Votto admits he’s not been on run like this

NEW YORK — Instead of focusing on the historic moment he’s in the middle of, the franchise record seven-game streak of home runs, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto looked back to a Reds game on July 1.

That night, he hit a hard ground ball to right field. He hit a 376-foot line drive that was 107.1 mph off the bat. He had three more well hit balls into the outfield. And in that game, Votto went 0for-5.

“I swung the bat so well in that game, I swung the bat probably better in that game than I did during any of these games,” Votto said after the Reds beat the Mets 6-2 on Friday night. “Like any of these home runs games.”

This week, Votto is seeing the benefits of the adjustment he made in the middle of the 2020 season. He’s trying to hit home runs. He has stopped hitting line drives with topspin to right field and instead curved those line drives over the center field fence. That’s what his 423foot home run on Friday in the top of the sixth inning looked like as the Reds pulled away from the Mets.

“A lot of my balls were getting pulled with topspin, closer to lower, and closer to the right field line,” Votto said. “And I’m starting to shift it closer to the center of the field … You have to be able to backspin or hit it flush to be able to get the ball over the fence.”

With that swing against the Mets on Friday, he topped the franchise record by homering in seven straight games. Votto became the eighth player in MLB history to hit a home run in seven consecutive games. He’s now one home run away from tying the MLB record of eight straight games. After the game, Votto said he’s never been “in a place like this” during his 15-year career.

“It’s an odd thing to expect, to expect home runs,” Votto said. “But my current style of play kind of feeds into that. I think, as long as I stay healthy, I’m pretty confident they’re going to keep coming.”