Jose Peraza kept up the parade of slams, sending Matt Harvey and the Reds over the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 Sunday.
Peraza connected in the sixth inning for the Reds’ major league-leading ninth slam this year, tying the single-season franchise record set in 2002. It was Cincinnati’s second in two games and third in the last eight – pitcher Mike Lorenzen had a pinch-hit slam Saturday, and pitcher Anthony DeSclafani went deep with the bases loaded on June 24 against the Cubs.
”I just tried to hit the ball,” the shortstop said. ”When I hit the ball in the sky, I say, `Wow, it’s a home run.’ Everybody is happy.”
Peraza hit his first career slam, tagging reliever Aaron Wilkerson.
Eight different Reds have hit grand slams. Adam Duvall is the only player with two.
The last-place Reds have won 11 of 14, and the last eight of 11 against teams that were in first place when their series started.
”We know we can play with these guys (division leaders),” manager Jim Riggleman said. ”We’ve got to go through those guys and win our share.”
Harvey (4-5) allowed two hits in 5 2/3 innings and won his third straight start as the Reds salvaged a split of the four-game series. Ryan Braun’s two-run homer in the ninth allowed the Brewers to avoid their 11th shutout loss of the season.
Joey Votto, National League RBI leader Eugenio Suarez and Scott Schebler had consecutive run-scoring singles in the first inning against previously unbeaten rookie Freddy Peralta (3-1).
Harvey, acquired in May from the Mets, struck out six and walked none. The right-hander didn’t return after a 54-minute rain delay.
”It was one of those when you come in and try to do as much as you can,” Harvey said. ”You come in and put a heat pack on Richard Panik Jersey , but once it creeps up to an hour … That’s the best I’ve felt in a long time. I could smell the CG (complete game) coming or at least getting deep in the game. I was pretty much in control the whole time, but I’m happy about the outing and another Reds win.”
Pitching in a gametime temperature of 93 humid degrees, Harvey retired the first 12 batters before Travis Shaw outflanked a defensive shift with an opposite-field single to left leading off the fifth.
Cincinnati’s first six batters reached base against Peralta, who’d allowed just a .093 opponents’ batting average (7 for 75) in his first four starts, all Milwaukee wins. He recovered from throwing 43 pitches in the first inning to retire the last 10 and 15 of the last 16 batters he faced.
”It started out rough,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. ”He righted it. It was cool to see him right it. That’s a lesson that you’ve got to get it going right away or a big league team will take advantage of it. I thought he handled it very well.”
CHANGE OF SCENERY
The Brewers optioned .197-hitting SS Orlando Arcia to Triple-A Colorado Springs before the game. ”He’s been a good major league hitter,” Counsell said. ”He’s been a dominant minor league hitter. We’re confident he will get things going again.”
MOVING UP
Votto’s two hits pushed him past Hall of Famer Frank Robinson into ninth place on the Reds’ career hits list with 1,674. Brandon Phillips is eighth with 1,774 hits.
LAST MINUTE
Braun’s ninth-inning homer gave the Brewers at least one in each of their last 19 games at Great American Ball Park, the longest streak by any team, including the Reds.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: OF Christian Yelich took some swings before Sunday’s game, the third he’d missed since leaving Thursday’s game with a tight lower back.
UP NEXT
Brewers: LHP Brent Suter (8-5) is 6-2 with a 3.50 ERA over his last eight starts.
Reds: RHP Luis Castillo (5-8) didn’t allow a home run in his last start, but he still leads NL pitchers in homers allowed with 18.
Boot camp took on new meaning this week for military service members.
Participants got to train at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey like NFL stars for a day as part of “USAA’s Salute to Service NFL Boot Camp.” They performed drills similar to those used by NFL coaches to evaluate talent, under the watchful eye of Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins.
“Members of my family have served in the military, so I respect the simple impact that saying ‘thank you’ can have Authentic David Desharnais Jersey , and that’s what USAA’s Salute to Service NFL Boot Camp is all about,” Dawkins said. “It was great to get onto the field and help coach military members through drills that I did as a player.”
In addition to active duty participants, military veterans from the Wounded Warrior Project took part.
“It was very competitive,” said Senior Airman Brandon Castillo, one of the participants. “We had different branches out there today and everybody was itching to go. We all wanted to compete and put up the best scores we could for all of the drills.”
The seventh such boot camp is part of the military appreciation events that USAA and the NFL have created.
RING BEARERS
The eight inductees in the 2018 class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame will receive their rings during special halftime ceremonies this season.
First up in the second week of the season will be Packers guard Jerry Kramer on Sept. 16 when Green Bay faces Minnesota.
The next night, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher gets his when Chicago plays Seattle.
A week later, it will be Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis when Baltimore takes on Denver. Three weeks later, Robert Brazile, an outstanding linebacker for the Houston Oilers — the forerunner of the Titans — will be honored when Tennessee plays Baltimore.
Eagles and Broncos safety Brian Dawkins will be next up on Oct. 21 during the Eagles-Panthers game. On Nov. 1, Terrell Owens, who didn’t show for the inductions in Canton, Ohio, gets his ring as the 49ers play the Raiders in a Thursday night game.
Finally, former general manager Bobby Beathard will be honored when Washington takes on Houston in Week 12, and Vikings receiver Randy moss gets his ring on Nov. 25 during a Packers-Vikings matchup.
The Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence is set in 14-karat gold with a total diamond weight of 1¾ karats.
URLACHER APPROVES
Count Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher among those thrilled to see the Chicago Bears swing a blockbuster trade with the Oakland Raiders for two-time All-Pro Khalil Mack.
He was “ecstatic” to see his former team land one of the league’s best defensive players. And he was “shocked” the Raiders would trade Mack.
“I love it http://www.indianapoliscoltsteamonline.com/malik-hooker-jersey ,” Urlacher said this week. “They want to win now. I feel like they feel they have the people in place to win now. The NFC is a tough conference. The NFC North is a tough division. But you look at that roster on the Bears, they match up with everybody in that division.”
Urlacher was promoting FanDuel’s weekly Gridiron Pick’em contest, where users select the winners of each game for a chance at a share of a $10,000 prize pool. They can also play alongside him this week.
Mack’s arrival capped a busy offseason for a team with four straight last-place finishes in the NFC North. But Chicago’s defense ranked 10th overall last season. And the Bears added one of the league’s best players.
They paid a high price, sending two first-round picks to Oakland as part of the deal. They also gave their new star a six-year, $141 million extension that guarantees $90 million and makes him the highest-paid defensive player in league history.
“To give up two first-round picks is really, in my opinion, minor for the kind of player they got,” Urlacher said. “Last year, the Bears were a top 10 defense. Now, you add him to the mix, it’s gonna be even better.”
Urlacher said having Mack should create more opportunities for Leonard Floyd on the other side at outside linebacker. He also thinks the trade will benefit Mitchell Trubisky and the offense. And he dismissed the idea that there will be more pressure on the young quarterback with the Bears in a win-now mode.
“You’re supposed to win every year,” Urlacher said. “Your mindset should be we have to win right now, every single season. The pressure shouldn’t change based on that.”
MULLET MAN
Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert is keeping his mullet for the season, adding a new look to what he hopes is a resurgent time in his career.
Eifert was limited to two games last season because of another back injury that required surgery. During his latest rehab http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-golden-tate-iii-jersey , he decided to let his hair down. He made it through training camp without physical problem, and he’s going to let the hair hang out of the back of his helmet starting with a game Sunday at Indianapolis.
He has no plans for getting a haircut.
“I’m just kind of rolling with it,” Eifert said. “It kind of started as — not really a joke, just a ha-ha thing. It’s taken a lot of work getting through the awkward stages of it, but it’s turned out pretty good.”
The Bengals signed Eifert, their first-round pick in 2013, to a one-year deal for 2018 that’s loaded with incentives. He’s been limited to 24 games in the past four seasons because of back, elbow, shoulder and ankle injuries as well as a concussion. The Bengals limited him to 14 plays in the preseason to keep him healthy, although that’s not a concern for Eifert.
“I feel like every injury has been somewhat of a fluke thing,” he said. “That’s not even a Youth Green Bay Packers Jerseys
