Drury, Moustakas rally Reds over D-backs 5-4
Jun 13, 2022, 10:11 AM | Updated: 11:48 pm
Cincinnati Reds' Brandon Drury (22) celebrates his three-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks with teammates Joey Votto (19) and Nick Senzel (15) during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, June 13, 2022, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX (AP) — Mike Moustakas celebrated his return from the injured list with a game-winning RBI for the Cincinnati Reds.
“Got a pitch a little off my hands, got it out there on the outfield grass and it helped the team win a ballgame,” Moustakas said after his broken-bat bloop down the right-field line in the sixth inning turned out to be the winning hit in the Reds’ 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
Mike Minor (1-2) survived a rough start to pick up his first victory of the season. Minor gave up two runs in the third and the fourth innings — the two in the third on Christian Walker’s 16th home run for Arizona — but the lefty combined with the Reds’ bullpen to keep the Diamondbacks from scoring the rest of the way.
Brandon Drury’s three-run homer in the fifth off Merrill Kelly (5-4) tied it at 4, and then Moustakas came through with two outs in the sixth. Matt Reynolds, a late insertion into the lineup, beat out an infield hit and stole second before Moustakas muscled his single just inside the chalk to drive in the go-ahead run.
Minor and four relievers teamed up to get the last 12 outs, with Hunter Strickland pitching the ninth for his second save.
“I missed some pitches early, but I was able to get into the seventh,” Minor said. “The defense made some good plays behind me, infield and outfield.”
Reynolds’ RBI hit in the fourth scored the first run. In the fifth, after an infield hit and a walk, Drury connected for his 12th home run of the season, just clearing the wall in left-center field.
“Felt pretty sharp in the beginning,” said Kelly, who went six innings and gave up five runs and eight hits. “I think towards those middle innings I just started falling behind people.”
AHMED TO HAVE SURGERY
SS Nick Ahmed will have surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Monday. The operation will be performed by orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
Ahmed, 32, will be sidelined indefinitely — he was moved to the 60-day injured list last week. Lovullo said there is no timetable for the two-time Gold Glove shortstop’s return but said he and Ahmed are hopeful he’ll be back before the end of the season.
Ahmed has had throwing problems in each of the last two seasons. This year, he has been limited to 17 games; he hit .231 with three home runs.
CONGRATULATIONS
Chris Okey’s single up the middle in the fifth inning was the first hit of his major-league career. The catcher, a second-round pick from Clemson in 2016, was recalled last week to replace Tyler Stephenson, who broke his thumb.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: DH Aristedes Aquino was originally in the lineup, but manager David Bell said after the game he was scratched because of a sprained ankle. Reynolds came into the lineup at second base, with Drury filling the DH spot.
GET WELL SOON
Greg Schulte, the Diamondbacks’ radio voice since the franchise began in 1998, said he is going to miss some home broadcasts due to a medical condition that requires him to begin chemotherapy treatment.
Schulte, 69, has been doing home games only beginning this season.
“I’m staying positive and hoping for a full recovery,” Schulte said in a statement. “I look forward to the day I’m back in the radio booth once again calling D-backs games.”
NEXT
Cincinnati’s Tyler Mahle (2-5, 5.07 ERA) opposes Zach Davies (2-3, 4.21) of Arizona in the second of the three-game series.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
