Drurt, Moustakas rally Reds to victory I Arizona
Mike MousPHOENIX — takas celebrated his return from the injured list with a game-winning RBI for the Cincinnati Reds.
“Got a pitch a little off my hands, got it out there on the outfield grass and it helped the team win a ballgame,” Moustakas said after his broken-bat bloop down the rightfield line in the sixth inning turned out to be the winning hit in the Reds’ 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
Mike Minor (1-2) survived a rough start to pick up his first victory of the season. Minor gave up two runs in the third and the fourth innings — the two in the third on Christian Walker’s 16th home run for Arizona — but the lefty com- bined with the Reds’ bull- pen to keep the Diamond- backs from scoring the rest of the way.
Brandon Drury’s threerun homer in the fifth off Merrill Kelly (5-4) tied it at 4, and then Moustakas came through with two outs in the sixth. Matt Reynolds, a late insertion into the lineup, beat out an infield hit and stole second before Mous- takas muscled his single just inside the chalk to drive in the go-ahead run.
Minor and four relievers
teamed up to get the last 12 outs, with Hunter Strickland pitching the ninth for his second save.
“I missed some pitches early, but I was able to get into the seventh,” Minor said. “The defense made some good plays behind me, infield and outfield.”
Reynolds’ RBI hit in the fourth scored the first run. In the fifth, after an infield hit and a walk, Drury con- nected for his 12th home run of the season, just clearing the wall in left-center field.
“Felt pretty sharp in the beginning,” said Kelly, who went six innings and gave up five runs and eight hits. “I think towards those middle innings I just started falling behind people.”
Congratulations
Chris Okey’s single up the
middle in the fifth inning was the first hitof his majorleague career. The catcher, a second-round pick from Clemson in 2016, was recalled last week to replace Tyler Stephenson, who broke his thumb.
Trainer’s room
■ Reds: DH Aristedes Aquino was originally in the lineup, but manager David Bell said after the game he was scratched because of a sprained ankle. Reynolds came into the lineup at second base, with Drury filling the DH spot.