DENVER -- It's the Coors Field way. To pull out an 8-7 win over the Rockies on Friday in cold and rainy conditions, the Reds' offense had to be resourceful -- and altogether tenacious -- with how they produced their runs.
¡°The entire team, we were all putting together good at-bats and finding ways to move runners, get guys on base, take walks, all that stuff," said right fielder Blake Dunn, who ended the day with a double, an RBI single and a walk. "It was just a good all-around effort from the offense today so it was good to see.¡±
It was a game where Cincinnati had to take the lead four different times. None of the occasions required a home run, but all of them featured some quirky moments.
"They knew they needed to keep pushing," manager Terry Francona said. "Even with the conditions, it ends up being a really good place to hit.¡±
Here's how the Reds took each of their four leads Friday night.
To take a 1-0 lead
Hot-hitting Noelvi Marte fought off a 2-2 sinker in the first inning from Rockies starter Kyle Freeland for a 66.9 mph, two-out RBI single hit on the edge of the grass between first and second base.
To take a 2-1 lead
Marte returned to the plate with runners on second and third base and no outs. He lofted a soft one-hopper to first base for an RBI that scored Elly De La Cruz.
¡°Even the first two RBIs, he got jammed both times to the right side but he didn¡¯t pull off. When you stay on the ball, you give yourself a chance," Francona said.
Over his last five games, Marte has 10 RBIs while batting .500 with two homers. It's been a key for him to hit to all fields.
¡°Realistically, what¡¯s been working the best is just trying to hit the ball through the middle and trying to put the ball in play," Marte said. "When you think of the middle, that helped me to react with my hands. Then when the ball is inside, you just react and that¡¯s what happens.¡±
Spencer Steer followed Marte with a two-run homer to left field to extend the lead to 4-1.
To take a 5-4 lead
With runners on first and second and no outs in the fifth inning, Santiago Espinal grounded a slow roller to second base. Adael Amador dodged Marte running to second base instead of going straight for the ball. It went through the dirt for an RBI single that brought home Austin Hays.
Dunn extended the lead to two runs with his RBI single lined into left field.
To take an 8-6 lead
It was a 6-6 game in the top of the seventh inning when the Reds sent eight men to the plate in a rally that featured just one hit. That hit was an infield single by Espinal, which was combined with an errant throw by third baseman Ryan McMahon that sent Steer to third base on the play.
After reliever Angel Chivilli walked Austin Wynns to load the bases, new reliever Scott Alexander walked Dunn with the bases loaded for the go-ahead run. Alexander had Dunn down in a 1-2 count but let him get away.
¡°We talked about it before this game. There is no lead safe here with the way the ball travels," Dunn said. "You could be up by five, six, seven, eight runs and you still got to keep pushing. You¡¯ve got to keep pressing to add another one. You just never know what that final run total needs to be for that win so you just got to keep grinding.¡±
A second run crossed when Espinal scored on TJ Friedl's groundout to first base. The Rockies almost pulled off another comeback after Jordan Beck's second homer of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning against Tony Santillan. With the tying run on first base, Santillan escaped allowing further damage by inducing back-to-back groundouts.
Emilio Pag¨¢n closed the game with a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts for his sixth save. Overall, it was a tough night for the pitchers, beginning with starter Andrew Abbott, who gave up five walks with four runs in his four innings.
¡°I give them [the Rockies] some credit. They kept coming back," Francona said. "They had the doubleheader yesterday in Kansas City and they¡¯re up against it. We did some good things. We did enough good things. We put some pressure on them. We didn¡¯t score every run but we scored enough.¡±