Arizona hit a pair of home runs off Reds starter Mike Minor and one off Luis Cessa to end a four-game losing streak.
The Reds had only one hit off Arizona starter Merrill Kelly over his six innings, a first-inning single by Alejo Lopez. And they finished the night with only five hits, two in the bottom of the ninth.
Cincinnati’s offense suffered a severe crimp when both Nick Senzel and Brandon Drury were scratched from the lineup with minor injuries.
Arizona center fielder Alek Thomas can expect no Christmas fruit cake from Joey Votto. Thomas committed first-degree robbery against Votto twice.
After Lopez singled in the first inning, Votto drove one to deep left center, certainly a two-run home run. But Thomas scaled the wall and with his glove well above the fence he snagged the baseball.
On Votto’s next at bat in the fourth, he lined one hard to center field. This time Thomas came in and skidded on his belly across the grass and snagged the ball.
Votto tempted fate in the seventh when he lined another one toward Thomas. This time the ball eluded him for a double, only the second hit by a Reds batter.
Minor was making his second start of the season after giving up three home runs in his first start. This time he gave up two.
He started the fourth inning by hitting Ketel Marte with a pitch. Christian Walker followed with a long-distance home run, hit where no fielder could get a glove on it. It was his 15th home run and gave the D-Backs a 2-0 lead.
With one out in the fifth, Reds third baseman Matt Reynolds couldn’t come up with Josh Rojas’ pop fly near the third base dugout. Rojas then drove a home run into the right field seats for a 3-0 Arizona lead.
Jordan Luplow reached the right field seats off Cessa with one out in the sixth. And Thomas singled and number nine hitter Jose Herrera doubled to make it 5-0.
Rojas tripled to open the seventh and scored on Marte’s single, pushing Arizona’s lead to 6-0.
Thomas was not only a pain in the neck defensively to Votto, but he was also a problem for Reds’ pitchers, too.
Cincinnati relief pitcher Hunter Strickland loaded the bases in the ninth and issued a two-out 3-and-2 walk to Thomas, forcing in
Arizona’s seventh run. Thomas had a single, two walks, a stolen base, a run scored and a run batted in.
Arizona’s Kelly held the Reds to no runs, one hit, with three walks and five strikeouts, lifting is record to 5-3. Minor dipped to 0-2 after giving up three runs and only three hits, but two were homers.
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