Reds’ Scooter Gennett Blasts Four Home Runs in Win Over St. Louis

The Cincinnati Reds clobbered the St. Louis Cardinals 13-1 on Tuesday night at Great American Ballpark, but the storyline of the night came from a player who wasn’t even supposed to be in the lineup.

Ryan Joseph “Scooter” Gennett was inserted into the Reds’ lineup for an injured Scott Schebler and started the game in left field. He certainly made the most of the start, blasting four home runs on five hits, and also driving in ten runs. Gennett is the first player to achieve the combination of feats, and just the 17th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a game.

The historic night at the plate for Gennett seemed far-fetched, as he was 0-for-his-last-19 heading into Tuesday’s game, and had just three home runs in 111 at-bats all season. He more than doubled his long-ball production in the game, and also raised his batting average by 32 points to .302, and his slugging percentage 128 points and up to .578.

Gennett’s first at-bat was not a home run, rather a bloop single that drove in Billy Hamilton to give the Reds ahead 1-0 with two outs. His first home run of the night came off of Adam Wainwright in the bottom of the third inning, and it was a grand slam – the second of his career – that put Cincinnati up 5-0.

The show would not stop for the 27-year-old, who belted his second long ball in the fourth inning off of John Gant to center field to bring to score to 10-0. He hit another blast off of Gant down the left field line on a 3-1 count to extend the Reds lead to 11-0. He drew a curtain call from the erupting crowd, which was over 18,000 strong.

The final home run of Gennett’s night came in the eighth inning, a two-run rocket to right field to bring the lead to 13-1.

Watch all four of Gennett’s home runs here:

The Reds (27-30) will once again take on the Cardinals (26-30) on Wednesday night at Great American Ballpark, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. EST.

Article by Matthew Lamb