Big inning sinks Sanabia, Marlins in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI -- One inning was the difference.

The Reds sent 12 men to the plate and scored eight runs in the seventh inning against the Marlins to turn a tie game into a 10-6 win at Great American Ball Park on Sunday.

Marlins reliever Jon Rauch -- who inherited a bases-loaded, no-out situation from starter Alex Sanabia -- allowed all three baserunners to score. And then he allowed five more to do the same.

"Rauch was our one fresh arm, and we brought him into a tough situation," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "It just didn't work out."

Rauch's final line was five runs allowed on four hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Sanabia -- the only Miami starter to have recorded a win this season -- didn't pitch a single inning with the lead, but he kept the Marlins in the game.

He limited the damage in a pivotal third inning, as the Reds sent seven batters to the plate, but scored only one run. With the bases loaded and only one out, Sanabia struck out Jay Bruce on three pitches and fielded a first-pitch grounder off the bat of Devin Mesoraco to end the inning.

In the seventh inning, however, Sanabia allowed the first three hitters he faced to reach base before being removed for Rauch. Sanabia finished with five runs allowed on six hits in six-plus innings. He threw 109 pitches, striking out three and walking five.

"He did everything he could; I could not ask anything more from him," Redmond said. "He pitched a great game. He made pitches, mixing his breaking ball and his changeup. He knew the situation we were in with the bullpen."

The Marlins were shorthanded after using their relievers for 8 2/3 innings in Saturday's 13-inning loss.

"I had to go out there and get extended a bit," Sanabia said. "That's my job -- to go out there and pitch."

Reds starter Homer Bailey, who entered the game with a 1-1 record and a 2.84 ERA in four career starts vs. the Marlins, was hardly dominant, but he made pitches when he had to.

Miami put runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings, but managed only one run. The Marlins loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but Donovan Solano struck out to end the inning.

It was Miami's 40th strikeout of the series.

Bailey finished with eight strikeouts and now has 27 strikeouts in 31 1/3 career innings against the Marlins. He threw 99 pitches -- 63 for strikes -- and allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings.

Chris Valaika had a pair of RBI singles -- one in the second inning, one in the sixth -- to account for Miami's first two runs.

Joey Votto, who went 7-for-11 in the final two games of the series, hit a first-pitch home run in the first inning to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. The homer, Votto's third of the season, traveled 380 feet and was his second solo shot in as many days.

The Marlins responded in the second with three consecutive one-out singles by Rob Brantly, Nick Green and Valaika to tie the game at 1. That trio went a combined 5-for-7 with two walks.

The rest of the Marlins struggled.

Giancarlo Stanton, who has yet to homer this season, drove in his first run of the year with a single in the ninth inning. He came home on Miguel Olivo's pinch-hit three-run homer. Stanton finished 2-for-5 with three strikeouts. He also committed an error that resulted in the Reds' fourth run.

Stanton had a chance to drive in a run in the top of the first, with Chris Coghlan on third and only one out. Stanton struck out swinging, and Joe Mahoney followed suit to end the threat.

Stanton, Mahoney and Justin Ruggiano -- the Marlins' 3-4-5 hitters -- went a combined 2-for-14 with seven strikeouts on the day.

Shin-Soo Choo reached base in 11 of his last 12 plate appearances in the series. He had five hits, four walks and was twice hit by a pitch -- both from the right arm of Sanabia.

After winning, 3-2, on Friday, the Marlins had two chances to at least tie the four-game series, but came up empty. They struck out 48 times in the series and were outscored by a combined 25-11.

"This team's pretty resilient," Redmond said. "We don't have a lot of wins, but guys are able to turn the page and stay positive. We've got to stay with it. I feel like we have a chance to win every single day. I know they do, too."