Los Rojos use big 8th inning to beat Cardinals south of the border, 5-2

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Like most things in life, the Reds just needed a little more Derek.

Derek Dietrich has hit the ground slugging for the Reds to begin this 2019 season. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he’s the offensive Most Valuable Player through these first two weeks which is saying something on a team with names like Joey Votto, Yasiel Puig, Eugenio Suarez, etc.

He now has four home runs after hitting another tonight. He added a triple late that added some crucial runs to this score that gave the Reds a little breathing room. Fun fact: Derek Dietrich has seven hits on the season and only one of them is a single.

Which may suggest that this won’t continue all season long (duh), but the man is swinging a hot bat right now, and David Bell has been correct in trying to get him more plate appearances recently.

Honorable mention to Jesse Winker, for hitting another dinger tonight. Scott Schebler had a monster RBI in the 8th, while Joey Votto hit and walked. Raisel Iglesias settled down nicely after a walk to nail down the save.

Key Plays

• It was the bat of Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright that got the scoring started in this one. Dexter Fowler hit a one-out double in the top of the 2nd before Kolten Wong was hit by a pitch. Harrison Bader struck out, but then Wainwright punched a single to left that scored Fowler. Matt Carpenter flew out to end the Cardinal threat. Still, Cardinals up first, 1-0.
• Jesse Winker erased both the Cardinal lead AND a Wainwright no-hitter with a dinger to left field, his third dinger in as many games. All knotted up at 1 after 6 full.
• The Reds touched Wainwright up again with a dong, this time off the bat of Derek Dietrich. Reds take the lead after 7, 2-1.
• The Reds opened things up a bit in the bottom of the 8th. MLB baseball allowed for a 26th player for this trip to Mexico, so Phil Ervin found his way onto the team and got his first at bat of the 2019 season. All he did was hit a lead-off triple. Joey Votto promptly walked. Yasiel Puig hit a sharp line drive to center, but right at Bader, for the first out. Eugenio Suarez struck out for the second out, and just when it looked like the Reds may be wasting Ervin’s triple, Scott Schebler floated a single to left that scored Phil. Dietrich stepped back to the dish and roped a triple of his own into right center field, scoring Votto and Schebler. After it was all said and done, the Reds expand their lead, 5-1.
• Kolton Wong opened the 9th inning with a Cardinal home run off of Zach Duke. St. Louis tried to make it more interesting than that, but Raisel Iglesias came in and, eventually, nailed down the save. Reds win in Mexico, 5-2.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• As you may have seen somewhere, the Reds and Cardinals played this one in at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey down in Monterrey, Mexico. This is part of MLB’s 2019 Mexico Series, which will see six games played there this season. The Rockies and Diamondbacks have already played a pair of Spring Training games in Monterrey. The Astros and Angels will play a two-gamer there over May 4th and the 5th.
• This is actually considered a home game for the Reds, so I guess it doesn’t technically count as a “road win”, but this is the first time the Reds have won a baseball game away from Great American Ball Park in 2019.
• The Reds and Cardinals will wrap up their set in Mexico tomorrow afternoon, with Miles Mikolas taking the mound for the Dirty Birds. He’ll be opposed by Anthony DeSclafani for the Reds. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PM EDT, and can be watched on Fox Sports Ohio or, if you’re so inclined, ESPN.
• Tunes.