LDN - Sports

Reds taste rare interleague success with win over Astros

[June 18, 2016] HOUSTON -- Adam Duvall and Eugenio Suarez recorded back-to-back hits to open the top of the 11th inning, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-2 interleague win over the Houston Astros on Friday night at Minute Maid Park.

The Reds (27-41) won for just the third time in 11 interleague games by pouncing on Astros right-hander Pat Neshek (2-1), against whom right-handed hitters were batting just 4-for-45 (.089) before Duvall and Suarez, both right-handed hitters, combined to snap a 2-2 deadlock.

Suarez plated Duvall with his double to the left-field corner before later scoring when Ramon Cabrera produced a perfect squeeze bunt.

The Astros (32-36) stranded 14 runners and finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Reds right-hander J.J. Hoover (1-1) worked two scoreless innings before left-hander Tony Cingrani earned his eighth save.

Carlos Correa drilled a first-pitch home run -- his ninth of the year -- to left field in the eighth inning to tie the game at 2-2. Correa launched a slider from Reds right-hander Blake Wood an estimated 435 feet, the first homer Wood has allowed since pitching for the Royals against the Rays on Aug. 8, 2011.

His homerless streak of 58 games and 63 2/3 innings was the longest in the majors.

The Astros had managed just four hits before Correa blast. Right-hander Lance McCullers departed trailing 2-1 having allowed eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

Reds shortstop Zack Cozart delivered a run-scoring double with two outs in the fifth inning to plate Jose Peralta and break a scoreless tie. A half-inning after the Astros pulled even, Peraza followed back-to-back singles from Billy Hamilton and Cabrera with an RBI groundout.

Reds rookie left-hander John Lamb continued what has been a stellar month, matching his career high for strikeouts while lowering his June ERA to 2.66 over four starts and 23 2/3 innings.

Lamb retired the first seven batters he faced before working around a Luis Valbuena single and a walk to George Springer in the third inning by striking out first baseman Marwin Gonzalez to stifle that Astros rally.

The Astros managed two more runners in the fourth before Lamb induced an inning-ending groundball out off the bat of Evan Gattis. Lamb notched his eighth strikeout to close the fifth inning and it wasn't until the sixth that Houston finally scratched across a run to pull even.

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Cincinnati Reds shortstop Zack Cozart (2) hits a single during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Gomez, whose bloop single in the fourth preceded Gattis' groundout, greeted reliever JC Ramirez with a sharp single to left that scored Gonzalez, whose single off Lamb opened the frame. Ramirez escaped without surrendering the lead, leaving Lamb with a ledger that included one earned run allowed on three hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings.

NOTES: OF Ronnie Dawson, a second-round pick out of Ohio State, signed with the Astros and worked out with the club on Friday. Dawson reportedly agreed to a $1.0568 million signing bonus, the assigned slot value for the 61st pick in the first-year player draft. ... The Reds reinstated CF Billy Hamilton from the seven-day concussion disabled list. Hamilton last played against the Cardinals on June 8 when he suffered a concussion on a hard slide into third base. To make room for Hamilton, the Reds optioned OF Steve Selsky to Triple-A Louisville. ... Astros 1B Tyler White was optioned to Triple-A Fresno on Friday following an 18-game slide that saw him hit .127 with no home runs, two RBIs and 15 strikeouts. White began his rookie season with a flourish, earning American League Player of the Week honors after batting .556 with three homers and nine RBIs from April 5-10. ... The Astros also activated RHP Luke Gregerson from the family medical emergency list.

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