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Keppinger hits walk-off double as Reds top Padres

Jul 23, 2008 - 3:45 AM By Douglas Tifft PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Jeff Keppinger delivered a walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th inning, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

Rookie Jay Bruce laced a one-out single off Bryan Corey (1-3) and, on a hit-and-run, Keppinger drilled a changeup down the left field line to score Bruce from first base, giving the Reds their 10th walk-off win.

After three relievers held the Padres in check, Keppinger's hit allowed Gary Majewski (1-0) to pick up the win by throwing a hitless 11th.

"I knew the runner would be in motion right there and I was hoping to just hit a hole," Keppinger said. "He happened to just throw a good pitch for me to handle."

Reds manager Dusty Baker was encouraged by the way that his team, and bullpen, responded one night after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.

"That is the second time on this homestand that we had to bounce back after a tough loss," Baker said. "It shows you the resiliency of this team, what these guys are made of, and the ability to forget yesterday. A lot of times if you lose a tough game then it lingers for a couple of games."

The game was dominated by pitching for the first six innings, with each starter only having one bad inning.

Cincinnati rookie righthander Johnny Cueto had a season high-tying 10 strikeouts in six innings, allowing three runs - a two-run double by Brian Giles and RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez in the third - and four hits.

However, the 22-year-old was pulled from his duel with San Diego ace Jake Peavy after throwing a season- high 120 pitches.

"The way that we won is really big," Keppinger said. "Peavy was shutting us down, but Cueto kept us in it. He had that one rough inning where he gave up three runs, but that was it. He kept us right there and gave us a chance."

Like Cueto, the sixth was the end of the night for Peavy. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner allowed four hits before being touched for three runs in the frame. After Peavy loaded the bases with two outs, Paul Bako bounced a single up the middle to score two runs, and a check-swing single by rookie Joey Votto tied the game.

"You don't have to hit it hard in this game. You just gotta hit it where they ain't," said Peavy of the sixth inning. "That's what happened tonight."