By Morris Phillips
Hard to believe, but when the Giants-Reds series commenced on Friday, it was billed as a meeting of similarly struggling offenses.
Four days later, no one would tab that description.
The Reds capped four games of record-setting offense with three home runs in the first two innings off Drew Pomeranz on Monday, a small slice of a 12-4 win that earned Cincinnati a series split.
Led by rookie Nick Senzel’s sizzling debut weekend in which he homered three times in his first four big league games, the Reds smashed 15 home runs in the series, tying a franchise record set in 1999.
Oddly, the Reds’ home run deluge ended after the second inning, just part of an unique afternoon at Great American Ballpark in which a whole lot transpired before and after the Reds chased Pomeranz after essentially putting the game to rest with a 7-1 lead.
“A lot of runs scored this whole series, a lot of balls flying out, a lot of balls dropping in,” said Pomeranz.
Senzel was promoted to inject life into an offense that had scored two runs or fewer 11 times in Cincinnati’s first 31 ballgames. The organization’s top-rated prospect didn’t disappoint, homering Friday before adding a pair of solo shots off Pomeranz. Senzel’s home run barrage could have totaled four had he not been famously robbed by Kevin Pillar in Friday’s game. Senzel had opportunities to increase his total, but he struck out three times an hit into a double play in his final, four at-bats. That finish led to the rookie’s unimpressed assessment of the afternoon.
“I was pretty happy, but I wasn’t too happy with my last couple of ABs,” Senzel said. “I’m just glad we won.”
The game was delayed 18 minutes as groundskeepers coaxed a swarm of bees gathered at the backstop netting to leave. The bee swarm reportedly was a first at Great American Ballpark, but had happened twice at the team’s old home, Riverfront Stadium.
That oddity didn’t inspire the Giants. Once again, they were beaten to the punch by their opponent, and trailed by at least four runs at some point in each game of the series. Their sixth inning rally (a three-run homer by Pablo Sandoval) briefly hatched thoughts of another big comeback, but that unraveled in the bottom of the inning when the Reds put it away with five runs of their own.
So to recap thus far: Senzel produced the most powerful debut in franchise history (first Reds player to home three times in their first four major league games), and the Cincinnati run total for the series (37) matched a team record established 21 seasons ago.
But the records didn’t stop there. In the Reds’ sixth inning rally that put the game away, four batters were hit by pitches, which tied a Major League record that had stood since 1893. Five Reds’ batters were plunked in all which also set a Reds’ franchise record, and tied a National League record that was first established in 1900.
And the Giants’ Pablo Sandoval made sure history was on the Giants’ side as well by homering, stealing a base and pitching a scoreless inning in the same game. The Jack-of-all-trades compiled a stat line that had been established just once before at the big league level (Christy Mathewson, 1905).
“You know Pablo, he gets excited about stuff like that,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He had one of the easiest innings we had, similar to the last time he pitched.”
