Reds Take Battle of Ohio, Part 2
06-28-2009 11:17 pm

It is tough to overshadow the Reds; best start in a week. But Brandon Phillips and Cincinnati's offense did exactly that.

The Reds pounded out 15 hits and Micah Owings threw one of his best games of the season as the Reds defeated the Indians, 8-1, at Progressive Field on Sunday. The win gave the Reds a split of its six-game road trip and moved the team back to .500 on the year.

After busting out for seven runs against the Indians on Saturday, the offense, led by Phillips and Ramon Hernandez, followed it up with an encore performance against Cleveland starter David Huff.

The Reds had been used to high-scoring games in Interleague Play, but usually Cincinnati was the one playing catch-up. But the Reds scored early and often against the Tribe while collecting 15 runs on 28 hits in the two-game span.

"The guys are starting to swing," manager Dusty Baker said. "We knew they could hit. We're just looking for some consistency so we can get rolling. Hitting is contagious."

The onslaught of runs overshadowed one of Owings' best starts of the season. Owings said the Reds' recent string of bad starts hadn't bothered him and he backed that statement with Cincinnati's first quality start since June 21.

Owings, who gave up a career-high six runs in his previous outing against Toronto, pitched six-plus innings, giving up one run and five hits with four strikeouts and four walks.

"He had to get out of trouble early," Baker said. "He settled down and got out of some jams."

But while the clubhouse was all smiles after the game, it appeared the Reds would be in for a long day in the first inning.

Owings gave up back-to-singles with the heart of the order coming up. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera scored on a sacrifice fly by Victor Martinez. But that was all the Indians would do, as Owings got the next two batters to pop out and strikeout, respectively.

"I was trying to limit the damage as much as possible," Owings said. "Sometimes I try to be too fine."

But Phillips and Hernandez would turn the Reds' fortunes around in a hurry.

With Willy Taveras on third and Joey Votto on first in the third inning, Phillips came to the plate looking to break out of an 0-for-16 slump and 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. But Phillips gave the Reds a present on his 28th birthday with a two-run single, which gave Cincinnati a 2-1 lead.

One batter later, Hernandez hit a rocket to center field that caromed off the wall. Hernandez made it all the way to third and scored Phillips. The triple was Hernandez's first of season and the seventh of his career.

After sitting down in order in the fourth, Cincinnati's offense pounded Huff again in the fifth. Phillips came up again with a runner in scoring position -- this time with Votto on second -- and he belted an RBI single.

"It was good to do something positive, especially against my former team and on my birthday," Phillips said. "We were hitting the ball where they weren't, and that was the key."

Jonny Gomes continued his success at the plate when he hit his fourth homer of the season to score Phillips and give Cincinnati a 7-1 lead.

Hernandez capped off a 3-for-5, three-RBI day of his own with a single to knock in, who else, Phillips. Hernandez came up again in the ninth inning needing a home run for the cycle, but flied out to right field.

"He hit the ball hard four times," Baker said. "He gave us some insurance runs."

The win concluded the 13th season of Interleague Play for the Reds, and not a moment too soon.

Despite winning two consecutive games and taking both series from the Indians, the Reds finished under .500 (6-9) against American League teams on the season. The team is just 83-103 all-time in Interleague games.

"We're finally out of Interleague Play," Baker said. "Now we can get back to the same league and, eventually, our division."