Amarista on power trip for rolling Rox
ROCKIES 12, REDS 6 Little shortstop makes big contribution with three-run homer
cincinnati» Alexi Amarista, listed at 5foot-6 and 158 pounds, is affectionately referred to as “Little Ninja” by his Rockies teammates.
Manager Bud Black says, only half jokingly, that Amarista possesses “sneaky pullpop” in his bat.
Friday night at Great American Ball Park, Amarista played little big man, sparking the Rockies to a 12-6 victory over Cincinnati.
Amarista, starting at shortstop, hit a three-run homer down the right-field line off Reds starter Lisalverto Bonilla and later singled off reliever Wandy Peralta to drive in another run and tie his career high with four RBIs.
“I think it’s really funny,” Amarista said when asked about Black’s reference to his hidden power. “But I just try to barrel balls up to the pull side and if they leave the yard, great. If not, that’s all right, that’s not my game. I just try to make solid contact.”
The Rockies have, quite uncharacteristically, become a road juggernaut, improving to 14-6 away from Coors Field. And here are a few more mileposts: They improved to 11-3 in series openers, including 6-1 on the road.
Amarista’s homer was his second of the season, which is something of an avalanche for him. He slashed a pinch-hit home run April 29, his first homer in 251 at-bats.
“One of the things we talked about this winter when we were putting the roster together ... was that we liked Lexi, because he was a good fit,” Black said. “We liked his versatility. You can put Lexi anywhere in the field and you feel good about the defense. And the bat comes into play.”
By the way, all four of Amarista’s RBIs
came in an eight-run sixth inning that included a two-run double by DJ LeMahieu, immediately followed by a two-run homer to left by Nolan Arenado. His 11th homer of the season was a towering shot into the second deck above left field.
The eight runs were Colorado’s most in an inning this season and the first time Cincinnati pitchers allowed eight runs in one inning since July 26, 2015, at Coors Field, where they allowed 10 runs in the bottom of the third.
“We have talked about really stringing at-bats together, which we did tonight,” Black said. “I think we are capable of that, where we have good at-bats, we square balls up and we put a big number on the board. That was really, really good to see.”
Overshadowed, perhaps, by Colorado’s season-high, 16-hit night was the performance of starter Tyler Anderson. The lefthander, his command sharp from the beginning, gave up two runs on four hits, struck out seven and walked two in six innings. He improved to 3-4 with his second quality start of the season. Over his last three starts, Anderson is 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA, 25 strikeouts and 15 walks.
“I’m making a lot of good quality pitches down, whereas earlier I was leaving them up in the zone and they were getting hit,” Anderson said. “There are still some of those but they are just not as frequent.”
His one big mistake was a 1-2 changeup left over the plate that Eugenio Suarez blasted for a solo homer in the fourth, cutting Colorado’s lead to 2-1.
Colorado led 10-2 after six innings before reliever Jordan Lyles provided CPR to the Reds’ dormant offense. Cincinnati blitzed him for four runs (three earned) on four hits in the seventh and eighth innings, including a tworun homer by Jose Peraza. Lyles’ ERA climbed to 8.53, by far the highest on the team.
The Rockies, seeing Bonilla for the first time, ambushed him in the first inning. Charlie Blackmon led off with a double and then Colorado loaded the bases when LeMahieu was hit by a pitch and Arenado singled. Colorado cashed in with an RBI single from Mark Reynolds and a sacrifice fly by Carlos Gonzalez to stake Anderson to a 2-0 lead.