TODAY’S GAME
Giants at Reds, 7:10 p.m., FS Ohio, 700, 1410
Raisel Iglesias left the mound after the eighth inning Wednesday to a short standing ovation. He tipped his hat to the crowd of 17,747 at Great American Ball Park and then handed out handshakes and hugs in the dugout.
His night was done, and what a night it was.
The 25-year-old right-hander, signed 320 days earlier about seven months after leaving his native Cuba, pitched eight dominant innings. This was the rookie’s second big-league start and he led the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-1 victory against the Atlanta Braves and a 2-1 series victory.
“For a baseball player, this a great goal, for me especially,” Iglesias said. “I achieved my first victory against a great team like the Atlanta Braves. It’s like a dream come true.”
Iglesias allowed one run on two hits, walked three and struck out five. He took a no-hitter into the sixth.
“This kid has pitched a lot,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “He has pitched to a lot of great competition. He’s certainly mentally and physically ready for this challenge. I really think he understands where he needs to go. It was a good sinker down and away to a lefty, a backdoor breaking ball to get into the count and then a good fastball inside.
“He just knew how to make the pitches he needed to manage those innings when he did have runners on base.”
Eric Young Jr. broke up the no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the sixth. The Braves scored their only run off Iglesias in the eighth.
Tony Cingrani finished the two-hitter with a perfect ninth. The game took two hours, six minutes.
The Reds (17-17) gave Iglesias a large, early cushion, scoring all five of their runs in the first five innings.
One of Cincinnati’s hottest hitters, Zack Cozart, started the first rally with a double to left in the first inning. He scored on a single by Joey Votto.
Another batter on a tear, Marlon Byrd, extended the lead to 2-0 with a home run in the second. He has homered in five of his last 10 games.
Todd Frazier, the Reds’ hottest hitter of all — at least from a power standpoint — gave them a 4-0 lead with a two-run home run in the third.
Frazier’s 12th home run of the season and seventh in his last 14 games tied him with the Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper for the National League lead.
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