A five-run rally and nine strong innings from Homer Bailey helped the Reds start their nine-game road trip on a positive note.
Xavier Paul’s bases-clearing double capped a five-run second inning that gave Bailey all the support he would need, as the Reds beat the Marlins, 6-2, before 14,694 at Marlins Park on Tuesday night.
“He saved my bullpen,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “That’s a great way to start a road trip. We have eight more to go and those guys are fresh.”
The early five-run frame allowed Bailey to pitch aggressively, and he allowed just one run over the final eight innings. The right-hander held the Marlins to a pair of runs on six hits to earn the complete-game win.
“I’ve had two or three games this year where I felt like I could’ve gone nine,” Bailey said. “Today, we jumped out ahead, and with that kind of lead, I was just trying to be aggressive.”
Bailey had thrown 103 pitches through eight innings, and Baker had All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman warming in the bullpen in case his starter could not finish the game. The veteran manager admitted it was difficult to watch Bailey’s pitch count climb as he went for his fourth career complete game.
“This guy never wants to come out,” Baker said. “His last start, he only went five innings. He struggled some that game. Complete games are hard to come by. Most guys don’t care about them, but the competitors do. We were monitoring his pitches and asked him how he felt after the seventh and eighth. He said he was fine and we were keeping an eye on the radar gun, too.”
Bailey threw 125 pitches on the night, his last one being a powerful 97-mph fastball that induced a Greg Dobbs lineout to short. The right-hander tied a career high with 10 strikeouts and picked up his first complete game against an opponent other than the Pirates. His previous three were all thrown at PNC Park.
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