Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce each smashed home runs to help power the Cincinnati Reds over the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Saturday in their Major League Baseball playoff series opener.
The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five National League series, with game two scheduled for yesterday. The series winner will meet either the Washington Nationals or St Louis Cardinals to decide a berth in the World Series final.
Cincinnati suffered a major setback early when starting pitcher Johnny Cueto departed with back spasms after retiring only one batter.
Photo: AFP
The 26-year-old Dominican right-hander made only eight pitches, but Reds officials said he could be healthy in time to start in game three tomorrow in Cincinnati.
“He had his head down a little,” Phillips said. “I went up to him and said: ‘Don’t be sad. We’re going to get this game for you.’”
Reliever Sam LeCure took the mound for the Reds and threw 1-2/3 scoreless innings to buy time for Mat Latos, the originally scheduled game three starter, to prepare himself before taking the mound in the third inning.
Photo: EPA
“I just hated to see Johnny in pain like that, but Sam bridged the gap,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
Cincinnati took a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer by Phillips over the left-centerfield wall in the third off San Francisco starter Matt Cain.
“He left a hanging curve ball up there and I took advantage of it,” Phillips said.
Suddenly the shock loss of Cueto seemed less of a worry for the Reds.
“That gave us a big lift,” Baker said.
Phillips had three hits in all and singled in a run in the ninth for the Reds in the victory.
“I was just trying to make things happen for the team,” Phillips said. “We had a good day at the plate.”
Bruce added a solo homer off Cain in the fourth for a 3-0 Reds’ edge.
San Francisco’s Buster Posey smacked a solo homer in the sixth off Latos to pull the Giants within two runs.
However, the Reds added two runs in the ninth inning to stretch the lead to 5-1.
Phillips singled in Ryan Hanigan and, after a wild pitch, Giants catcher Posey missed a throw allowing Cincinnati’s Xavier Paul to score from third base.
Cuban left-handed relief ace Aroldis Chapman entered for the Reds in the ninth and surrendered a single and two walks to load the bases with one out.
The Giants’ Venezuelan slugger Pablo Sandoval hit a pop fly out and Posey came to the plate next. A wild pitch by Chapman allowed a San Francisco run to score, but Chapman then struck out Posey to end the game.
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