PALMS SALVAGE THE FINALE BEHIND ENCARNACIÓN’S BAT, FEDDE’S RESET

 By Vin Castillo, Miami Sun-Dispatch

Cincinnati — May 28, 2020

The Miami Palms wrapped up their three-game stay in Cincinnati with the kind of balanced, drama-free win that has eluded them at times on this road trip, powering past the Reds 6–2 on Thursday afternoon at Great American Ball Park. A three-RBI day from Edwin Encarnación and a steady rebound outing from Erick Fedde ensured Miami heads into Friday’s off day with a little momentum in tow.

Miami struck quickly, plating two in the first, and never really let the Reds breathe. Pat Grant singled in the opening frame and came around to score, continuing a quietly terrific May. Encarnación followed with a rope into the gap to make it 1–0 before many fans had even settled in.

“It felt like we finally punched first,” manager Scott Hatteberg said. “This lineup is a different animal when Eddie is driving balls like that.”

Cincinnati’s only early answer came on a Joey Votto RBI double in the third, but Fedde—who entered with an ERA that would make a fire alarm blush—held tight. The right-hander allowed just one run on four hits across five innings, working quickly and getting soft contact in key spots.

“I’m just trying to give us a chance. The guys have had my back,” Fedde said. “Today was about getting ahead and trusting the defense.”

He got that defense, too: Yairo Munoz made two sharp plays deep in the hole, and Frank Sohn not only added an RBI and a double but ran down a couple of dangerous drives in center.

Encarnación delivered the day’s biggest swing in the fifth, turning on a Sonny Gray pitch and belting it deep into the left-field seats for his 13th homer of the season. Matt Koch added insurance with a solo shot an inning later, his fifth.

The bullpen pieced together the finish with Cody Allen tossing two scoreless, Adam Conley navigating a bumpy eighth, and Mike Morin slamming the door calmly in the ninth.

“We didn’t let this one get weird,” Hatteberg said with something close to a grin. “That’s growth.”

With the win, Miami improves to 33–26, still squarely in the AL mix as the calendar creeps toward June.

Now the Palms will enjoy a Friday travel day  for a brief two-game weekend visit to the Toronto Blue Jays. With the offense waking up again and the pitching showing flickers of stabilization, Miami will look to turn one strong win into something more sustained.

“Off days feel better after games like this,” Encarnación said. “Let’s keep it rolling.”

 Miami Palms 6, Cincinnati Reds 2

 Thursday, May 28, 2020

 

 

 Miami Palms (33-26)                                      Cincinnati Reds (1-2)                                   

 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      

 ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      

 Munoz ss        5  1  2  0  0  1  1  1  0  0   .317      Winker lf       4  1  2  0  0  0  2  0  0  0   .500

 Markakis lf     4  1  1  0  1  1  2  0  0  1   .338      Suarez 3b       4  0  1  0  1  0  0  3  0  2   .250

 Grant 1b        5  2  3  1  0  0  7  1  0  2   .285      Votto 1b        5  0  1  1  0  0  8  0  0  3   .286

 Encarnacion dh  5  1  2  3  0  2  0  0  0  1   .268      Castellanos rf  4  1  1  0  0  1  2  0  0  2   .250

 Korb 3b         4  0  0  0  1  0  0  3  0  0   .272      Moustakas 2b    4  0  2  1  0  0  2  1  0  0   .250

 Sohn cf         4  0  2  1  1  1  5  0  0  0   .278      Barnhart c      4  0  0  0  0  0  9  0  0  0   .250

 Castillo c      4  0  0  0  0  2  3  0  0  1   .225      Galvis ss       4  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  0   .083

 Holt rf         4  0  1  0  0  1  5  0  0  4   .254      Akiyama cf      4  0  1  0  0  1  4  0  0  3   .417

 Koch 2b         4  1  1  1  0  1  3  2  0  0   .293      VanMeter dh     3  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0   .429

 

                 -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---                            -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---            

 Totals          39 6  12 6  3  9  27 8  0  9             Totals          36 2  9  2  2  2  27 7  0  10 

 

 

                         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10     R  H  E

                         -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -      -  -  -

 Miami Palms             2  0  0  0  2  2  0  0  0         6  12 0  

 Cincinnati Reds         0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0         2  9  0  

 

 

 

 LOB- Miami Palms 9, Cincinnati Reds 10; 2B- Sohn(18), Markakis(11), Grant 2(13), Winker 2(4),

 Votto(1), Akiyama(3), Moustakas(1); 3B- Castellanos(1); HR- Encarnacion(13), Koch(5);

 RBI- Encarnacion 3(46), Koch(17), Sohn(14), Grant(30), Votto(3), Moustakas(1);

 RLSP- Encarnacion, Holt 3, Grant, Suarez 2, Votto, Akiyama 2, Castellanos;  

 

  

  

 

 

 Miami Palms                IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Fedde(W 3-4)               5.0  4  1  1  1  1    9.32  

 Allen                      2.0  1  0  0  1  0    4.32  

 Conley                     1.0  3  1  1  0  1    4.12  

 Morin                      1.0  1  0  0  0  0    3.90  

 

 Cincinnati Reds            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Gray(L 0-1)                5.0  7  4  4  3  6    7.20  

 Jones                      1.0  3  2  2  0  1   18.00 

 Lorenzen                   2.0  2  0  0  0  1    6.00  

 Stephenson                 1.0  0  0  0  0  1    0.00  

 

 Pitches-strikes- Fedde 65-37, Allen 20-11, Conley 23-11, Morin 17-9, Gray 86-52,

 Jones 19-11, Lorenzen 25-18, Stephenson 9-7; Batters faced- Fedde 21, Allen 8,

 Conley 6, Morin 4, Gray 25, Jones 6, Lorenzen 8, Stephenson 3; 


 HBP- Winker(by Fedde);  

 

  

 Temp - 77, Sky - Mostly Cloudy, Wind - SSW 12MPH 

 

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