PHILADELPHIA -- The Reds are leaving town feeling a lot better about themselves than when they got here.
Cincinnati earned its first road series win in a month on Wednesday afternoon, taking a 9-4 decision in the rubber match against the Phillies, a team that had been sizzling hot when the Reds arrived at Citizens Bank Park on Monday.
“I don't get too caught up in the home-road stuff,” manager Terry Francona said. “I just think when we play good, it doesn't matter where we are, and when we don't play good, it probably doesn't matter where we are.”
As a whole, the Reds hadn’t played very well in May, backing up Francona’s theory.
They had won only one series this month, and their last road series win had been April 20-22 against the Rays. Prior to the two wins against the Phillies, Cincinnati was 1-10 in its first 11 road games this month.
Winning a road series is one thing; doing it against a Philadelphia team that won 15 of its first 19 games and its past six series under interim manager Don Mattingly is something altogether different.
“It's tough to win in this place,” said left-hander Andrew Abbott, who held the Phillies to two runs (one earned) over 5 1/3 innings. “We know what we need to do to win. We have the confidence of Tito. We have the confidence of every guy in here, whether they're up from Triple-A, whether they've been here, if they're established -- I think everyone just feeds off of that.”
The top three hitters in the Reds’ lineup combined to go 2-for-15 with five strikeouts, but the rest of the offense made up for it. Nathaniel Lowe drove in three runs with a pair of timely doubles, while the bottom three hitters picked up their teammates atop the batting order.
“We got big hits from a number of guys,” Francona said.
The Reds had gotten only 24 RBIs from the bottom two spots in the lineup this season, the second-fewest of any club in the Majors ahead of only the Cardinals’ 21. Cincinnati soared up that list Wednesday, as the Nos. 8 and 9 spots accounted for four RBIs.
Blake Dunn, Will Benson, P.J. Higgins and Dane Myers (who pinch-hit for Benson in the sixth), combined to go 5-for-13 with two runs scored and four RBIs in the bottom three spots in the Reds’ lineup.
“We just have so many guys throughout the lineup and I'm confident in every single one of us,” said Sal Stewart, who belted a two-run homer in the ninth to cap his first career four-hit game. “No matter who's up there, I'm very, very confident and I trust these guys.”
The Reds might have been in position to sweep the series if not for a blown lead in the late innings of Monday’s opener. Francona was quick to mention the absence of Kyle Schwarber from Philly’s lineup, however, as the MLB home run leader sat out the series with an illness.
“They're good and they've been playing good,” Francona said. “They had their best hitter out, which I'm very thankful for. Believe me, that eighth and ninth inning, I knew where he was every minute.”
Having avoided seeing their record dip below .500 for the first time since Opening Day, the Reds (26-24) return home following Thursday’s off-day for a quick three-game set against the Cardinals at Great American Ball Park, after which they’ll head back on the road for three games in New York against the Mets.
“We know we're a good team,” said Abbott, who is now 4-0 with a 1.28 ERA in his past five starts. “We saw what we did the first month or so of the season; there's no reason that we can't go do it again.”