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Never Forget 31-0
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5/7/06
5/7/06
Reds' win more than a win
Victory ends road trip on high note
BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->PHOENIX - The calendar says early May. But it is not a stretch to say that the Reds' 9-8 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday was one they had to have.
Not because it was such a sweet win, but because a loss would have been so hard to take.
"It's a big game to get," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "I could sit here and lie to you and say it's not, but there's a big difference between going 1-4 and 2-3."
The victory was also the difference between retaining sole possession of first place in the National League Central, which they did, and falling into a tie with St. Louis. The Reds are 21-11, the second-place Cards 20-12.
It was a wild game with a wild ending. The Reds led 4-0, trailed 5-4, got the lead back at 8-5 and then hung on by their fingernails.
The game ended on a double play with the bases loaded. Johnny Estrada scorched one that first baseman Scott Hatteberg fielded with a diving stab. He easily doubled Jeff DaVanon off the bag.
Just a routine save for David Weathers, right?
"Absolutely," Weathers said. "Every ball they hit today found a hole. I'm a firm believer in those things evening out.
"The last guy hits a bullet for a double play. And we go home happy."
The Reds bashed their way to this win. The nine runs equaled their total of the previous four games on the trip.
Adam Dunn, Hatteberg, Austin Kearns and Edwin Encarnacion all homered. Encarnacion's homer in the ninth turned out to be the margin of victory.
"I don't think there's any question about us being able to score runs," Narron said. "I know on this road trip here and Colorado, we didn't do a whole lot. But we're definitely going to score."
Dunn, who came in on a 1-for-14 slide, had his biggest game of the year.
In addition to the two-run homer - his 12th of the year - he had a three-run double. He equaled a career-high with five RBI. Felipe Lopez went 4-for-5. Quinton McCracken had two hits and scored two runs. Kearns was 3-for-4 with two doubles to go with the homer.
"We played terrible on this road trip," Dunn said. "To win two games is a miracle. I'm pretty pleased with two wins."
The Reds seemed to break this one open in the third. Dunn and Hatteberg each homered and the Reds built a 4-0 lead.
But starter David Williams couldn't hold the lead.
He gave up five runs in the bottom of the inning. All scored with two outs. Williams could have gotten out of the inning, but Chad Tracy got down the line and avoided a 1-6-3 double play.
"After that, they scored five runs pretty quick," Narron.
The Reds took the lead for good in the sixth.
Kearns led off with a home run. Jason LaRue walked an out later. After another out, McCracken walked. Then came the critical play of the inning. Lopez beat out a ball to deep short for a single.
That brought up Dunn, who came into the game hitting .123 with runners in scoring position.
He got ahead in the count 2-0. Dunn can be overly selective in those situations. But he wasn't here. He drove a ball just off the plate into the left-center field gap for a three-run double.
"I knew he was going to throw a fastball," Dunn said. "It was all or nothing. I was either going to break the game open or get yelled at for swinging at a bad pitch."
Weathers wiggled out of the ninth, and the tone of the entire trip changed.
"It was one we definitely needed to get," Kearns said. "It was a weird game. We haven't played that well out here. We needed to get that out of our system and get back to playing good baseball."
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On deck: Reds vs. Nationals<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=storytext bgColor=#eeeeee>TODAY: Off day
TUESDAY: Reds vs. Nationals, Great American Ball Park, 7:10 p.m., first of a three-game series
Who's on the mound: Reds LH Brandon Claussen (2-3, 5.63 ERA) vs. RH Tony Armas Jr. (2-2, 3.98)
TV: Fox Sports Net
Radio: WLW-AM (700)
WEDNESDAY: Reds vs. Nationals, Great American Ball Park, 7:10 p.m.
Who's on the mound: Reds RH Aaron Harang (5-1, 3.78) vs. RH Livan Hernandez (1-4, 6.29)
TV: Fox Sports Net
Radio: WLW-AM (700)
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