Reds 10, Diamondbacks 7
CINCINNATI - Shin-Soo Choo went 4-for-5 with a double, homer and three RBI, and Devin Mesoraco drove in a pair of runs, as the Cincinnati Reds held on for a 10-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park.
With the victory, Cincinnati (72-55) increased its lead to six games over Arizona for the National League's second wild card position, while reducing its deficit to 2.5 games in the NL Central behind first-place Pittsburgh.
Adam Eaton, a native of nearby Springfield, Ohio, who attended Miami (Ohio) University, hit a three-run home run off Leake in the fifth to jumpstart a rally for Arizona which trailed 8-0 after four innings.
But RBI singles by Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips off right-hander Brad Ziegler in the ninth provided some breathing room for Cincinnati.
Arizona brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out in the ninth, but Reds closer Aroldis Chapman, who pitched two scoreless innings, retired the final three batters to earn his 32nd save.
Reds starter Mike Leake (11-5) retired the first 10 batters he faced, but finished with four earned runs allowed on six hits over 102 pitches.
Diamondbacks starter Brandon McCarthy (2-8) allowed seven earned runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.
Martin Prado's RBI single made the score 8-5 in the seventh. Arizona loaded the bases in the seventh, but J.J. Hoover got Aaron Hill to fly out to the warning track in left.
Parra's solo home run off Jonathan Broxton, which was confirmed by replay, cut the D-backs' deficit to 8-6 in the eighth.
Chapman, who entered the game in the eighth inning after Broxton exited with an injury, made his first career plate appearance and struck out in the ninth.
Choo's towering fly ball on McCarthy's second pitch of the game barely cleared the left-field wall a few feet inside the foul pole, putting Cincinnati ahead 1-0.
In the second inning, Leake's ground-rule double drove home Devin Mesoraco to make the score 2-0. Choo later delivered a two-run single to put the Reds up 4-0.
The hits kept coming for Cincinnati in the third. Chris Heisey's RBI double made it 5-0, and the Diamondbacks' bullpen began warming up. Mesoraco drove home two more runs with a single, and McCarthy's day was done.
Eaton clubbed his second home run, a three-run shot, in the fifth to reduce the Diamondbacks' deficit to 8-4.
NOTES: Choo hit his sixth leadoff home run this season, 11th of his career. ... It's uncertain if Reds LHP Tony Cingrani, who left Tuesday night's game in the fourth inning with a lower back strain, will miss his next start. Reds head trainer Paul Lessard told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Wed. that Cingrani's injury wasn't serious. ... Reds RHP Johnny Cueto, on the disabled list since June 29 with a strained right lat muscle, threw on Wednesday for the first time in a few weeks. "I feel really well today," Cueto said. ... D-backs 1B Paul Goldschmidt leads the National League with 100 RBI and is tied for the NL lead with 31 homers. Since 1970, only five first basemen have led the league in both categories: Albert Pujols (2010), Ryan Howard (2006, ‘08), Mark McGwire (1998) and Andres Galarraga (1996). ... It was McCarthy's shortest outing since Sept. 15, 2008 while with the Rangers.
