Photo: Joey Tedesco/Daytona Tortugas
The Cincinnati Reds played a set of split squad games on Sunday afternoon and that led to plenty of playing time for prospects and as a group the position players took full advantage of it.
In Goodyear the Reds were hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks and in the 6th inning multiple prospects picked up hits in a rally that saw five runs come across the plate in the frame. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Rece Hinds both doubled earlier in the inning. Carlos Jorge followed Hinds in the inning and the first pitch he saw he lined it over the head of the center fielder for a triple. Rafhlmil Torres came up next and like Jorge he lined the first pitch he saw into center and he picked up an RBI double with it.
Then Tyson Lewis stepped into the batters box. He saw four pitches in his at-bat, but that fourth one was clobbered. Lewis hit it over the wall in left-center for a 439-foot home run that came off of his bat at 110 MPH. (We’ll assume the distance was adjusting for the wind blowing in)
Ryan McCrystal would follow Lewis with a single, but he’d be stranded on the bases. The next time that McCrystal came to the plate two innings later he saw both Lewis (single) and Torres (reached on an error) standing on the bases. He wasn’t going to strand anyone, himself included, as he unloaded on a laser down the right field line for a 3-run home run. After a hit batter later in the inning it was Zavier Warren‘s turn to join the hit parade and he crushed a 403-foot 2-run home run to put Cincinnati up 13-4. The box score for this game can be found here.
Over in Peoria where the Reds faced off against San Diego things didn’t go nearly as well for the team as a whole. Chase Burns gave up four runs in 3.2 innings in the start, and two minor leaguers combined to give up nine runs in the 8th inning of what turned into a 14-3 loss.
But there were some good performances in the game from some prospects, too. Chase Petty fired off 2.0 shutout innings of relief on 31 pitches. He’s now thrown 4.0 shutout innings for the Reds in his two games out in Arizona so far.
Francisco Urbaez got the start at second base for the Reds and went 1-2. He had half of the hits for the team among the starting nine. Sal Stewart had the other.
Cincinnati was trailing 4-0 entering the 7th inning, but they would get on the board when P.J Higgins was hit by a pitch with two outs and then Alfredo Duno came through with a 2-run home run into left-center. Two innings later the Reds would get another run when Ruben Ibarra singled, Mason Neville doubled to move Ibarra over to third base, and then Austin Callahan picked up an RBI on a groundout. The box score for this game can be found here.
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