MIAMI -- Gabriel Guerrero saved the Reds from yet another shutout in Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Marlins. In an eighth-inning pinch-hit role, just his 10th Major League at-bat, Guerrero hit the first pitch he saw from Marlins reliever Nick Wittgren for his first home run in the bigs.
Guerrero crushed an 86-mph slider from Wittgren for just his second Major League hit. Statcast™ measured it at 415 feet with an exit velocity of 106.4 mph. It somewhat softened the Reds' blow of losing for the 24th time in their last 32 road games this season.
"It's an awesome moment," said Guerrero, nephew of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero. "Everybody dreams of a moment like that."
Having belted 80 homers in nine Minor League seasons, Guerrero knows what it feels like to get a hold of one. He said he felt it off the bat that he had just hit his first one in the big leagues.
"Yes, I felt like I got it right away," he said. "I hit it pretty good."
Rounding the bases, he could hardly believe what he had just accomplished.
"I was like floating out there. It feels amazing," said Guerrero, who was working on retrieving the baseball, saying it would go into his trophy case. "Yes, it's going to my house."