Huge days from Max Schrock, Kyle Farmer power Reds past Phillies, 11-1

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

On a day when the Cincinnati Reds were shorthanded and desperately in need of a good start to their homestand, two of the most unlikely members of their current roster stepped up and absolutely destroyed baseballs to drive them past the Philadelphia Phillies and into the win column.

Max Schrock and Kyle Farmer formed an unlikely combo up the middle, yet the SS and 2B on the day came through huge. Both homered and came just a hit shy of the cycle - Schrock needed just a single, Farmer needed just a triple - and the pair combined to go 6 for 8 with a trio of runs scored and a whopping 8 ribbies.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Wade Miley, who put up another rock solid 6 IP start, lowering his season ERA to a shiny 3.26; Nick Castellanos, who singled to keep his 17 game hit streak alive; Tucker Barnhart, who singled, doubled, walked, and scored thrice; and Tyler Naquin, who bonked in another pair of ribbies.

Key Plays

• Vince Velasquez issued a 4-pitch walk to Tyler Stephenson to open the Bottom of the 2nd, and that put a runner on for Schrock’s blast into the RF seats. The Reds didn’t stop there, though, as Barnhart doubled, a pair of walks later loaded the bags, and Naquin’s 2-run single into RF put the Reds ahead, 4-0.
• A laser of a double into the LF corner was what greeted Wade Miley at the start of the Top of the 3rd, with Jean Segura doing said doubling. An aggressive tag-up on a sac-fly then moved Segura to 3B, which later allowed him to score on a productive groundout, and the Reds lead sat at 4-1.
• The Reds picked that run back up in the Bottom of the 3rd, and added another one on top, too. Barnhart began the inning with a single into LF off Velsasquez, while Farmer later followed with a towering 2-run tater that tucked just inside the LF fair pole. Reds led, 6-1.
• Castellanos kept his hit streak alive in the Bottom of the 5th with a single into LF, and he later motored all the way around to score on Schrock’s triple off the RF wall. Farmer later dumped a 2-out ribbie single into CF to bring in Schrock, and the Reds held a commanding 8-1 lead.
• The Reds played add-on in the Bottom of the 7th, too, with Farmer’s 2-run double into the RF corner the biggest hit of the 3-run frame. That put them ahead 11-1, which is how things wrapped.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• Schrock’s day unfortunately ended a bit early, as he was forced to exit with what appeared to be a hammy injury while running some of the many bases he was tasked with running on the day.
• Miley’s day got off to a bit of a shaky start, but he pitched around runners on base early and settled in for a very effective overall start. His final line: 6 IP, 6 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K on 102 pitches.
• For the first time in what feels like eons the Reds will actually play an evening game tomorrow night. It’ll be quite the pitching matchup, too, with Aaron Nola the scheduled starter for Philadelphia and Sonny Gray due up for the Reds. First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET.
• Tunes of home.