Schebler, Renfroe homer; Reds beat Padres

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Scott Schebler sparked a late-inning power surge for the Reds, as they slugged their way to a 9-4 victory over the Padres on Sunday at the Peoria Sports Complex. Schebler broke a sixth-inning tie with a three-run blast, before Patrick Kivlehan and Jesse Winker tacked on back-to-back shots in the eighth.
The homers helped make a winner out of Reds prospect Amir Garrett, who made his fifth outing of spring in his quest for a rotation spot. Garrett threw five innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits with one walk and one strikeout.
In a first-inning battle between two of MLBPipeline's Top 100 prospects, Garrett (No. 66) gave up a two-run homer to Padres right fielder Hunter Renfroe (No. 42) on an 0-1 slider. It was an impressive piece of hitting by Renfroe, who has struggled to hit big league breaking pitches.
Garrett acknowledged that he lacked his best stuff on the mound.
"You've got to pitch on those days," said Garrett, who threw 70 pitches with 46 strikes. "Like today, I had to pitch and my team had my back through a lot of stuff today. I rely on them a lot, and they came through for me today. But it helps you learn about yourself and what kind of pitcher you are. Overall it was a great day."

The Reds quickly got those two runs back in the second inning. Desmond Jennings and Christian Walker -- both of whom are competing for bench spots on the big league roster -- recorded back-to-back RBI doubles off Padres right-hander Jarred Cosart.

Cosart is returning from offseason elbow surgery, which slowed him a bit in his battle for a rotation spot. He pitched four innings -- more than he had thrown all spring before Sunday -- and allowed two runs on five hits. Cosart, who struggled a bit with his command last season, hasn't walked a batter since the first hitter of the spring.
"How my arm feels now, it's back to like I'm at the beginning of my career again," Cosart said. "So I just take that as a huge positive and trust in these pitching coaches. The new delivery, it just feels really good. … My number one goal this entire spring has just been to prove that I can throw strikes consistently in the strike zone, let everything else take care of itself."
Christian Bethancourt -- who is still transitioning into his role as a pitcher-catcher hybrid -- relieved Cosart. His control wasn't as sharp, and he threw six strikes in 15 pitches. Nonetheless, Bethancourt escaped the inning unscathed, thanks to a double-play line drive and a strikeout.

Reds Up Next:Two pitchers competing for the rotation will be working Monday at 4:05 p.m. ET when the Reds face the Royals in Surprise, Ariz., on MLB.TV. Rookie Davis, who has a 3.86 ERA in three Cactus League games, will make the start. Tim Adleman, who allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings in his last start vs. the Dodgers, is scheduled to pitch out the bullpen.
Padres Up Next:Clayton Richard is set to make the first of his three remaining spring starts on Monday, when the Padres host the Rangers at 7:10 p.m. PT on MLB.TV. Yangervis Solarte, who played for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, will to return to the lineup -- potentially at second base.
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