Tag Archives: Reds

06 Jul

smash and dash

The home run is all the rage again in the big leagues, but speed still has its place. Zack Cozart and Billy Hamilton demonstrated the value of the smash and the dash elements in Cincinnati’s 9-5 win against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. Ole Miss product Cozart belted his 13th home run – two shy of his career-high – and Taylorsville’s Hamilton swiped three bases – he’s got 22 all told — and scored from second base on a passed ball as the last-place Reds took down the mighty Cubs at Wrigley Field. Hamilton scored the game’s first run in the first when he walked, stole second and came home as a John Lackey pitch got past catcher David Ross; it helped that Lackey, perhaps forgetting who was running, was slow to cover the plate. Cozart hit his homer in the second inning, a two-run shot that made it 4-0. (Cozart tied Corey Dickerson and Brian Dozier for the lead in the all-Mississippi home run derby, each with 13. Mitch Moreland has 11 and Seth Smith 10.) In the fourth, Cozart led off with a double – his 22nd – went to third on a bunt by Hamilton and scored on a sac fly by Joey Votto, putting Cincy up 6-4. In the seventh, Hamilton legged out a bloop double, stole third and scored on a Votto hit to make it 7-5. Cozart (.269) and Hamilton (.244), batting 1-2 in the lineup, combined for four hits, four runs and two RBIs. P.S. Props to former Mississippi Braves Julio Teheran and Craig Kimbrel for making the All-Star Game.

30 Jun

stuff happens

Things have not gone according to plan for Jarrod Dyson. He was supposed to play every day in 2016 as Kansas City’s right fielder. The former Southwest Mississippi Community College star, entering his seventh MLB season, deserved that shot. Everybody said so. Then Dyson got hurt (strained oblique), on his first at-bat of spring training. The Royals’ season was well underway when he returned. He got his start the latter part of April and hit .303 for the month. But then he began to slump. By mid-May he was at .215, and Paulo Orlando was hitting. Even when left fielder Alex Gordon went down with injuries, Dyson’s playing time wasn’t regular as rookie Brett Eibner stepped in. Now center fielder Lorenzo Cain is hurt. Dyson started in center on Wednesday – his 38th start — and went 2-for-4 with two walks in the 3-2, 12-inning win over St. Louis. He still sees a fair amount of playing time in his old role: pinch runner/defensive replacement/pinch hitter. And maybe that suits both him and the defending world champion Royals (41-36), who have rebounded from their sluggish start. Dyson, in 127 at-bats, is hitting .260 with 16 runs, 12 steals and seven assists in 51 games. P.S. Billy Hamilton’s season has run a little off-kilter, as well. On Wednesday, the former Taylorsville High standout was struck in the face by a deflected ball in the outfield and had to leave Cincinnati’s game. Reports seemed to indicate he is fine, though it would not be a surprise if he missed today’s game. Hamilton, batting .255, was on the concussion disabled list from June 10-16 and also missed three days while on the bereavement list. He had a shoulder injury at the end of 2015 that impacted his spring training work.

28 Jun

good times roll

Hunter Renfroe’s good year keeps getting better. The Mississippi State product from Crystal Springs produced a four-hit game that included a grand slam on Monday night, powering Triple-A El Paso to a 13-3 win against Reno. Renfroe, 24, a right fielder, leads all of Triple-A in home runs with 18 and is second in RBIs with 67. Renfroe now has 65 homers in roughly three seasons in the minors. He has hit .351 over his last 10 games to boost his average to .324. “He’s learning with every at-bat now, which is good for him,” El Paso manager Morgan Burkhart told milb.com. San Diego brass must be seriously considering a promotion. Some in the San Diego media have been calling for it for some time. P.S. In the big leagues, Desmond Jennings, the former Itawamba Community College star, is showing some signs of coming around for Tampa Bay. Jennings homered for the second straight day on Monday, helping the Rays snap their 11-game losing streak with a 13-7 victory over Boston. Jennings, getting more playing time of late for the injury-plagued Rays, has hit .261 over his last seven games to move his long-suffering average to .200 with seven homers and 18 RBIs. … Taylorsville High alum Billy Hamilton, slumping since his return from a concussion, had a productive night for Cincinnati in a loss to the Chicago Cubs (and the amazing Kris Bryant). Hamilton had a hit, two walks, a sac bunt, two steals and two runs. He is batting .258 with 19 bags and 32 runs in 62 games. His defense in center field is about as good as it gets.

22 Jun

where you lead

Scoring first is a big deal in the big leagues — or at any level of the game, really. The team that scores first wins a large percentage of the time. On Tuesday, three Mississippi-connected players in MLB, all batting leadoff, scored the first run of their game, all in the first inning. It worked out well for two of the three. Tim Anderson, the rookie out of East Central Community College, led off the game with a home run – his first — for the Chicago White Sox. They beat Boston 3-1 at Fenway Park. Anderson, 2-for-4 on Tuesday, is batting .292 with seven runs in 11 games. Ole Miss product Zack Cozart walked to start the game for Cincinnati. He would score on a three-run homer by Jay Bruce, and the Reds went on to derail Texas 8-2 at Globe Life Park. Cozart went 2-for-4, including his 11th home run, drove in three runs and scored three. He is batting .284. At Wrigley Field, ex-Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan, getting a look in the leadoff spot for the Chicago Cubs, singled off St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright in the bottom of the first. He would come around to score, but the Cubs couldn’t hold that lead, falling 4-3. Coghlan, 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs, is batting .294 (.455 on-base percentage) with seven runs in 10 games since the Cubs reacquired him from Oakland. He was batting .146 (with five homers) for the A’s. P.S. Former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout Cody Satterwhite is now on the roster of the Hanshin Tigers in Japan but has yet to pitch. Satterwhite was released earlier this month by the Los Angeles Angels so he could sign with Hanshin. The right-hander, 29, had a 1.50 ERA in 25 innings at Triple-A Salt Lake in his seventh pro season.

18 Jun

listen up

Listened to Cody Reed’s MLB debut on XM; there is such an old-fashioned comfort in listening to baseball on the radio. … Among the five batters the former Horn Lake High and Northwest Mississippi Community College standout faced in the first inning were George Springer, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Carlos Gomez. At Minute Maid Park in Houston. Welcome to The Show, indeed. … None of those four got a hit, but Marwin Gonzalez, the second batter in the Astros’ lineup, hit a home run to put Reed and Cincinnati in an early 2-0 hole. … The Houston broadcasters discussed Reed’s lucky glasses – the ones he has worn since 10th grade – and marveled at the action on his slider. “A lot to like” and “flashing brilliance” were among the comments during the game. … The Reds battled back against Dallas Keuchel, the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner. Ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton, who made what was described as a sensational catch in center field in the second inning, drove in a run in the fifth on a ground out. … Ole Miss product Zack Cozart made it 2-2 with his 10th homer of the season in the sixth. … It was still knotted at 2-all in the bottom of the seventh when Evan Gattis, the former Mississippi Braves slugger, crushed a Reed fastball for a two-run bomb. … Reed finished the seventh and was done for the day. The left-hander fanned nine, walked three and yielded just six hits. He was on the hook for the loss before Adam Duvall hit a game-tying homer in the ninth. Still – from the sound of things – Reed proved he is ready for the big leagues.

16 Jun

debut alert

Cody Reed, the bespectacled left-hander out of Northwest Mississippi Community College, will make his big league debut for Cincinnati at Houston on Saturday, according to multiple reports. Reed, from Horn Lake, is 6-3 with a 3.20 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings at Triple-A Louisville this year. He was 6-2, 2.17 at Double-A Pensacola in the Southern League in 2015 after the Reds acquired him from Kansas City in the Johnny Cueto deal. The Royals drafted Reed in the second round out of NWCC in 2013. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Reed, one of the Reds’ top-rated prospects, almost made the big club out of spring training. He’ll join Chad Girodo, Chris Stratton and Tim Anderson as Mississippians making their MLB debut this season.

14 Jun

waiting for the call

In Louisville, Ky., on Monday night, Cody Reed registered his fourth win in his last five starts for the Triple-A Bats in Cincinnati’s system. The big left-hander out of Northwest Mississippi Community College allowed three hits and one run with five strikeouts in a 7-1 win against Syracuse. Reed is 6-3 with a 3.20 ERA. … In El Paso, Texas, Hunter Renfroe delivered a walk-off hit in the 13th inning as the Chihuahuas, San Diego’s Triple-A club, beat Albuquerque 2-1. Former Mississippi State star Renfroe is batting .313 with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs. P.S. Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton is eligible to come off the 7-day concussion list on Thursday for Cincinnati, but his return remains uncertain, according to reports. Hamilton was hitting .417 this month before the injury, which occurred during a slide. Also unclear is a return date for Petal High product Anthony Alford, who suffered a concussion in an on-field collision last Friday in a minor league game in Toronto’s system. … Former Ole Miss pitcher Matt Tracy, who made one appearance for the New York Yankees early last season, has been released by the club. A 24th-round pick in 2011, the lefty was 3-1, 5.11 at Double-A Trenton this year.

08 Jun

resurgent

A walk-off home run by Joey Votto on Tuesday night stole the thunder from Billy Hamilton’s big day in Cincinnati’s 7-6 win against St. Louis. Let’s give the ex-Taylorsville High star his due: Hamilton went 3-for-3 with a homer and two steals. When Hamilton came off the bereavement list on May 16, following the death of a 3-year-old nephew in Mississippi, he was batting .235. The switch-hitting center fielder is now hitting .263 (.303 on-base percentage), and over his last 15 games has hit at a .313 clip. For the year, Hamilton has two homers, 15 steals and 26 runs in 51 games. Hamilton’s recent surge has helped the Reds win seven of their last 10, but the club is still mired in last place in the National League Central. P.S. Among the five walk-off hits on a wild Tuesday in MLB was a Brian Dozier homer for Minnesota. The Southern Miss alum hit his seventh bomb of the year – third career walk-off – to beat Miami 6-4. It’s been a tough year for the 2015 All-Star: He is batting .211 with 24 RBIs for a disappointing Twins team that sits in the cellar of the American League Central.

06 Jun

adventure time

Jonathan Papelbon is 15 of 17 in save chances and his team, the Washington Nationals, is in first place. There have been no dugout confrontations. But there have been some adventures on the field, such as the one Sunday at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. On to protect a two-run lead in the ninth, former Mississippi State star Papelbon gave up a single, a walk, a run-scoring double and an intentional pass to load the bases. He then got a pop out, a strikeout (of ex-Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart) and a fly out (to the warning track in center field) to escape the jam and close out a 10-9 victory. “I think my motto has always been, ‘Bend but don’t break,'” Papelbon told mlb.com. Well, maybe, but there are concerns about Papelbon in Washington beyond his explosive temperament. Now 35, he doesn’t get the punchouts he used to (only 18 in 22 2/3 innings). His ERA is up to 3.18 and his WHIP to 1.37 (career average 1.03). It’s a situation that bears watching. You don’t want your closer leading too many adventures.

08 May

fast times

Do we ever get tired of hearing about how fast Billy Hamilton can run? Of course not. So here’s a new one: The former Taylorsville High star, now playing for the Cincinnati Reds, scored from first base on a single on Saturday, which is impressive in its own right. But he made the trip from first to home in 8.2 seconds, according to Statcast. That’s the fastest time on such a run in the two seasons Statcast has been in service. Hamilton reached 21.8 mph. Alas, his team is sinking just as fast. Cincinnati lost Saturday’s game to Milwaukee 13-7 and fell to 13-18, already 11 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central. Hamilton, batting .208 with seven steals, has scored 14 runs in his 27 games.