“I didn’t expect that many people to come out since it was a little cold, but they showed out,” Torres said. “It was pretty fun to play in front of all those fans.”
The result was fun, too. Torres batted in two runs for an early lead and the Dragons held on in the ninth inning to defeat Fort Wayne 6-5 Friday at DayAir Ballpark.
Torres singled in a run in the first inning and doubled in another in the third as the Dragons built a 3-0 lead.
“It’s always good to get the first hit out of the way,” said Torres, a second baseman who is the rated as the Reds’ No. 17 prospect. “At that point it’s just play baseball the way I have my whole life.”
Here are three takeaways from opening night:
1. Phillips shines: Connor Phillips, the pitcher known to Reds fans as the player to be named later in the Jesse Winker-Eugenio Suarez trade, made a successful debut. Phillips (1-0) worked five scoreless innings, struck out five and allowed two hits and three walks.
“It was fun, a little chilly,” Phillips said. “I definitely can do a little bit better than that. But it’s a good first outing of the year, knock a little rust off. I got outs.”
New Dragons manager Bryan LaHair liked what he saw.
“He was electric tonight,” he said. “He gave us a chance every inning, he gave us a chance to win the ballgame.”
2. De La Cruz is fast: Shortstop Elly De La Cruz, the Reds’ No. 3 prospect, said at Wednesday’s media day that he is the fastest player on the team. It didn’t take long for him to prove it. He led off the first inning with a walk and easily stole second base. He scored the Dragons’ first run on a single by Jose Torres.
In the seventh, De La Cruz doubled to right-center but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple. The ball was cut off at the edge of the warning track, and for a second it appeared he might be safe at third. But a well-executed relay throw got the out.
In the eighth, he hit a sharp grounder through the first baseman’s legs for an error. The ball was fielded in medium-depth right field, but De La Cruz sprinted into second with a head-first slide. Two runs scored on the play.
“He’s fun to watch,” LaHair said. “That’s what you see from him almost every game. We want him to stay aggressive, push the boundaries, learn from it, understand it.”
3. The lineup is deep: At least on opening night, the idea that the Dragons have a deep lineup was evident. In addition to Torres, Rece Hinds and Juan Martinez had two hits to contribute to a 10-hit night.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Torres’ two hits and RBIs set the early tone for the Dragons. He also made the best defensive play even though it didn’t result in an out. Torres was a shortstop at North Carolina State but is playing second base next to De La Cruz. He tracked down a ground ball up the middle and made a leaping throw to first that was barely beat out by a speedy runner.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Dragons walked 10 batters, including six in the ninth inning (four by Donovan Benoit and two by Manuel Cachutt). They walked in three runs and allowed another in on a wild pitch before Cachutt got a called third strike for the save.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Fort Wayne at Dayton, 1:05 p.m., Dayton CW, 980
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