Reds’ Pham answers boos by going just shy of cycle
SAN DIEGO – Tommy Pham, returning to boos in his first game back in San Diego, was a man on a mission for the Cincinnati Reds on Monday and finished a triple shy of the cycle.
The Reds’ 4-1 loss spoiled Pham’s revenge tour. He was surprised when he received a mixed reaction in his first atbat from the crowd of 31,121, but the boos grew much louder when he launched a first-inning homer off Padres lefty Sean Manaea.
“I don’t know if it’s justified,” Pham said of the boos. “I’ve seen guys play here that used to play for this team and they played worse than me and didn’t get booed. I don’t know what the deal is.”
Pham, who chatted with many Padres players and general manager A.J. Preller before the game, received a much louder roar of boos in his second at-bat. On the first pitch, Pham lined a double into the left-center gap.
After starting the season with a 0for-22 stretch, maybe all Pham needed was a little motivation. Reds manager David Bell called him a “big-time player” who embraces the bigger stage.
“I’ve played in Venezuela, the Dominican, I’ve gotten booed there. It’s 100 times worse than here,” Pham said. “I had fans in Venezuela throw things at me on the field because I was performing so badly. This is nothing.”
Pham added a single to left field in the fifth inning, accounting for half of the Reds’ six hits, but his bid for the cycle fell short when he popped up to second base in the eighth inning.
The Reds had only three players hit for the cycle in the past 100 years: Eric Davis (June 2, 1989), Frank Robinson (May 2, 1959) and Harry Craft (June 8, 1940).
“I didn’t realize I was a triple away until the kid was talking mess behind me by the dugout,” Pham said. “I’ve been hitting so poorly, the last thing I was thinking about was a triple there.”