CINCINNATI — For a couple of days, the struggling Reds have had a drip, drip, drip of offense that had the club feeling like a breakout was coming. On Friday vs. the Dodgers, the faucet finally flowed with some runs.
One of Cincinnati’s most thirsty of hitters, Jonathan India, broke out of an extended slump with three hits, including a fifth-inning grand slam for the go-ahead runs, during a 9-6 victory at Great American Ball Park.
“He’s the heart and soul of the team, a leader. Awesome to see that for Jonathan. He deserves it,” said center fielder Stuart Fairchild, who also hit a leadoff home run in the fifth and made two superb defensive plays — including climbing the wall to rob Will Smith with a catch in the seventh inning.
India entered the night in a 0-for-16 skid and was batting .177 for the month while dropping towards the bottom portion of the order.
“It hasn’t been fun,” he said. “I prepare every day. I stick to my process. I don’t get down on myself. It’s baseball. Every year is going to be different. Yeah, it’s been tough. All I can do is put one foot in front of the other and keep playing this game hard and keep giving my team everything I’ve got, no matter what happens.”
India, who signed a two-year, $8.8 million contract in February, was still poised to lose his starting job at second base to Matt McLain and become a utility player before the season began. But he got it back when McLain sustained a left shoulder injury in Spring Training that required surgery.
India has never really gotten going consistently over the season’s first 50 games and admitted it was taxing him mentally.
“This game beats you up mentally more than physically,” India said. “For me, it was just mental. It was trusting myself to turn and let my hands do the work rather than forcing or trying to pull the ball. I am just trusting myself. It’s coming.”
Batting eighth vs. Los Angeles, India hit a double in the second inning and a single in the fourth — both to the opposite field.
Dodgers starter James Paxton began to falter in the fifth inning, as did L.A.’s bullpen. As the Reds trailed, 5-3, Fairchild led off with a homer off the left-field foul pole. With two outs, four straight batters reached without a hit — two on hit-by-pitches and two on walks, including Nick Martini’s game-tying hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded against Yohan Ramírez.
A second pitching change during the rally brought lefty Alex Vesia in to face India. After a 3-0 count went to 3-2, India pulled a Vesia fastball to left field for a grand slam and a four-run Reds lead.
As India watched the ball land in the seats as he approached first base, he let out a yell and pumped his fist.
“I sit fastball every at-bat. I just didn’t want to miss that fastball,” India said. “It was a good-located pitch too. I finally turned on a ball this year. I think it was my first time turning on a ball like that. I haven’t felt that all year. That’s why I had so much emotion running around the bases. I’ve been trying to find that. I finally found it tonight with that swing.”
Entering the night, the Reds had averaged 2.9 runs per game over their last 21 games with 17 losses. On Friday, they scored their most runs in a game since tallying 11 against the White Sox on April 14.
Another struggling hitter, Spencer Steer, who came in with a 2-for-23 clip, gave Cincinnati a 3-0 lead with a first-inning, three-run homer to left-center field off Paxton. Starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft gave the lead back during a four-run top of the second inning.
Ashcraft, who epitomized a hard-luck starter as he went winless in his last five games despite having a 3.42 ERA, was able to pitch into the sixth inning while his offense gave him a boost.
“Those guys have had a lot of games recently where they’re hitting the ball real hard and just having bad luck,” Ashcraft said. “To see the guys do that, it pumps us up a lot. We’ve been wanting that, for them.”
Perhaps especially for India.
“He’s so well liked,” Reds manager David Bell said. “When you have a close team like this, you feel the pain that your teammates are going through, even though you’re remaining positive and feeling confident. To see the work pay off, the endless work pay off, is a bit of a relief.”