*Photo from the Dayton Daily News*
Suddenly, things are looking up in Ohio. Jonathan India drove in two runs, Matt McLain homered, and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Kansas City Royals with a 7-4 victory on Wednesday evening in Kansas City.
The win gives the Reds a series sweep of the Royals, 5 wins in a row, and 8 wins in their last 10 games, now just one game under .500 at 34-35 and 3rd place in the NL Central. They did it on the back of 3 home runs in the 5th inning, putting them ahead for good.
India said of the hot streak that "We've got momentum. I think that’s on our side. This team is very scary. I’ve said it since Spring Training. This team is special. We’ve got a lot of ballplayers on this team. We play the game the right way. We have hitters in the lineup that string together a lot of hits. We move guys over. We have good approaches at the plate. It’s just how we are. It’s the players we have."
Spencer Steer started the scoring in the second inning for the Reds, hitting a solo home run to make it 1-0. Bobby Witt Jr evened the score with an RBI single in the 3rd inning, scoring Nick Pratto. In the 4th inning, McLain scored on a double from India, making the Reds lead 2-1. Stuart Fairchild hit a solo homer in the 5th to make it a 3-1 score.
McLain was next in the homer barrage, hitting a 3 run shot to make the score 6-1 in favor of the Reds. India followed suit with a solo home run to make it a 7-1 ballgame. Dairon Blanco got one back for the Royals in the 6th to make it 7-2. The Royals got one in the 7th on a groundout and one in the 9th on a single to make it a 7-4 final.
Steer said of the home run surge that "Outside of tonight, we haven’t hit many homers. I feel like we’ve been playing a gritty style of baseball that’s just getting hits, walks, stealing bases, manufacturing runs kind of the tough way. Playing just a grindy kind of style of baseball. Why can’t that style of baseball be 'America’s Team'?"
Ben Lively got the start for the Reds, allowing two runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Alex Young pitched an inning while Buck Farmer got the last out of the 7th. Fernando Cruz and Daniel Duarte pitched next before Alexis Diaz got the save in the 9th.
Getting the start for the Royals was Daniel Lynch, who allowed 7 runs on 7 hits and two walks in 7 innings pitched, getting tagged with the loss. Nick Wittgren pitched a scoreless 8th before Jose Cuas did the same in the 9th.
While the Reds are on the rise, the Royals continue their downward plummet. The Reds have won 8 of 10, while this latest loss by the Royals marks their 9th in a row. They now have the worst record in baseball at 18-50 and sit 17 games out of the AL Central lead.
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of the latest loss that "We had chances to drive guys in. We have to keep putting quality at-bats together, and when you have a chance to drive in runs, you can't change your approach."
Up next, both teams have off days on Thursday before starting series on Friday. Andrew Abbott starts for the Reds against the Houston Astros, while Brady Singer goes for the Royals against the Los Angeles Angels.
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