Hamilton has big day, Reed K's 7 in Reds win
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- A two-out error in the bottom of the eighth opened the door for the Reds to keep a rally alive for an 8-7 comeback victory over the Padres on Wednesday at Goodyear Ballpark.
The Reds had a 5-4 advantage with one out in the top of the eighth when Minor Leaguer Edwin Moreno hit reliever Michael Lorenzen's 2-1 pitch well over the right-field wall for a three-run homer. In the bottom of the eighth against Kevin Quackenbush, Zach Vincej hit a solo homer to left field to cut the deficit to a run. With one out, Arismendy Alcantara grounded into a force play at second base, but shortstop Allen Cordoba's throwing error into the dugout allowed the tying run to score.
Reds bench candidate Christian Walker then smoked an RBI triple to the wall in left field that scored Alcantara for the go-ahead run.
San Diego had a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning when Cincinnati picked up three runs. Padres starter Clayton Richard gave up a two-run homer to left field by Zack Cozart. Later in the inning with two outs against reliever Carlos Fisher, Stuart Turner hit a triple and scored on Billy Hamilton's RBI single. Hamilton collected three hits in the game with two steals and scored a run on Joey Votto's first-inning single.
Richard, the probable Opening Day starter for the Padres at Dodger Stadium on April 3, left with one out in the fourth having given up three runs on five hits with two walks and the homer. He struck out none.
"I felt good," the veteran left-hander said. "I was in and out of my delivery But [catcher Hector Sanchez] and I were able to get through some things. I probably wasn't as efficient as we would like to be. It would have been nice to get through that fourth inning. But I'm healthy, everything feels good, and I'm making steps in the right direction, so that's good."
Vying for a rotation spot, Reds left-hander Cody Reed pitched 3 2/3 innings with three runs (two earned), four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. Reed allowed Hunter Renfroe's two-run home run in the first inning.
"It was a changeup down. Here I am working on it again," said Reed, who struck out the side in the second inning. "Even [catcher Devin Mesoraco] came up to me and said, 'Changeup down, you've got to throw it if you want to pitch here all this year.' It's what I did. [Renfroe] took advantage. I got behind, 1-0, and I threw it. If I got ahead, it could have been a different story. Other than that, I felt really good. I threw my slider for strikes, got a lot of swings and misses."
The Padres evened the game at 4 in the top of the sixth when Hector Sanchez lifted a 0-2 pitch for a solo homer to right field against Drew Storen.
Padres Up Next: Padres are back at Peoria Stadium against the Royals for a 1:10 p.m. PT start on MLB.TV. Veteran right-hander Trevor Cahill, still vying for one of the last two slots in the rotation, is slated to be on the bump.
Reds Up Next: Following an off day on Thursday, the Reds will resume play at 6:05 p.m. ET Friday on as the visiting team vs. the Indians in Goodyear on MLB.TV. Votto likely will be in the starting lineup, and Brandon Finnegan is scheduled to be the starting pitcher.
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