Myers homers twice, leads Reds in 13-0 rout of Phillies
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Wil Myers went 4 for 5 with two home runs, and the Cincinnati Reds rode a stout pitching performance by Graham Ashcraft to a 13-0 win Saturday over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ashcraft (2-0, 1.42 ERA) allowed just four hits in six scoreless innings to stay perfect on the young season.
The Reds (6-8) have now played six of its first 14 games against the Phillies (5-10). The two clubs split the six meetings.
Myers tagged Philadelphia starter Matt Strahm (1-1) with a home run in the second inning to put Cincinnati on the board first. The solo shot to left field marked Myers' first of the season and first as a member of the Reds.
Strahm was pulled in the third after throwing just 67 pitches. Strahm had runners on second and third with two outs and Myers coming to the plate.
Myers took the first pitch he saw from reliever Andrew Bellatti 401 feet to center field to put the Reds ahead 4-0.
After fouling a pitch off himself, Jonathan India made it a 5-0 game on a double that scored José Barrero who reached on a walk and then stole second.
Myers brought home another runner in the fifth on an RBI double to left. Myers' damage this time came against reliever McKinley Moore. The two-base hit jump-started a three-run inning for the Reds.
Cincinnati piled on five more runs in the eighth. Two of them came on a base hit by Barrero that scored Myers and Nick Senzel.
Phillies' second baseman Bryson Stott extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a line-drive double to center field to start the day. It was Stott's only hit.
JACKIE ROBINSON DAY
Every team around Major League Baseball Saturday celebrated Jackie Robinson Day. The Phillies and Reds were no different.
Logos honoring Robinson, the man who broke baseball's color barrier 76 years ago, lit up the video boards at Great American Ball Park and rested on the sides of the caps of every player, coach and manager. Every person in uniform also wore Robinson's retired No. 42.
"It's incredible that we celebrate someone that had so much courage," Reds manager David Bell said before the game. "It's a reminder to always do what you believe in and do what's right."
Phillies manager Rob Thomson echoed Bell's sentiment.
"I think it's one of the greatest stories ever about courage, persistence and toughness," Thomson said. "To go through what he went through for so many people. He changed the world forever."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: 3B Edmundo Sosa left the game with what the team called "lower-back discomfort."
Bryce Harper continues to work his way back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November. Thomson said the two-time NL MVP has no restrictions on his swing and is "looking better every day" at first base. Harper hit in the cage Saturday and is scheduled to participate in a simulated game Tuesday, Thomson said.
Reds: RHP Connor Overton (right elbow strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list, paving the way for RHP Casey Legumina to make his MLB debut. Legumina pitched two scoreless innings and struck out three.
UP NEXT
Reds RHP Luis Cessa (0-1, 7.00 ERA) is scheduled to face Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (0-2, 7.04 ERA) on Sunday in the finale of the four-game series.