CINCINNATI, OHIO – APRIL 13: Spencer Steer #7 of the Cincinnati Reds bats against the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park on April 13, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Wil Myers hit a pair of run-scoring singles and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night after getting swept in a three-game series at Atlanta.
Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson and Jose Barrero drove in runs for the Reds, who had lost six of seven after a 3-1 start — the last four all by one run.
“We had a meeting today,” Reds manager David Bell said. “The message was to fight for every pitch, kind of doubling down on who we are.
“The singles were big, the two out hits, the add on runs is what our offense did. Wil has been doing this for quite a while. He’s a good hitter and knows what he’s doing.”
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Kyle Schwarber became the first left-handed batter to hit a home run off Nick Lodolo (2-0), a left-hander in his second major league season. The defending National League champions have lost three straight and are 4-9.
Lodolo allowed two runs and eight hits in five innings.
“It is a different type of satisfaction," Lodolo said. "It was definitely a grind. It is not how you draw it up, but I’m happy with the result over all. I kept us in the game there and the bullpen was able to come in and throw the ball really well.”
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Bailey Falter (0-2) gave up five runs and eight hits in in 4 2/3 innings.
“Guys were seeing the ball well,” Falter said. “I missed a couple of spots. The inning got away from me.”
Nick Castellanos put the Phillies ahead with an RBI single in the first but Jonathan India created the tying run in the bottom half when he doubled, stole third and continued home when third baseman Edmundo Sosa allowed catcher J.T. Realmuto's throw past him into left field for an error.
Cincinnati took a 4-1 lead in the third with five singles, four of them in a row, all with two outs. Steer, Stephenson and Myers drove in runs.
“Two-out hitting is how you win ballgames,” Steer said,
Schwarber, who grew up about 25 miles north of Cincinnati in Middletown, Ohio, led off the fifth with his fourth home run, a 438-foot drive. He has 12 home runs and 26 RBIs in 40 games at Great American Ball Park.
Myers added an RBI single off Andrew Bellatti in the fifth and Barrero hit a run-scoring double in the sixth against McKinley Moore.
NICK OF TIME
Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott needed to beat out a ninth-inning, two-out infield single to extend his career-high hitting streak to 13 games.
NO SUSPENSE
Philadelphia first baseman Alec Bohm singled with two outs in the third to extend to 13 his streak of games reaching base at least once, Philadelphia’s longest to start a season since Bryce Harper reached in the Phillies’ first 22 games of the 2020 season.
A BIT INSIDE
Moore hit Kevin Newman and India with pitches in the sixth. Both players stayed in the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: 1B Darick Hall’s surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his thumb well, according to manager Rob Thomson.
Reds: INF/OF Nick Senzel was activated from the 10-day IL following left big toe surgery was went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. OF Will Benson was optioned to Triple-A Louisville.
UP NEXT
Phillies RHP Taijuan Walker (0-1) is scheduled to face Reds RHP Connor Overton (0-0) on Friday.
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