Houston 5, Cincinnati 3
When: 7:10 PM ET, Friday, September 7, 2012
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature:
80°
Umpires:
Home -
Gary Cederstrom, 1B -
Lance Barksdale, 2B -
Fieldin Culbreth, 3B -
Adrian Johnson
Attendance:
23785
By SportsDirect Inc.
Astros 5, Reds 3: Matt Dominguez hit a three-run homer off closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning to push visiting Houston past National League Central-leading Cincinnati.
The Astros rallied with four hits against Chapman in the ninth, the biggest of which was Dominguez's second career home run. His line-drive shot to left on a 98-mph fastball gave Houston just its fourth win in 20 games and 10th in 52 contests since the All-Star break.
Despite Chapman's first blown save since June 24 - he had converted 27 straight - the Reds maintained an 8 1/2-game lead over St. Louis atop the division.
Chapman (5-5) had not allowed more than two hits or two runs in any of his previous 62 appearances this season. He had not allowed more than three hits in an outing in his career.
Hector Ambriz (1-0) recorded two outs in the eighth for his first major-league win, and Wilton Lopez worked around a pair of hits in the ninth for his third save.
Justin Maxwell's two-run homer off Homer Bailey in the first inning staked the Astros to a 2-0 lead, but Lucas Harrell couldn't hang onto it for even one inning. Ryan Ludwick's two-run single tied it in the bottom half, as the first four batters of the game reached base for the Reds. Jay Bruce's bloop single gave the Reds a 3-2 lead in the fifth, and that's where it stayed until Chapman's meltdown.
Chris Heisey went 3-for-5 and scored two runs for Cincinnati.
Bailey was in line for his first win since Aug. 10 before the ninth-inning rally. He struck out nine and allowed two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings.
Harrell (10-10) remained winless since Aug. 14 despite a decent line. He allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings with five strikeouts and four walks.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Reds have won nine of 13 meetings this season. … Bruce extended his hitting streak to seven games but had his streak of four consecutive games with a homer snapped. … Cincinnati's Todd Frazier singled in the fourth inning to reach base for the 29th consecutive game, the longest streak by a Reds player this season. … Astros 2B Jose Altuve left the game in the third inning with a lower abdominal strain. … Reds 3B Scott Rolen and SS Zack Cozart sat out with back injuries. Rolen has missed two straight games, and Cozart has sat out the past three. … Reds 1B Joey Votto went 0-for-1 with three walks in his second game since returning from nearly three months on the disabled list.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
| Houston |
|
Cincinnati |
|
Lucas Harrell
|
Player |
Homer Bailey
|
|
No Decision |
W/L |
No Decision |
|
6.0 |
IP |
6.2 |
|
5 |
Strikeouts |
9 |
|
7 |
Hits |
5 |
|
4.50 |
ERA |
2.70 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Houston
|
9 |
2 |
15 |
.243 |
13 |
11 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
| Cincinnati
|
10 |
0 |
12 |
.294 |
16 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
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