Brandon Phillips’ homer helps the Cincinnati Reds beat the Padres by 7-6 – MLB News
The Cincinnati Reds’ Ryan Ludwick on Tuesday, July 31, drove in four runs, with a homer and a single, to help the team beat the San Diego Padres by 7-6 at Great American Ball Park.
It was Brandon Phillips, who hit the tiebreaking solo shot in the seventh, allowing the team to get back in the game and win after the Padres put some tough resistance with resurgent offence.
The Reds had a five-run third inning which was reciprocated by six-run fourth by the San Diego Padres. But Phillips homered to give the Reds a great victory with their strong bullpen performance, a day after they lost the game by 11-5.
"We started out strong with those six runs, then they come back and you're like, 'Here we go,'" Ludwick said. "But we stopped the bleeding and Brandon hits the big home run."
The Reds, after the third inning, seemed certain of the big win and even considering to give Phillips rest as he was hobbling due to a cramp. Phillips shed some light on it after the game.
"When we got the six runs early, Dusty said he was going to take me out," Phillips said. "Then they came back. Not good. (Coach Chris) Speier told me to go out and hit a home run so I wouldn't have to run around the bases. When I came back in, I looked at him and smiled."
The Reds had Homer Bailey to start the game who went very well until the fourth inning when things took a turn for the worst.
After Ryan Ludwick drove in a run in the first inning, he hit a three-run homer in the third, followed by a two-run homer of Todd Frazier. But Padres Cameron Maybin hit a three-run homer in the fourth, Alexi Amarista and Will Venable scored back-to-back triples and Chase Headley singled to right to level the score.
Phillips scored his homer in the seventh against Dale Thayer to score the tie-breaking run. Sean Marshall pitched a scoreless ninth and Aroldis Chapman had 22nd save of the season by pitching a scoreless ninth to help the Reds win the game by 7-6.
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