The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 in game one of their three game road series Friday night.
The Reds’ offense got going in the 1st with Elly De La Cruz scoring on a ground out by TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley hitting a two run blast to make it 3-0.
LA got back in the game with a JD Martinez RBI double in the bottom half of the first and an RBI single by Miguel Rojas in the fourth, cutting Cincinnati’s lead down to one run.
The 7th inning was quite eventful, with both clubs scoring three runs in the frame. Cincinnati first run of the inning came on a Spencer Steer hit a solo. The second run scored when TJ Friedl was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The third and final run scored when Matt McClain was walked with the bases loaded, making it a 6-3 Cincinnati lead. The Dodgers got it back down to a 6-5 Reds advantage on a 2-run RBI single by Freddie Freeman, and an RBI single by Amed Rosario.
Scoring would stall for the remainder of the game as Cincinnati closer Alexis Diaz pitched the final 1 and 1/3 innings, giving the Reds the 6-5 win while earning his 31st save of the season.
Brandon Williamson earned the win on the mound for the Reds, allowing 2 runs in 5 and 2/3 innings of work.
Spencer Steer went 2-4 with the aforementioned home run with an RBI.
With Milwaukee’s 10-7 loss to the Braves Friday evening, Cincinnati moves within a 1/2 game of the Brewers for the NL Central lead.
103.9 WRBI will air games 2 and 3 of the series this weekend. Coverage for game two will begin at 8:40 tonight. And for tomorrow’s series finale, coverage will start at 3:40.