logo
ENFRع
#

Latest news with #AustinHays

Austin Hays' going oppo, crushing tacos, leads to a Reds win to start second half
Austin Hays' going oppo, crushing tacos, leads to a Reds win to start second half

New York Times

time3 days ago

  • Sport
  • New York Times

Austin Hays' going oppo, crushing tacos, leads to a Reds win to start second half

NEW YORK — Monday night, the world of baseball's focus was on the Home Run Derby on the eve of the All-Star Game. A night later, that game was decided by a swing-off. Thursday night at Citi Field in New York, the Cincinnati Reds held their own contest — not for yanking home runs but hitting the ball the other way. Advertisement Structured like the Home Run Derby, with three rounds, all the Reds' hitters (and first-base coach Collin Cowgill) competed in the contest, consisting of five swings per player per round, with hits to the opposite field earning two points, anything considered a double counting for three points and an opposite-field home run notching five. The top four finishers of the first round moved into a pair of semifinal matchups, and those winners moved on to the championship. Outfielder Austin Hays led the first round with nine points — three singles and a double — before advancing to the semifinals and, ultimately, a victory over second baseman Matt McLain. Hays outdid himself in Friday's second-half opener, earning 10 points for a pair of opposite-field home runs in the Reds' 8-4 victory over the New York Mets. 'Good things happen when you hit the ball in the air the other way,' said Hays, who added an RBI bases-loaded walk to plate the Reds' final run of the night. The contest was manager Terry Francona's idea as a fun way to end the team's optional workout at Citi Field the night before the start of the second half. 'You sit around for four days, and it's always probably the most anxiety, almost, of the year,' Francona said. 'I had less this year just because the guys came out and worked out last night — I've never seen that before, and I've been doing this a lot of years, and you're always worried.' Nobody else remembers having a workout the night before the second-half opener, either. Not only that, but everyone showed up except the one player who was expressly forbidden from showing up — All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz — because, unlike every other Red aside from pitcher Andrew Abbott, he didn't get time off. The other 25 players ensured they arrived in New York early from wherever they spent their All-Star breaks, allowing them to check into the hotel and arrive at the workout on time. Advertisement Reds center fielder TJ Friedl said a group of players, including first baseman Spencer Steer and others, wondered afterward why they'd never before held a workout the day before the All-Star break. 'It was a nice, easy workout: run, stretch, play some catch, hit, and that's it. A nice, simple workout, but at the same time, it's like you can't just get into baseball and show up on Friday and play a game after not doing anything for four days. So we really enjoyed it yesterday, and I think it showed today.' Francona topped it with the opposite-field hitting competition, which had a monetary component to help raise the stakes. The coaching staff set up a fastball pitching machine and let the games begin. 'I think it's better for them than trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark and getting into bad habits,' Francona said. It didn't look like it helped early in Friday's game, as the Mets scored single runs in each of the first two frames, and Mets lefty Sean Manaea didn't allow a hit in the first three innings. But Hays cut the Mets' 2-0 lead in half when he started off the fourth inning with a home run, as Manaea elevated a pitch at the top and outside corner of the strike zone, just where the pitching machine was putting it the night before. Oppo king@TheAustinHaysss — Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 19, 2025 'I just kind of found a nice little line-drive stroke into the right-center gap, and I feel like today that swing played in perfectly to the pitches I was seeing,' Hays said. 'I got a couple of heaters up and out over the plate, so whenever it was up in the zone, I was able to get some good ball flight up and hit it on the barrel.' Hays' homer went into the right-center gap — the same spot he scored two points with Thursday — but this one went over the fence and into the Reds' bullpen to cut the Mets' lead in half. Advertisement The next inning, McLain hit a two-run homer but pulled it, so even though he got two runs in Friday, it wouldn't have scored any points the night before. This one, though, gave the Reds a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Hays then led off the sixth inning with a home run that was more toward center, but since it was to the right of the 408 sign in dead-center field, it technically was considered by the team's judging criteria as an opposite-field hit for the right-handed hitter, giving him 10 points on the night and putting the Reds ahead 4-2. Austin Hays is on pace to hit a lot of homers in the 2nd half… @TheAustinHaysss — Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 19, 2025 That same inning, Tyler Stephenson pulled a two-run homer to left. All four of the Reds' first four hits were home runs. Though De La Cruz didn't get into the action Thursday night, he did Friday, driving in McLain with a flair into right field while batting right-handed against left-handed Mets reliever Brandon Waddell in the seventh inning. '(Waddell) had a cutter, sinker, so that cutter was coming in on (De La Cruz), and he was able to just stay on it and fight it off,' Hays said. Francona deflected credit after the game. 'It could've been that,' Francona said of Thursday's competition. 'Or it could've been the three tacos he had earlier.' Said Hays, 'The tacos were a big part.' For the record, they were carne asada tacos with guacamole on freshly made tortillas. 'We need to call those people and have them come back tomorrow,' Hays said. 'They were really good tacos.'

Hays hits 2 homers and Reds go deep 4 times to back Lodolo in 8-4 win over Mets

time4 days ago

  • Sport

Hays hits 2 homers and Reds go deep 4 times to back Lodolo in 8-4 win over Mets

NEW YORK -- Austin Hays hit two of Cincinnati's four home runs and Nick Lodolo threw seven strong innings as the Reds beat the New York Mets 8-4 on Friday night. Matt McLain and Tyler Stephenson each launched a two-run shot for the Reds, who have won five of six. It was the third time this season they went deep four times in a game. After allowing Juan Soto's first-inning homer and an RBI single by Jeff McNeil in the second, Lodolo (7-6) retired 16 of the next 18 hitters — including 10 in a row during one stretch. He finished with seven strikeouts and matched his longest start of the year. Soto's solo drive gave the Mets an early lead in Sean Manaea's first start this season. Re-signed to a three-year contract in the offseason, the left-hander missed the first 95 games due to an oblique strain and a bone chip in his pitching elbow. He returned with an extended relief appearance Sunday at Kansas City. Manaea gave up Hays' first homer but struck out six over four innings of one-hit ball. He was pulled after 69 pitches, and Cincinnati scored seven runs off a depleted Mets bullpen. Rookie right-hander Alex Carrillo (0-1) was hit hard, allowing five runs and three homers in 1 1/3 innings. New York scored twice in the ninth before Emilio Pagán induced a bases-loaded popup from Francisco Lindor to end it. Hays led off the sixth with his second home run of the night. Spencer Steer walked and, two batters later, Stephenson drove a belt-high fastball into the left-center stands to give the Reds a 6-2 lead. Lodolo threw 97 pitches and failed to reach 100 for the 24th straight start, despite ranking among the top 10 in the National League in innings pitched. … Cincinnati outfielder TJ Friedl was hit by three pitches from three different pitchers, tying a major league record. New York RHP Clay Holmes (8-4, 3.31 ERA) opposes RHP Nick Martinez (7-9, 4.78) in the second game of the series Saturday. In a pregame ceremony, the Mets will retire David Wright's No. 5 jersey. ___

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store