Heading into Sunday night’s series finale against the Dodgers, Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan and his teammates understood the challenge in front of them. Squaring off against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and facing the best team in baseball since the All-Star break, they knew they were in for a battle if they hoped to complete the three-game sweep.
Hanigan wasn’t surprised then when the game came down to the last at-bat, but he was ecstatic when his RBI double off reliever Ronald Belisario in the bottom of the ninth scored Zack Cozart from first and gave the Reds the 3-2 walk-off win at Great American Ball Park.
“It was one of those games,” Hanigan said. “It kind of went the way we expected. A lot of quality pitching on both sides, low-scoring game. We had a couple opportunities and couldn’t come through, but it was an awesome way to win. We’re playing good ball right now.”
That much is certain.
Hanigan’s double gave the Reds their second walk-off win in as many days, and their third in the last six games. The victory finished off the sweep — the first suffered by the Dodgers since May 17-19 against Atlanta — and capped a week which Cincinnati started by taking three of four from NL Central-rival St. Louis.
“We know that they’ve got a good club,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “They could win their division. It’s the same type of pitching we would see [in the postseason]. You aren’t expecting to score seven, eight or nine runs.”
Thanks to Hanigan, a two-homer effort from right fielder Jay Bruce and a strong outing out of starting pitcher Homer Bailey, the Reds moved into a second-place tie with the Pirates, who were swept by the first-place Cardinals over the weekend. Cincinnati is at least tied for second for the first time since June 20 and faces just a 1 1/2-game deficit to St. Louis.
“We’ve just got to keep it going,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “We’re in second place now, hopefully headed toward first.”
Before the ninth-inning heroics, the Reds and Dodgers spent the night trading punches, with Bruce delivering two of the biggest blows.
The 26-year-old slugger notched his 28th home run of the season in the second inning, hitting a 1-0 slider into the Dodgers’ bullpen in right field. Two innings later, he drilled another 1-0 slider, this time to right-center field. Each home run gave the Reds a lead, as the Dodgers got their first hit and first run off Bailey in the fourth.
Sunday marked Bruce’s second multihomer game of the year, and the 14th of his career. He also became the first left-hander to hit a home run off Kershaw this season, and just the third lefty to hit two off him in the same game, joining Carlos Gonzalez and Adam Dunn.
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