Facing a Reds bullpen susceptible to the home-run ball, Derek Norris’ three-run shot in a four-run sixth helped lift the Padres to a 7-4 victory on Thursday night at Great American Ball Park.
Cincinnati and starting pitcher John Lamb carried a 4-2 lead into the pivotal sixth. Lamb walked leadoff batter Wil Myers and Yangervis Solarte added a one-out RBI single to left field that ended the left-hander’s evening. Reliever JC Ramirez took over and gave up a single to Melvin Upton Jr. before Norris lifted a 1-1 pitch into the left-field seats. It was a Major League-leading 54th homer allowed by the Reds’ bullpen this season.
“In the sixth, I think the at-bat to Solarte took a lot out of [Lamb] as well and he did a really nice job of fighting off pitches before he was able to hit something out to left field for a base hit,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “At that point in time, I pretty much was convinced it was time for John to come out of the game. The end result wasn’t very good.”
Padres starter Christian Friedrich exited with 101 pitches after five innings, four runs and six hits allowed, but he earned the victory. The bullpen provided four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Closer Fernando Rodney pitched around a walk in the ninth for his 16th save.
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