Final
Their bats awake, Phillies pound Reds again
May 19, 2014 - 2:33 AM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jimmy Rollins and Wil Nieves hit back- to-back homers in the first inning and the Philadelphia Phillies left the yard four times in an 8-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.Another outburst from a suddenly stirred Philadelphia offense backed 6 2/3 innings from left-hander Cliff Lee, who continues to pitch well against the Reds.
Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche also homered for the Phillies, who had snapped a 23-inning scoreless streak in Saturday's 12-1 win to end a four-game skid.
"I think it was a carry-over game on the offensive side," said Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg.
Lee (4-4) stopped a four-start winless drought in Sunday's series finale after giving up two runs on nine hits and a walk. He is 4-0 in his last eight starts against the Reds since 2009. He helped at the plate, too, hitting a single and scoring a run.
Devin Mesoraco was 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. The Reds catcher had five hits in two games after coming off the disabled list. He hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat since last month to lead Cincinnati to a 3-0 win in the series opener on Friday.
The Phillies hit three homers off Reds lefty Tony Cingrani (2-3), who went six innings. They haven't lost a series at home against Cincinnati since August 11-13, 2006 (3-1).
Billy Hamilton led off the game with a single and Chris Heisey followed with a walk as Lee labored early. Both runners stole a base and Hamilton scored on Brandon Phillips' ground out. Mesoraco hit a two-out double to plate Heisey for a 2-0 Reds lead.
Rollins cracked a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left-center field for his 46th career leadoff home run, which ranks fourth all-time. Nieves hit his first homer as a Phillie -- and ninth in his 11-year major league career -- three pitches later, lining a fastball to left to tie the score.
Lee singled to lead off the fifth inning, his fourth hit of the season, and scored from third base later in the inning on Chase Utley's ground out to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead.
Byrd went the other way with a changeup leading off the sixth inning for a home run to right field, pushing Philadelphia's lead to 4-2.
The Phillies rallied for four runs off Manny Parra with two outs in the seventh inning. Byrd hit an RBI single and Asche knocked a 1-1 curveball into the right-field seats for his three-run homer to make it 8-2.
Ryan Ludwick scored on an error by Utley at second base in the eighth.
"We got some things started and weren't able to finish," Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. "We have to find a way to be able to grind out more than a couple of runs a game."
Game Notes
The Phillies have won five of their last six series against NL opponents ... Cingrani struck out seven ... The Phillies are 21-8 against the Reds at Citizens Bank Park since the start of the 2007 season. In those 29 games, Philadelphia has outscored Cincinnati 169-106 ... The Phillies will begin a three-game series in Miami on Tuesday, then returning to start an 11-game homestand. They have played an NL-low 32 games against NL opponents this season ... The Reds will remain on the road for a three-game series in Washington starting Monday.
- CINCINNATI: 3
PHILADELPHIA: 8
Final
May 18 4:56 PM - Chase Utley's fielding error scored Ryan Ludwick with two out. Runner on first with two outs and Roger Bernadina due up.
Reds 3, Phillies 8 Top 8, 2 OutsMay 18 4:25 PM - Cody Asche two-out, three-run Home Run (4) to right scored Ryan Howard and Marlon Byrd. Domonic Brown due up.
Reds 2, Phillies 8 Bot 7, 2 OutsMay 18 4:05 PM - Marlon Byrd single to center scored Jimmy Rollins with two out. On the play, Ryan Howard advances to second. Runners on first and second with two outs and Cody Asche due up.
Reds 2, Phillies 5 Bot 7, 2 OutsMay 18 4:04 PM - Marlon Byrd lead-off Home Run (5) to right. Cody Asche due up.
Reds 2, Phillies 4 Bot 6, 0 OutsMay 18 3:26 PM - Chase Utley groundout to first scored Cliff Lee with two out. On the play, Jimmy Rollins advances to third. Runner on third with two outs and Ryan Howard due up.
Reds 2, Phillies 3 Bot 5, 2 OutsMay 18 3:13 PM - Wil Nieves none-out solo Home Run (1) to left. Chase Utley due up.
Reds 2, Phillies 2 Bot 1, 0 OutsMay 18 1:54 PM - Jimmy Rollins lead-off Home Run (5) to left. Wil Nieves due up.
Reds 2, Phillies 1 Bot 1, 0 OutsMay 18 1:53 PM - Devin Mesoraco double to left scored Chris Heisey with two out. Runner on second with two outs and Ryan Ludwick due up.
Reds 2, Phillies 0 Top 1, 2 OutsMay 18 1:46 PM - Brandon Phillips groundout to short scored Billy Hamilton with one out. Runner on second with one out and Todd Frazier due up.
Reds 1, Phillies 0 Top 1, 1 OutMay 18 1:44 PM - CINCINNATI: 0
PHILADELPHIA: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
May 18 1:38 PM
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