Rodríguez's 2-HR cameo from leadoff spot sparks Reds' historic rally
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Facing an ever-growing issue of the Reds lineup lacking run production, manager Terry Francona tried something new and moved rookie Héctor Rodríguez into the leadoff spot for Wednesday's series finale against the Giants.
It put Rodríguez ahead of Elly De La Cruz, who led off every game since June 27. But beyond De La Cruz and Sal Stewart, finding ways to score has been elusive. The Reds were held to one or fewer runs in nine of the previous 17 games.
Consider the lineup -- and the limits of baseball history -- properly stretched after the Reds’ thrilling 10-9, come-from-behind victory over San Francisco from a rally sparked by Rodríguez’s second home run of the game.
“I enjoyed being a part of that and being able to add something into it was great," Rodríguez said via translator Tomas Vera.
Cincinnati trailed, 9-3, in the top of the ninth inning when it sent 11 men to the plate and scored seven runs.
It was the Reds' third-ever win when trailing by six runs or more entering the ninth inning and first since May 8, 1958, at the Cubs. The other came May 8, 1918, at St. Louis.
The Giants entered Wednesday 2,208-0 in their team's history when leading by six or more runs entering the ninth inning.
“It feels great," said Eugenio Suárez, who slugged a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning. "I told the guys this game was crazy. We were down almost the whole game. That inning, we had little things that helped us win this game. Little things that we need to do more. It’s not just about the big homers, like by me.”
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Francona, who said he commiserated Tuesday night with coaches Freddie Benavides and Mike Napoli before making the decision to lead off with Rodríguez, stuck with the original plan even after the Giants revealed only three hours before first pitch that ace Logan Webb was moved up to start.
Rodríguez, who also hit a game-tying homer in the third inning, wound up reaching safely three times.
“I just put in [my] mind that this is an opportunity I have and I have to take advantage of that. Thank God I did it," Rodríguez said.
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In the ninth inning, Rodríguez got it started when he slugged a leadoff homer over the right-field seats. The drive, which was hit at 115.2 mph, went a Statcast-projected 423 feet and landed in the water of McCovey Cove. It was the third "splash hit" by a Red at Oracle Park and the first since Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas did it back-to-back days on April 12-13, 2021.
“That big homer by Héctor woke us up in the dugout," Suárez said. "We’ve never seen a big homer like that in San Francisco.”
“Truly it feels great. I never thought the ball was going to land that far," Rodríguez said.
The 22-year-old Rodríguez had largely struggled since his first big league call-up on Aug. 4. But he might be turning a corner, as he's gone 8-for-19 in his last five games.
“He’s got such good hitter’s hands," Francona said. "If he can just relax and swing at strikes, he’ll do some damage.”
After reliever Spencer Bivens loaded the bases with no outs, Suárez's grand slam to left-center field off Dylan Smith made it a one-run game.
“Geno hits the home run and you’re kind of like, ‘Why can’t that be the tying run?'” Francona said. “But to our guys’ credit, they kept going.”
Dane Myers reached on a bunt single to third base and advanced on a throwing error before Matt McLain also bunted for a single that put runners on the corners. Still with no outs, McLain stole second base and took third when Jose Trevino tied the game with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Both of those smaller plays proved huge. It enabled McLain to score the go-ahead run on pinch-hitter Tyler Stephenson's RBI single to left field.
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Earlier for the Reds, things looked bleak. Starter Nick Lodolo labored for four-plus innings. The lineup had the bases loaded and one out in the seventh inning and came away with only Stewart's sacrifice fly, which gave the rookie a Major League-leading 100 RBIs.
Stewart could join Ted Williams (144 in 1939) and Walt Dropo (144 in 1950) as the only rookies to finish a season as MLB's RBI leader.
Then in the eighth inning, the Giants scored three runs off Tony Santillan. But the Reds didn't wilt away.
“I’m just glad that they kept playing, because that was kind of not a fun day," Francona said.