Home runs power surging Reds past Cubs


CINCINNATI A month ago, the ball like Ryan Hanigan hit in the fourth inning of the Cincinnati Reds' 74 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday would have been either a popup or he may not have even hit it at all.


But on Friday, the Reds catcher, who has now been off the disabled list for more than two weeks, was able to stay back on Scott Feldman's curveball and drive it into the seats in left for a threerun homer to turn a onerun deficit into a tworun lead.


"I don't make any excuses, but I was having some issues with my thumb and the strength was a factor and I've got the strength back," Hanigan said. "I've still got some healing to do, it's going to be a process, but at least I have the strength back and I have a chance to get better. It would have been a problem all year if I'd continued to play with that. Being healthy's huge."


The Reds trailed 30 going into the fourth after the Cubs scored three in the second inning, including a tworun homer by Feldman. It was Feldman's first career home run and it came after Darwin Barney hit a sacrifice fly Women Moncler to score Luis Valbuena with the game's first run. It was the first run Reds starter Bronson Arroyo had allowed since May 6, when he gave up four runs in a loss to the Braves.


"I didn't feel great the whole game to be honest with you," said Arroyo, who picked up the win to go to 54 on the season. He allowed just the three runs in six innings, giving up six hits, walking two and striking out two.


Hanigan's threerun homer in the fiverun fourth put Arroyo in line for the win. Joey Votto started the scoring in the inning with a oneout solo homer his eighth of the season. It marked the ninth straight game the Reds have hit at least one home run, the team's best mark since hitting home runs in 10 straight games from Aug. 24 to Sept. 4, 2010.


After Votto's homer, Brandon Phillips singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third on a throwing error by former Reds catcher Dioner Navarro. After Jay Bruce struck out, Todd Frazier walked and Xavier Paul put Feldman's 22 offering into center field to score another run, bringing the Red within a run.


That deficit didn't last long. Although Arroyo was on deck and there were two outs, the Cubs chose to pitch to Hanigan.


Both Hanigan and Arroyo said they were slightly surprised the Cubs chose to pitch to the Reds catcher and it proved to be the wrong choice, as Hanigan hit Feldman's seventh pitch into the stands in left to give Cincinnati a 53 lead.


Arroyo left the game up 53, but UGG BOOTS both teams added runs in the eight. The Cubs scored on a double by Ryan Sweeney and a single by Valbuena off of reliever Jonathan Broxton, while the Reds answered with Phillips' tworun homer in the bottom half of the inning to extend the lead to three runs.


Aroldis Chapman gave up a single and a walk in the ninth, but struck out the other three batters he faced to earn his 12th save of the season and earn the gameending handshake from his catcher.


Since coming back from hand and oblique injuries earlier this month, Hanigan has raised his average from .079 to .167. In those nine games, he's hitting .286 with a .375 onbase percentage and .500 slugging percentage. He also has two home runs in that stretch, including his first of the season, coming last Saturday in Philadelphia.


For Hanigan, it's a relief to be healthy. He tried to play through the pain after having a ball fouled off his right hand in the second week of April. After struggling both with pain and in his production Hanigan finally accepted he needed to go on the DL.


"It's tough to come out of the game, go on the DL, because I take a lot of pride in my work with these pitchers and I know that's important to the team," Hanigan said. "I did everything I could, but it got to the point where it was mentally and physically tough."


While he refused to let his offensive struggles hurt his work defensively, he was still struggling with the hand, and to a lesser extent, an oblique injury he'd dealt with since ugg shoes sale spring training.


But it was the hand that was the biggest problem, especially at the plate.


"You think about it, it's hard. Every time you get jammed, you're blown up for an inning and a half," he said.


"It's part moncler outlet of the game, it happens. Your hands are important and mentally it can be tough and take you out of your game."


He tried to change his swing and even his approach. He'd cheat a little bit on inside pitches, hoping not to get jammed, and even get a bit jumpy, getting ahead of pitches and out in front. That'd lead to lazy fly balls, weak contact or even missing the ball completely. He had just three hits in his first 38 atbats of the season and all three were singles. Finally, the Reds placed him on the DL. As tough as it was to sit for those twoplus weeks, it was the best thing he could do for himself and the team.


"I think it got into my head a little bit and that can happen with a hand problem," Hanigan said. "But now it's still got some swelling, but the strength is there I can push, I can hold, I can grip. I couldn't do any of that."