Billy Hamilton Hit In Face By Anthony Rizzo’s Opening Homer In Cubs’ 9-2 Road Win Over Reds

The Chicago Cubs scored three home runs, including an inside-the-park homer by first baseman Anthony Rizzo to cruise to a 9-2 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati Wednesday afternoon.

Billy Hamilton Hit In Face By Anthony Rizzo’s Opening Homer In Cubs’ 9-2 Road Win

Rizzo made it 3-0 three batters into the game against rookie left-hander Cody Reed when his drive to left-center field caused Reds outfielders Billy Hamilton and Adam Duvall to converge. The ball appeared to skip off Duvall’s glove and into Hamilton’s face as the latter attempted to make a sliding catch.

Hamilton went down hard, and the center fielder was forced from the game. The play was ruled a hit by the official scorer, and Tyler Holt came in to replace Hamilton in center.

The Cubs then pushed their lead to 5-0 in the third innings when catcher Wilson Contreras hit a two-out RBI double, followed by Javier Baez’s RBI single. Solo homers in the fourth by Addison Russell and 22-year-old center fielder Albert Almora Jr. — the first of his career — stretched the lead to seven runs.

Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks had a strong start, allowing two earned runs, eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts. The right-hander lasted 6 2/3 innings.

“I thought his last two innings were his best stuff,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “Combination of his command really got better, his aggressiveness in the zone got better and it looked like he normally does in the beginning part of the game. He was really good today.”

Duvall opened scoring for Cincinnati in the fourth with a leadoff homer, followed by pinch-hitter Zack Cozart’s RBI groundout that scored Eugenio Suarez. The Reds have lost seven of their last eight games, while the Cubs have won four of eight, including all three games in their series against Cincinnati.

Almora’s first career homer traveled 399 feet and came off the bat at 103mph, according to Statcast. Called up in early June with Dexter Fowler and Jorge Soler on the disabled list, the Cubs’ No. 5 prospect got the start Wednesday as Jayson Heyward received a routine day of rest. Almora contributed defensively with a fine diving catch in center field to rob Brandon Phillips of a hit in the seventh inning.

Reed, who made his third major league start, easily had the worst outing of his career. The 23-year-old allowed seven earned runs and nine hits over four innings with three homers. Ranked as the No. 3 Reds prospect and No. 59 in baseball by MLBPipeline.com, the left-hander had never allowed more than six earned runs in four Minor League seasons. He is now 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA.

“I just didn’t throw a lot of first-pitch strikes,” Reed said. “You make mistakes to the guys in that lineup and they’re going to do it to you. I’ve got to be better next time out and be a little more fine with myself and just stay within myself throughout the outing.”

Rizzo’s first-inning line drive to left-center was his first career inside-the-park home run and his 19th homer of the season, tying him with the Milwaukee Brewers’ Chris Carter for the lead among National League first baseman. It’s the first Cubs inside-the-park homer since Tony Campana on Aug. 5, 2011, which also came against the Reds.

In the top of the eighth, Cincinnati reliever Jumbo Diaz hit Kris Bryant with a pitch, but no warnings were issued.

The Cubs (51-26, 1st in NL Central) next start a four-game road series against the New York Mets on Thursday night. Right-hander John Lackey (7-4, 3.29 ERA) will start for Chicago in the first game between the Cubs and Mets since the 2015 NL Championship Series.

The Reds (29-50, 5th in NL Central) will begin a four-game road series against the Washington Nationals Thursday night, with left-hander Brandon Finnegan set to take the mound for Cincinnati.

CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 8: Billy Hamilton #6 of the Cincinnati Reds makes a diving catch of a line drive from Matt Adams #32 of the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth inning at Great American Ball Park on June 8, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. St. Louis defeated Cincinnati 12-7. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena