CINCINNATI -- Even though he was four inches shorter and weighed roughly 125 pounds less, Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton loved messing with reliever Jonathan Broxton in 2014 when they were teammates. Hamilton would push his buttons, and once without success, push Broxton. Sometimes, the big right-hander got revenge and once put Hamilton in a laundry basket.
"If I had any shirts in my locker, he'd come in and cut up my shirts and put me in the trash," Hamilton said. "You're kind of afraid of him a little bit, you never know what he might do. He still might come over here and cut my stuff up."
Broxton now pitches for the Cardinals, and Hamilton got a chance to face him Tuesday in the eighth inning of the Reds' 7-6 win. With two outs and in a 1-2 count, Hamilton worked Broxton to a full count that included four foul balls for a 10-pitch at-bat. He grounded to the shortstop and earned an infield hit -- after the original out call was overturned upon review during a manager's challenge.
"It was fun going against him. He's always been a great guy," Hamilton said. "Even though he's with another team, it's something you look forward to -- going up against those guys to battle against him. It was a really good at-bat. We needed extra runs. My job was to get on base and see if we can get someone in. I battled and ended up getting an infield hit."
Hamilton also got the better of former teammate Mike Leake when he led off the seventh inning with a first-pitch home run to right field -- his second of the season.

Worth noting
• Right-handed pitcher Tim Adleman, on the disabled list since he sustained a left oblique strain during his May 19 start vs. the Indians, has shown some improvement, but not enough to be close to a return.
"He's doing OK," Reds manager Bryan Price said on Wednesday. "He still has a little bit of a sensation and an awareness that it's there, which I guess is consistent with that injury is that you can sense that it's not 100 percent healed. I don't think he's having any real pains or anything."