Puig puts on a show with two homers

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Maybe Yasiel Puig is part Irish and never told us? That would be one way to explain a St. Patrick’s Day dandy in which he sham-rocked a two-time Cy Young Award winner and an All-Star closer for a pair of home runs in the Reds' 9-9 tie with the Indians on Sunday at Goodyear Ballpark.

“Good day for me,” Puig said. “I never do these things on St. Patrick’s Day.”

Puig’s monster six-RBI day, which included a grand slam off Corey Kluber and two-run blast off Brad Hand, obviously won’t mean anything when the page flips to the regular season. But for a player who is acclimating himself to a new club and trying to prove he’s a viable weapon against lefties, this was a valuable day for one of the signature additions of the Reds’ busy offseason.

The Reds were down 3-0 when Puig came to bat with the bases loaded against Kluber in the fourth inning, and he swatted Kluber’s first pitch onto the left-field berm to give the Reds the lead. The following inning, with Hand on the hill, Puig deposited an 0-1 pitch to nearly the same spot.

That second shot was particularly important. Puig has spoken frequently this spring about his desire to face more lefties. He had settled into a reverse-splits role with the Dodgers in recent years. Over the last two seasons with the Dodgers, the right-handed-hitting Puig had a .612 OPS against lefties – 302 points below what he produced against righties.

“[Hand] is a good pitcher, and I made good contact,” Puig said. “I’ve been practicing everything, righty and lefty.”

The storyline in recent days was Puig asking to be in the lineup against his old team, when the Reds played the Dodgers on back-to-back days late last week. But Puig has quickly looked comfortable with his new club. He’s now hitting .375 with four homers and 11 RBIs on the spring.

Ervin making an impression

Phillip Ervin seems to be having the right spring at the wrong time. The outfield opportunity that appeared to open up when the Reds non-tendered Billy Hamilton last November closed just as quickly with the trade that brought in Puig and Matt Kemp -- and Ervin’s eye-opening five homers, two doubles and 1.307 OPS in 13 Cactus League games don’t alter the reality that is the Reds’ crowded outfield composition.

But there is confidence to be gained from such a spring showing, and Ervin has been pleased with his production.

“Right now, I feel like the flight of the ball from my swings is good right now,” Ervin said. “I’ve worked on my swing and my flight path in the cage, and I’m happy with it. I’m just trying to put the barrel on the ball.”

Ervin, the Reds’ first-round pick in 2013 (No. 27 overall), made the club as a fifth outfielder to open 2018, but was soon demoted back to Triple-A. In the second half, however, Ervin took advantage of increased opportunity due to outfield injuries and had some nice moments, including a walk-off homer against the Giants on Aug. 17, and a Sept. 7 game in which his two homers, suicide squeeze and diving catch in the outfield were the highlights of a win over the Padres.

None of that made him a go-to option for a starting job. In fact, the 26-year-old Ervin even gave up his jersey number (27) to Kemp. Top prospect Nick Senzel’s transition to center field only further complicates matters. But with the 2018 strides, combined with this camp performance, Ervin stands as part of the first line of defense in the outfield.

“He looks really comfortable,” manager David Bell said. “He’s playing well in the outfield, he’s having good at-bats. I do believe it’s a confidence thing, but I also believe he’s still a young player and continues to get better. It’s great to see. He’s done everything he possibly can.”

Who’s up first?

For Sunday’s game against the Indians, Bell had Scooter Gennett in the leadoff spot and Joey Votto batting second. In the 2018 season, Gennett batted leadoff just three times and Votto batted second just eight times.

So is this a top-of-the-order we might see in the season opener?

“I wouldn’t rule it out,” Bell said. “But I’m following these guys’ at-bats and where we’re trying to get. We’re right on the brink of playing deep into games and not quite there, and I want to make sure we’re getting guys the right amount of at-bats without playing nine innings, which we don’t want to do right now.”

Bell has rotated a variety of players through the leadoff spot thus far this spring. He has listed Jesse Winker and Scott Schebler as two of his potential leadoff options, and has cited on-base percentage as a determining factor. Gennett’s .357 OBP trailed only that of Votto (.417) and Eugenio Suarez (.366) among Reds regulars last year.

Worth noting

• Bell reflected a bit on his grade school and high school days playing basketball opposite University of Cincinnati men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin, whose Bearcats defeated Houston, 69-57, in the AAC Tournament final on Sunday. “He was so much better than me,” Bell said of Cronin. “I loved basketball, but he was one of the best grade-school basketball players I’ve ever seen. You could tell he played year-round and you could tell he loved it. He really just dominated the game.”

• Alex Wood (back) remains on track to throw off a mound on Monday or Tuesday.

Up next

The Reds will make the long trek across town to Scottsdale to face the Rockies at Salt River Fields on Monday. Tyler Mahle, who appears to be taking Wood’s season-opening rotation spot, will make the 4:10 p.m. ET start opposite Kyle Freeland.