Scooter Gennett’s 5 hits propel Reds to 6-5 win over the Rockies

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Scooter Gennett has spent the last month and a half or so just tearing the cover off the ball. He has reached the point where it’s almost a surprise if he makes an out. He continued that tear on Saturday with a hell of a performance against the Colorado Rockies. He went 5 for 5 on the night with a solo home run and 4 singles. He also made a defensive play that essentially saved the win for the Reds. Have a trophy, Scooter. Keep doing your thing.

Honorable mentions are due to: Tony Cruz, for collecting his first two hits of the season and smacking a 2-run home run; Billy Hamilton, for going 1 for 4 with an RBI triple; and Michael Lorenzen, Amir Garrett, and Jared Hughes for each throwing shutout innings out of the bullpen.

Key Plays

• Scooter Gennett got the Reds on the board early, smacking a solo home run over the fence in right to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.
• The Rockies were able to take the lead in the bottom of the 3rd. After Tyler Mahle walked two batters, and a sac bunt attempt left runners on first and third, David Dahl hammered a double to center to score Charlie Blackmon and Tyler Anderson. Rockies led, 2-1.
• The Reds answered right back in the top of the 4th. Brandon Dixon led off with a walk and then Tony Cruz squared up a pitch and sent it over the wall in left to give the Reds a 3-2 lead.
• Mahle was unable to keep the Rockies grounded in the 5th. Chris Ianetta led off with a walk and then was retired on a force-out after a sac-bunt attempt by Tyler Anderson. That brought up Charlie Blackmon, who tripled to center to bring in Anderson. David Dahl would then come up and drive in Blackmon on a sac fly to left. Rockies led, 4-3.
• The Reds’ big inning came in the top of the 7th. Chris Rusin replaced Tyler Anderson and immediately gave up a single to Scott Schebler. That brought up Billy Hamilton, who tripled to left center to score Schebler. The Rockies had a quick hook and brought in Bryan Shaw to replace Rusin, but the Reds weren’t done. Jose Peraza then singled to bring in Hamilton. Another Scooter Gennett hit would move Peraza to third, where he later scored on a passed ball with Joey Votto at the plate. Reds led, 6-4.
• Colorado cut the lead to one in the bottom of the 8th. Nolan Arenado led off with a double to center and then moved to third on a wild pitch by David Hernandez. A ground out to first by Gerardo Parra would score Arenado, cutting the lead to 6-5.
• Things got hairy for the Reds in the 9th, as Jared Hughes loaded the bases with nobody out. After Charlie Blackmon grounded into force-out, David Dahl smoked a line drive to Scooter Gennett, who then doubled off Carlos Gonzalez at second to end the game. Reds win, 6-5.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Scooter Gennett is now hitting .392/.417/.759 with 8 dingers in the month of May.
• The Reds will send Matt Harvey to the mound this afternoon for the rubber match. Colorado will counter with German Marquez. First pitch is at 3:10 PM ET.
• Tunes.