Reds manager Jim Riggleman dismissed the idea there is anything wrong with Peralta physically, saying it’s more mechanical than medical.
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“The ball that the left-hander (Victor Reyes) got the base hit on him (Tuesday) night, I think that pitch velocity was 98,” Riggleman said. “And some of that high velocity might have had a little bit to do with just anger. Sometimes you’re really firing because you’re just irritated with what’s going on out here. He was throwing hard. Physically there’s no limitations.
“He’s just got some mechanical issues,” Riggleman added. “Our pitching coaches are talking to him about it now because they’ve seen some stuff on the video that they feel like is maybe the root of the problem. So they’re trying to point that out to him and see if we can make an adjustment.”
Peralta entered Tuesday’s game in the ninth with a 9-0 lead. He gave up three consecutive singles before walking in a run and allowing a two-run double. Two more runs scored on sacrifice flies after Riggleman had replaced him with Dylan Floro, causing Peralta’s ERA to climb from 4.60 to 6.14.
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Hamilton hitting: Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton went 2 for 4 with a home run Tuesday night, giving him multiple hits in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Hamilton was 3 for 4 in Sunday’s series finale at Pittsburgh.
“That was very encouraging because there was an off day in between there,” Riggleman said. “Sometimes the last thing a player wants when he gets something going is an off day. So there was an off day there and he got in there and had some good at-bats yesterday.
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“Just good at bats,” Reds manager Jim Riggleman continued. “The home run, of course, but the walk. The inning that Joey (Votto) hit the grand slam was really big with Billy and Tucker (Barnhart) both drawing walks there. That really set that inning up for us.”
Hamilton has been struggling all season and had gone hitless in eight of his previous 11 starts to see his batting average drop to .187 heading into Sunday. After going 5 for 8 the last two games, his average jumped 16 points to .203 heading into Wednesday’s game.
Votto ties Robinson: Reds first baseman Joey Votto played in the 1,502nd game of his career Wednesday, tying him with Frank Robinson for eighth place on the franchise's all-time list (since 1900).
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Votto could move into seventh place by the end of the season. He trails Vada Pinson by 63 games with 90 remaining.
Pete Rose holds the Reds record with 2,722 games, followed by Dave Concepcion (2,488), Barry Larkin (2,180), Johnny Bench (2,158), Tony Perez (1,948) and Brandon Phillips (1,614).
Up next: Thursday night the Reds begin a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs. It will be the third and final trip to Great American Ball Park for the Cubs in 2018.
Cincinnati’s Matt Harvey (1-5, 5.92 ERA) will oppose Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 3.55) in the 7:10 p.m. game.
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