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Joey
Votto celebrates after hitting a grand slam in the ninth inning
against the Washington Nationals at Great
American Ball Park Sunday.
The Reds won 9-6 as Votto hit three home runs. Photo Courtesy Yahoo
Sports
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Votto’s
walk-off slam is the game-changing moment of the week
NFL Moment of the Week
yahoo sports
It’s hard for a baseball player not named Josh Hamilton to get noticed
these days.
The Texas Rangers slugger’s legendary week has been well documented,
but Joey Votto did his best Josh Hamilton impression Sunday.
The Cincinnati Reds first baseman took over their game against the
Washington Nationals, going 4-for-5 with a walk-off grand slam that
ended a rain-delayed 9-6 win. It was his third home run of the game. He
had a career-high six RBIs and 14 total bases, culminating with the
game-changing moment of the week.
Votto’s first-inning home run gave the Reds a lead. His second home
run, in the fourth, tied the game.
It was his third and final home run though that completed the Reds’
comeback and ended a two-game losing skid. It also put them back above
the .500 mark and within 2.5 games of the St. Louis Cardinals in the
National League Central.
Trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth, after scoring twice in the
eighth, the Reds loaded the bases on a single and two walks. With two
out and a 2-2 count, Votto sent a 96 mph fastball from Nationals closer
Henry Rodriguez over the wall in center field.
It was the first time in major-league history that a player finished a
three-homer (or four-homer) game with a game-ending grand slam,
according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The 2010 NL most valuable player signed a 10 year, $225 million
extension with the Reds before opening day, but only had two home runs
going into Sunday’s game. It was the longest he had ever gone into a
season before hitting his third home run. His low power numbers led to
a perception around baseball that he was off to a slow start. But he
was batting .296 (he’s up to .319 now) and had strong numbers in other
categories. Still, Sunday’s performance could be the breakout
performance he and the Reds have been waiting for.
“Moments like this, this is kind of the icing on the cake, but all the
little grinder type things are more my style,” Votto said after the
game.
“That’s as good a day as you’ll see, probably outside of Josh Hamilton
over there in Texas,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said, acknowledging
Votto’s Hamilton-like day at the plate. “That’s a game that hopefully
will get us going, and you like to see Joey hot like that.”
The loss ended the Nationals’ three-game winning streak and dropped
them out of the NL East lead. For Rodriguez, who is filling in at
closer until Drew Storen returns from elbow surgery, it was his third
blown save of the season.
Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton also hit a game-ending slam
Sunday against the New York Mets, making it the first time in 14 years
that there were two walk-off slams on one day, according to STATS.
Read this and other articles at Yahoo.com
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