Billy Hamilton has been clutch with runners in scoring position all season, but it wasn’t until 11:18 p.m. ET on Tuesday night that he got to enjoy his first walk-off hit, one that gave the Reds perhaps their biggest victory of the season to date.
Hamilton lined a broken-bat single down the left-field line to complete Cincinnati’s largest comeback in 2014, erasing a 5-0 deficit in the nightcap of a day-night doubleheader with the Cubs to beat Chicago, 6-5, sweeping the twin bill and moving to 3 1/2 games behind the Brewers in the National League Central.
“I get nervous when situations come up like that, and I knew just to relax, and it worked out for me,” Hamilton said. “I broke my bat, but it died a warrior.”
Pinch-hitter Brayan Pena led off the ninth by dropping a bloop single into left. Mike Leake pinch-ran for him, representing the winning run. Leake moved to third on a single by Devin Mesoraco, setting the stage for Hamilton’s heroics.
“The guys before me put me in a great situation that made it a little easier for me to get out there with nobody out,” said Hamilton, who is batting .353 with runners in scoring position. “It was a big hit by Meso, and it made it easier for me.”
That made things easier, but what the Reds accomplished was no easy task. The largest deficit they had erased to win a game this season before Tuesday’s contest was two runs.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “What a game. I don’t know if I’ve ever been involved as a manager in a more exciting game and just to see the reaction of the players and how fired up they are, it was just a big game and a lot of big moments.”
The big moments early in the game were enjoyed by the Cubs as they roughed up 23-year-old left-hander David Holmberg, who Cincinnati called up from Triple-A Louisville to start the nightcap after the Reds won the afternoon game, 4-2.
Chicago used the long ball to jump on Holmberg early. With one on and one out in the second, Chris Coghlan hit his second homer of the day to put Chicago up, 2-0. In the third, Anthony Rizzo led off with a solo homer, which was followed by a Starlin Castro single. One out later, Mike Olt belted a two-run shot to left that extended the Cubs’ advantage to 5-0.
“I didn’t execute,” Holmberg said. “I left pitches up in the zone and they took advantage, and they hit the ball out of the yard. … When a pitcher gets ahead, a pitcher has such an advantage, and not getting ahead, the hitter has all the advantage. Early on it wasn’t looking good, but an amazing comeback by the guys and a great job by the bullpen.”
After tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the first game of the twin bill, Reds relievers combined for 6 1/3 more shutout frames in the nightcap. Carlos Contreras, J.J. Hoover and Logan Ondrusek gave Cincinnati a fighting chance by putting up zeros.
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