s road trip to Toledo on Monday night.
Injury updates: Joey Votto, Nick Senzel, Luke Weaver
It’s possible Nick Senzel, who is on a rehab assignment with Louisville, could rejoin the Reds sometime this week. He missed the start of the season recovering from offseason toe surgery.
“All reports are great on Nick as far as how he’s feeling and how he’s playing,” Bell said. “He’s getting close."
Luke Weaver, who made his first rehab start Sunday and pitched four scoreless innings, is scheduled to pitch five innings Friday. The Reds haven’t determined whether that will be his last rehab start or if he will make one more afterward.
Joey Votto began his rehab assignment on April 1, so he can remain on a rehab assignment until April 20 if he doesn’t return earlier. Votto is 4-for-28 on his rehab assignment with a homer, a double, three walks and 17 strikeouts.
“Joey is just continuing to inch closer,” Bell said. “It’s probably no surprise he’s had to work through a lot to get back to where he needs to, but it’s getting close."
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