Farmer’s power, Aquino’s arm lifts Reds past Giants
Right fielder Aristides Aquino threw out pinch-runner Joey Bart at the plate to end the game, and the Cincinnati Reds held off the San Francisco Giants 3-2 on Saturday behind Kyle Farmer’s early three-run homer.
Cincinnati extended its winning streak to a season-high four despite playing down a man following the suspension of outfielder Tommy Pham.
The strong-armed Aquino saved this one, nailing Bart trying to score the tying run from second base on Wilmer Flores’ two-out single in the ninth inning.
“Being a former third base coach, you have to send him with two outs,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “That kind of hit, everything has to go right for the outfielder to field it cleanly and make not only a strong throw but an accurate throw. The catcher’s got to pick it. You have to go for it but we knew it was coming when he got a good hop.”
Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson did a backward somersault before plate umpire Adam Hamari could make sure he had the ball.
“It’s a tough call, but we and I completely support the decision,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “You have to make the outfielder make that throw. It’s hard to get two hits in a row, and there’s a chance it could be offline.”
The Giants had spent the previous eight innings choosing not to test the arms of Aquino and center fielder Nick Senzel, who kept Evan Longoria from scoring in the second.
Longoria decided against trying to score from second on Donovan Walton’s sharp single to Senzel, and then held on Curt Casali’s bases-loaded fly ball to Aquino in short right field. Mike Yastrzemski also held at second on Darin Ruf ’s one-out fly to Aquino in the fifth.
With Brandon Drury and Tyler Stephenson on base and two outs in the first, Farmer launched a shot into the left-center seats for his third home run in the last three games, extending his hitting streak to a Reds season-high eight games.
The at-bat was the first of Farmer’s career in a regular-season game against Alex Wood, his former University of Georgia and Los Angeles Dodgers teammate and roommate. Woods described Farmer as his “best friend.” The two were traded together with Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig to the Reds before the 2019 season.
Vladimir Gutierrez (1-6) picked up his first win of the season in his eighth start. Gutierrez (1-6).
Tony Santillan, Cincinnati’s fourth reliever, got pinch-hitter Thairo Estrada to ground out with two on to end the eighth. Santillan also pitched the ninth for his third save.