TJ Friedl’s home run fuels a Reds comeback win over the Rockies

The Cincinnati Reds had to overcome an early deficit on Thursday afternoon but home runs from TJ Friedl and Nathaniel Lowe helped fuel the comeback win. The 6-4 victory over Colorado gave Cincinnati a series win over the Rockies and moved them to 20-11 as they ended the first month of the season.

A 1-out walk in the top of the 1st to Brenton Doyle came back to haunt Andrew Abbott two batters later when Tyler Freeman homered into the first row of the seats in right field to put Colorado up 2-0. The next inning saw Elly De La Cruz make a highlight reel play on a grounder far to his left and well on the other side of second base that had the shortstop make a diving stop in the outfield grass and hop to his feet to fire to first base to record the out. In the bottom half of the 2nd the Reds would get a run back when Nathaniel Lowe connected for his 5th home run of the season.

The top of the 5th inning didn’t get out to a great start for Abbott. He gave up a line drive single to begin the inning. A bunt single followed to put two men on with no outs. Jordan Beck then hit a weak chopper that never made it out of the infield grass and went for another infield hit, loading the bases with just one out. But Abbott would get out of the jam with a grounder to short for a force out at the plate and then ended the inning with a strikeout to keep it a 1-run game.

That proved pivotal a few minutes later when Spencer Steer led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and came in to score as TJ Friedl hit a 2-run home run to give the Reds a 3-2 lead. After Andrew Abbott kept Colorado off of the board in the top of the 6th the offense went back to work. Nathaniel Lowe doubled into the right field corner with one out and then came around to score on a single by Spencer Steer.

Connor Phillips took over for the home team in the top of the 7th inning and he began the inning by hitting the first batter. He would issue a 2-out walk to put two men on but he rebounded and struck out Hunter Goodman on three pitches to end the threat and strand both runners. The next inning saw Tony Santillan give up a leadoff single but before he threw a pitch to the next batter he picked off Tyler Freeman and then needed just four more pitches to get out of the inning.

Sal Stewart would lead off the bottom of the 8th with a walk and he moved over to third base on a 1-out double into left-center by Tyler Stephenson. A groundout by Dane Myers would score Stewart. Spencer Steer then followed up with a double to bring in Stephenson and pad the lead to make it 6-2.

Emilio Pagan came on in a non-save situation for the 9th inning. On his first pitch of the inning he gave up a single to Kyle Karros. He would get a fly out to follow, but Troy Johnston singled up the middle to put runners on the corners for the Rockies. Mickey Moniak then reached out and slapped a pitch into right field for an RBI hit and bring the tying run to the plate. A sacrifice fly came next to make it 6-4, but a routine fly ball to center ended the game as the Reds picked up a series win to end the homestand.

Key Moment of the Game

The Reds 2-run 8th inning because it turned out they would need those two runs.

Notes Worth Noting

The win has Cincinnati at 20-11 and in first place by a game over the Chicago Cubs as April comes to an end.

Andrew Abbott had his best start since Opening Day as he allowed just two runs over his six innings. He matched a season high with five strikeouts in the game, but did have multiple walks (two) for his 6th straight start.

Nathaniel Lowe’s home run was his 5th of the season and his 5th in his last six games.

Spencer Steer had two hits and a walk in the game. He was hitting .190/.235/.381 entering the day on April 18th. He pinch hit that day and picked up a hit, and since that point he’s hit .324/.452/.588 with five extra-base hits, six walks, and just eight strikeouts.

Tony Santillan’s shutout inning got his ERA back under 2.00 on the year (1.98).

The Reds are 12-0 this season in games decided by two runs or less, matching the all-time record to begin a season.

Mark Sheldon of Reds.com provided an update on Brandon Williamson’s shoulder. The lefty had no structural damage in his shoulder, but there’s no time table on his return at this point, either. He reports that Williamson will go on a rehab program and has more details about all of that in his article – which you can read here.

Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Friday May 1st, 6:45pm ET

Brady Singer (2-1, 4.97 ERA) vs Mitch Keller (2-1, 3.18 ERA)