Farmer, Stephenson rally Reds past Padres 5-4 in 9th

CINCINNATI (AP) — Kyle Farmer hit a tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning and Tyler Stephenson drove in the winning run with a two-out single to rally the Cincinnati Reds past the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Thursday night.

Farmer smashed a shot to center field with one out against closer Mark Melancon (1-1), who then loaded the bases before Stephenson lined a 1-0 pitch down the right-field line.

“It was a cutter,” said Stephenson, the Reds' rookie catcher. “A simple swing, right field. My favorite one so far.”

Cincinnati salvaged the rain-delayed series finale and finally stopped the Padres, who had beaten the Reds six times in the past two weeks while winning 11 of 12 overall.

Manny Machado gave San Diego a 4-3 lead when he scored from second on a throwing error by rookie third baseman Alejo Lopez in the eighth.

Padres reliever Drew Pomeranz put two runners on in the Reds half of the eighth but got Joey Votto to fly out and Lopez to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Pinch-hitter Tommy Pham drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the Padres seventh to tie the score and chase Cincinnati starter Luis Castillo, who allowed three runs and five hits with six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

Art Warren (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the Reds.

“That was tough. Long night. We had to fight for everything we got," Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. "We didn’t execute in the ninth.”

Castillo pushed across the first Reds run in the second on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice, and Jonathan India doubled home another. Aristedes Aquino had a run-scoring double in the Reds fifth.

The Reds snapped a six-game Padres winning streak against them this season.

“With all the losses, I still feel like we played them...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Farmer-Stephenson-rally-Reds-past-Padres-5-4-in-16289015.php