Votto homers for third straight game
CINCINNATI — Joey Votto caught up with another Reds first baseman, the one known for his huge arms.
Votto homered for the third straight game and pulled into a tie with Ted Kluszewski on Cincinnati's career list Monday night, leading the Reds to an 11-3 victory over the San Diego Padres.
The Reds homered four times, with Patrick Kivlehan hitting his first career grand slam. Adam Duvall and Zack Cozart also connected.
Votto's 251st career homer off Jhoulys Chacin (11-8) moved him into a tie for fifth place with Big Klu, the first baseman who cut the sleeves off his uniform to free his big upper arms. Votto's 136th homer at Great American Ball Park bumped him ahead of Jay Bruce for the stadium record.
"It does mean something," Votto said, simply summing it up.
Votto also hit an RBI single against Chacin while extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Chacin allowed five runs for the first time in 13 starts. The righthander hadn't lost since June 27, going 5-0 with a 2.02 ERA.
Votto hit his 30th homer on a hanging slider that Chacin tried to sneak past him.
"It's hard to get him off balance," Chacin said. "He always stays on your pitch. In that last at-bat, I tried to quick-pitch to get him off his timing, and I couldn't get it where I wanted to."
The Reds ended up with their highest run total since June 6, when they beat St. Louis 13-1 in Scooter Gennett's four-homer game.
"It showcases what we're capable of doing," manager Bryan Price said. "I do know we have the ability to score runs at a large clip, and except for Cozart and Votto, we're doing it with players of limited experience, so you hope they'll get even better."
Jose Pirela drove in all of San Diego's runs with his first career multihomer game. The first was a two-run shot off Tim Adleman, who went only 4 innings. Adleman hasn't won since June 27, going 0-5 in seven starts with a 6.88 ERA.