Reds shell Pirates at Great American
Earlier this month, A.J. Burnett was at Great American Ball Park as a member of the National League All-Star team, and David Holmberg was in Triple-A. On Thursday, Burnett looked like the minor-leaguer and Holmberg the All-Star.
Holmberg pitched six strong innings, and combined with Brandon Phillips' monster offensive game, the Reds cruised to a 15-5 victory over the Pirates in front of 35,715 at Great American Ball Park on Thursday.
Phillips hit two three-run home runs, drove in seven, had four hits and stole two bases. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Phillips is the only player to achieve that line since the RBI became an official statistic in 1920.
Box score:Reds 15, Pirates 5
Burnett, who didn't pitch in the All-Star Game, didn't make it through the Reds' six-run fifth inning, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings.
Phillips actually grounded out to start the game against Burnett (marking the only time the Pirates were able to retire the Reds' second baseman in the game), but Ivan De Jesus Jr. and Joey Votto both followed with singles. Marlon Byrd, a former Pirate, then launched a long home run to give the Reds a 3-0 lead.
The Pirates cut into the lead on Pedro Alvarez's second-inning home run.
It would never get any closer, however, as Votto doubled to lead off the third and scored on Jay Bruce's sacrifice fly.
"It was nice to get that big league (feeling) early in the game, and I just wanted to get back out there, throw strikes and get quick outs and get back in and score more runs," Holmberg said.
In the fourth, Billy Hamilton had a one-out bunt single, deftly avoiding Alvarez's tag attempt, and then beating the throw to the bag. He then stole second and third, marking the seventh time he's stolen both bases this season and his 48th and 49th steals of the season.
Phillips drove him in with a cue shot past a drawn-in infield to make it 5-1. Phillips then would go on to steal second and third, giving him 13 on the season. But the Reds left the bases loaded in the inning.
Cincinnati would more than make up for it in the fifth.
After Eugenio Suarez struck out to start the inning, Burnett hit Tucker Barnhart, and then Holmberg pulled back a bunt and singled to right for his first career hit.
Hamilton then hit a ground ball to Alvarez at first, and Alvarez threw the ball into left field trying to start a double play. Barnhart scored, and thus concluded Burnett's night.
At 38, Burnett made the All-Star team for the first time in his career, going 7-3 with a 2.11 ERA in the first half of the season. In three games since, he's gone 1-2 with 19 runs and 32 hits in 16 innings.
Phillips greeted reliever Deolis Guerra with a three-run homer to left, his sixth home run of the season. The Reds added two more on a Bruce double, making it 11-1.
Holmberg gave up a run on two hits and a sacrifice fly in the sixth, but he got Alvarez to ground out on a broken-bat roller to first on his 100th and final pitch of the night.
The Reds called up Holmberg before Thursday's game to take Johnny Cueto's roster spot. The 24-year-old lefty was making his seventh career big-league start, his sixth for the Reds and first this season.
Last season, Holmberg had two terrible outings in spot-start situations, allowing 11 total runs in his two starts without finishing three innings in either.
After a September call-up, he appeared in relief twice, including throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings when Dylan Axelrod was hurt in the first inning of a game against the Cardinals. He then made three starts to finish the season, going 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA in those starts.
"His first three major-league appearances were one-game spot starts, first one in Arizona up from Double-A, and then two for us in the first half of last year. That's an awful lot to put on a kid and say come up and impress us," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "I don't think he managed it that well. He wasn't really around the plate, he was up, he had some walks, he had some elevation mistakes and got hit. Then when he came up and we were able to tell him that last time through in September that he was in the rotation, 'Don't look over your shoulder and just go and pitch your game,' he really seized that opportunity."
This season, Holmberg is 7-6 with a 4.40 ERA in 19 games and 17 starts for Louisville and looks to be in the Reds' rotation for the foreseeable future.
"We didn't bring him up here to make one start and then chase him out of there," Price said.
Phillips added another three-run homer in the sixth, again off of Guerra, making it 14-2.
The Pirates scored three in the seventh off of reliever Ryan Mattheus, and the Reds added another off reliever Antonio Bastardo, who didn't give up a hit but walked three and hit a batter.
Called up earlier on Thursday, Reds right-hander Keyvius Sampson made his big-league debut, striking out two in his perfect inning of work in the eighth. He is the fifth Reds pitcher to make his major league debut this season, joining Michael Lorenzen, Raisel Iglesias, Jon Moscot and Josh Smith.
Pirates infielder Jaff Decker held the Reds scoreless despite hits by Votto and Byrd. Pedro Villarreal finished the game off for the Reds.
Thursday night was the team's last game before the non-waiver trade deadline, so it was the last game players spent wondering if they'd get traded while playing.
"I think that we all talk about the names that are out there, but there are always things that happen that are a surprise, so I don't think there are a lot of guys that are comfortable and able to sit in front of their locker and not think about the trade deadline," Price said. "When we get past it, we'll be in a better place there. That being said, of course, we've won three in a row with the trade deadline hanging over our heads. I've been really impressed with how the guys have handled it under some tougher circumstances."