Votto homers as Reds rally to down Giants

Published 9:54 pm Saturday, March 21, 2015

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Joey Votto hit his first home run of the spring in the first inning and his Cincinnati Reds teammates went on to rally for five runs in the top of the ninth for a 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.

A two-run double by Chris Dominguez gave the Reds the go-ahead runs in the ninth.

Right-handers Tim Hudson (Giants) and Anthony DeSclafani (Reds) had solid efforts to start the game.

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Hudson made his third start of the spring after having surgery to clean debris from his right ankle in early January. He gave up a run on one hit – Votto’s home run – and struck out four in 3 2/3 innings.

DeSclafani, acquired in an offseason trade with Miami for right-hander Mat Latos, gave up three runs, one earned, on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

STARTING TIME

Reds: DeSclafani, the likely third man in manager Bryan Price’s rotation, said he was fighting himself from the beginning.

“Mechanically, I just didn’t feel right,” he said. “I could sort of tell (warming up before the game). I made some adjustments and felt better once I got in the game, but I still wasn’t too crisp.”

Giants: Hudson, who was 9-13 in 31 starts in his first year with the team in 2014, said he “felt pretty good with his pitches, particularly working out of the windup. It was the best I have thrown this spring. Everything was on rhythm, on time.”

A large part of that was due to the work he did in the bullpen in the days leading up to Friday night, making some adjustments.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: The team is taking it slow with INF Todd Frazier, who has been dealing with a sore lower back. CF Billy Hamilton is being brought along at a moderate pace with a sore right shoulder. He was thrown out by Giants 3B Casey McGehee on a bang-bang bunt play in the third inning. Devin Mesoraco, who had a mild concussion on March 7 when hit in the mask by a foul tip, started behind the plate.

ROSTER MOVES

Reds: RHP Matt Magill, RHP Keyvius Sampson and OF Kyle Waldrop were optioned to Triple-A Louisville.

Giants: RHP Chris Heston, RHP Cody Hall and OF Jarrett Parker were optioned to Triple-A Sacramento and INF Mitchell Delfino has been reassigned to minor-league camp.