A home run or a pair of infield hits — which would Billy Hamilton rather have? For the Reds’ rookie center fielder and leadoff man, it was no contest.
“Two infield hits, any day. That’s my game,” Hamilton replied.
On a wet and rainy Tuesday night, Hamilton got all of the above. He reached base four times with two infield singles, a walk and a game-tying first career big league home run during the Reds’ 3-2 victory over the Cubs at Great American Ball Park.
Pinch-hitter Chris Heisey’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning was the difference maker that snapped the 2-2 tie in a game delayed three different times for a total of one hour and 45 minutes.
Reds starting pitcher Alfredo Simon completed six innings with two runs and five hits while he walked two, hit a batter and struck out five as the Reds snapped a three-game losing streak.
Simon improved to 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA in five starts as he continues to dazzle on the mound in place of injured starter Mat Latos. But he also had to work through some jams, including a 26-pitch third inning where he allowed three hits and a walk. Starlin Castro’s two-run single up the middle gave Chicago a 2-1 lead.
“He got a little erratic there and fought his way through,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “That, to me, is the sign of his development. He’s gotten himself into some sticky spots early in the game and he’s pitched through and kept himself in the ballgame.”
It was Simon’s first start since news broke on Friday that a woman filed a civil suit against him in Washington, D.C., Superior Court alleging that he sexually assaulted her last year.
First pitch was pushed back by 19 minutes, while the second delay halted play for 15 minutes during the top of the fifth. The third delay lasted one hour and 11 minutes, and this all came after Monday’s originally scheduled series opener was postponed by rain.
Wet conditions did not slow Hamilton or prevent him from sparking the team offensively.
Hamilton began the Reds’ first inning against Jeff Samardzija with a walk, then stole second base. He took third base on a wild pitch to Joey Votto and scored the game’s first run on a Brandon Phillips sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the fifth, with Cincinnati trailing by one run, Hamilton led off and drove a 1-1 Samardzija pitch into the right-field seats for a no-doubt homer.
“It wasn’t one of those wall-scrapers,” Hamilton said.
“Especially coming out of that rain delay, I should have taken more time to warm up and I threw it in a spot where he could handle it,” Samardzija said. “He’s a pretty good hitter. I left it up and in where he wants it, and he put it over the fence. It happens. It was obviously an inopportune time for it. He put a good swing on it and did a good job.”
Hamilton hit 13 homers in 502 Minor League games and had one homer for the Reds this year in Spring Training.
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