by Chris Ball

Loveland, Ohio – The Reds completed their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon with a 4-2 win at Great American Ballpark. The victory got Cincinnati back to .500 at 33-33, and came complete with a long ball show from a couple key players.

Christian Encarnacion Strand hit his fourth home run of the year, and his third in as many games after returning to the lineup. His rocket to center field in the 11th inning in the second game of the series proved to be the game winner, the Reds’ first win in extra innings all season and their first walk-off win. CES’ return to the lineup has appeared to galvanize the Reds’ bats, and he is absolutely leading by example.

A Red following that example is Matt McLain. Cincinnati’s second baseman also had a very respectable series. He had four hits against Arizona with three runs batted in. On Sunday McLain smashed the game winner: a two run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning. That shot broke a 67 at bat homerless streak

The Reds are a team in desperate need of a spark. CES’ return to the lineup has all of the hallmarks of being just what this club needs to make a push to climb (and stay) even further above .500. And with Austin Hayes on the cusp of retuning, and Noelvi Marte starting to swing the bat again, the prospect of a fully healthy Cincinnati lineup is closer to becoming a reality.

Even though ace Hunter Greene may be sidelined for a not insignificant period of time, the other starters in the rotation have been solid. The bullpen has been on lockdown recently. If the bats can score runs consistently and continue to flash some power, then perhaps there is room to hope for the rest of this year.

But .5oo has been the boogeyman for this team all year. Cincinnati has shown that they can get to that mark, but they’ve struggled mightily to remain there for any length of time. But with key players returning to the lineup, and with some others beginning to play better, perhaps this time will be different.

Up next for the Reds is another Battle of Ohio series with the Guardians, and this series will tell a lot about just how ready this club is to maintain their winning ways. Cleveland sits at 34-30 and but have lost four of their last six games. Recently re-signed pitcher Wade Miley is set to take the bump for the Reds, and he will face the Guardian’s Luis Ortiz (3-6, 4.02 ERA). The first pitch is at 6:40 on Monday from Cleveland.

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Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

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