Downs: Fills at first
(c) Associated Press
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Johnny Cueto tossed seven shutout innings and Jay Bruce drove in four to lead Cincinnati over Houston, 6-0, on Saturday. Cueto allowed five of the Astros' six hits and was in firm control the entire day. Meanwhile, the Reds played "dueces wild" with Lucas Harrell, scoring two runs in the first, third and fifth innings to account for all the scoring.
With two away in the first, Harrell gave up a double, a triple and an RBI single. The triple by Brandon Phillips glanced off center fielder Jordan Schafer's glove which illustrates how close Harrell was to getting out of the inning unscathed.
But he was scathed (that's for you, J.D.) again in the third when Bruce drilled an opposite field double for two more runs. One of the runs was unearned after Jose Altuve misplayed a liner by Joey Votto. Altuve was also hitless in four trips to drop his batting average to .359.
Bruce compounded the misery in the fifth with a two-run shot for his sixth homer of the season.
Carlos Lee did not play Saturday after twisting his ankle on Friday and is not expected to play the rest of the weekend. Matt Downs handled first base duties for the second straight game.
With Lee out of the lineup, Brad Mills tried something new with Jed Lowrie hitting third behind Altuve and J.D. Martinez sliding down to fourth. Fifth hitter Travis Buck was the only Astro to notch two hits.
Jordan Lyles (0-0) is expected to be called up from AAA Oklahoma City to pitch Sunday's 12:10 Central finale against Mat Latos (1-2). It's not clear yet what roster move will be made but likely a reliever will be sent down so the roster will remain at 25.
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