It was an uncomfortably hot 100 degrees in Denver on Sunday afternoon, right about the same time you were watching the Cincinnati Reds play the Colorado Rockies instead of watching the World Cup final played at the exact same time.
When it’s that hot with just the slightest bit of seasonal humidity at 5,280 feet, baseballs tend to fly at incredible distances. That was precisely the case in this series finale, and fortunately it was the good guys who hit the biggest ones of the day.
Nate Lowe crushed
a 3-run homer in the Top of the 1st to set the tone, and Tyler Stephenson socked a pair of homers of his own as the Reds raced out to an early 5-0 lead and held on to claim the finale by the score of 9-6. Sal Stewart checked in with a 456 foot blast over the wall in CF (of the 3-run variety), and that level of offense was enough for another solid effort by Hunter Greene and a patchwork bullpen to take home the W.
The Reds even survived a 3-homer game by Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, who combined with Ty Steves to blast 5 dingers by backstops on the same day they had to squat in heavy equipment in brutal heat and sun all afternoon. Props to those two for providing the entertainment to those precious few who chose to brave the elements and show up to watch two teams who were a combined 29 games under .500 at the start of the day.
Greene yielded 3 runs – all on a pair of Goodman’s dingers – but breezed through the rest of Colorado’s lineup. His final line saw him yield just 4 hits and nary a walk while fanning 7 across 6.0 IP. It was yet another encouraging start after his initial stumble following a three-month absence on the IL, and hopefully he’s got a dozen more of these for the club’s miracle mid-season turnaround to come to fruition.
Cincinnati next heads further west to Seattle where on Monday night they’ll begin the Ken Griffey, Jr. Honorary Jesse Winker Luis Castillo Eugenio Suarez Series for the Marbles.
