The Cincinnati Reds clobbered six home runs en route to an adventuresome 10-6 victory over the Miami Marlins.
RECE HINDS IS PLAYING OUT OF HIS MIND.@ReceHinds pic.twitter.com/5m6RlQyJ4t
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 13, 2024
Of those six home runs, two came off the bat of Hinds, enabling to him to do something no player has done in the modern era (1901), or any era.
In his first six MLB games, Hinds has nine extra base hits, five home runs. Nine extra base hits in a player’s first six MLB games is a first, an inconceivable first.
He was joined in the Reds’ version of Home Run Derby by four teammates in what clearly on a hot, muggy day was Great American Small Park. Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, Jeimer Candelario and Santiago Espinal also required the umpire to give the pitcher a fresh baseball.
Bizarre? The Marlins collected 15 hits ... and lost. They had 11 hits on Friday ... and lost.
On Saturday they were 3 for 20 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 runners.
That helps explain why the Marlins have lost 10 of 12, five in a row, and are 32-63.
Meanwhile, the Reds are 7-4 in July and in those 11 games they’ve hit 28 homers, by far the most of any MLB team in July.
It’s Murderer’s Row incarnate
Reds starter Andrew Abbott was seeking his 10th win, his sixth in seven starts and it figured to be easy. The Marlins were 5-27 against left-handed starters.
Abbott, though, didn’t have it and lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up five runs and seven hits, including back-to-back home runs in the third inning by Jake Burger and Josh Bell.
After Abbott departed, it was like a parade of elephants disguised as relief pitchers. Reds manager David Bell used eight pitchers and Miami manager Skip Schumaker used five.
Strange? Of the seven Reds pitchers, Sam Moll faced one hitter, a strikeout of Jazz Chisholm Jr. with two on and two outs in the fifth.
One hitter? Yep, and he was rewarded with the win.
Steer started the Trot Around The Bases day with a leadoff home run in the second.
After the Marlins hit back-to-backers in the top of the third, the Reds topped it with their own back-to-backers and added a third in the inning.
Hinds started it with one of his routine down-range missiles, a 430-footer into the upper deck. And he smiled as he completed his swing.
With one out, De La Cruz nearly matched Hinds but came up five feet short, a 425-footer to straight-away center. And Candelario followed with his, immediately tying De La Cruz for team leadership with 16 each.
The next inning, Miami pitcher Huascar Brazzoban hit Hinds on his left arm and the pro-Hinds fans, of which there are legions, booed lustily.
After the athletic trainer examined him, he stayed in the game and as he trotted to first base, Brazzoban apologized.
Did it affect him? Does a blow to the arm disturb Superman? His next time up, Hinds hit the upper deck facing in left field, this one 454 feet. And he smiled as he completed his swing.
He always smiles after his home run swing, five times this week.
“That’s just natural,” Hinds said about his smiles during a post-game interview on Bally Sports Ohio. “I mean, I’m a normally happy guy and I love to have fun and I love to smile around everything. It’s just natural, it just happens.”
But he hasn’t glanced at the pitchers to see the frowns and looks of dismay.
“It has been a wonderful week and we’re winning and have won a couple of series and I just want to keep it rolling,” he said.
“I’m clearly locked in,” he added. “I’m hunting one spot (pitch location) and once I get it I try to capitalize and don’t miss.”
He hasn’t missed yet.
The other homer came off the bat of Espinal in the sixth and he didn’t start the game. Second baseman Jonathan India left the game after suffering a knee contusion when Dan Myers slid into him stealing second in the second innings.
Espinal singled in the fourth, driving in a run, and homered in the sixth.
Before the game, the Reds expanded their injured list, which is getting longer than a rich kid’s Christmas list.
With pitcher Carson Spiers and outfielder Nick Martini landing on the list and the recall of pitcher Tony Santillan, the Reds have made 25 roster manipulations in the last two weeks since July 1.
The Reds led MLB last season in games lost to injuries, 650 days, and are on their way to surpassing that this season.
The list:
60-Day: Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Nick Martini, Ian Gibaut, Tejay Antone, Emilio Pagan, Brandon Williamson.
15-Day: Graham Ashcraft, Carson Spiers.
10-Day: T.J. Friedl, Stuart Fairchild, Luke Maile.
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