Simmons homers twice as Braves top Reds

CINCINNATI -- Atlanta shortstop Andrelton Simmons is a highly regarded defensive player. On Monday night, Simmons made big plays with his bat.

Simmons hit two home runs, including a two-run blast in the eighth, lifting the Braves to a 7-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.

"I felt good at the plate," Simmons said. "My teammates gave me a good scouting report, since I hadn't faced any of these guys. I feel like I'm where I want to be with the bat."

Jordan Schafer added his first career pinch home run in the eighth for Atlanta.

The Braves, who started the season 12-1, won for just the fourth time in 11 games. The loss ended a three-game winning streak for Cincinnati.

The big story Monday night for the Braves was the return of catcher Brian McCann, a six-time All-Star, who came off the disabled list and made his much-anticipated season debut after having offseason shoulder surgery. He went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.

"I felt great," McCann said. "Hitting-wise, if I'm seeing the ball like I am now, everything will be fine. I've tested (the shoulder) as much as I can test it. Tonight couldn't have gone better."

However, the offensive star Monday night was Simmons, who went 3-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs. It was his first career multi-homer game.

"He made a couple big plays for me," Atlanta starter Paul Maholm said of Simmons. "He hit a couple homers."

Maholm (4-3) allowed two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two while striking out six, and he threw 105 pitches.

"The good thing about him here (at Great American Ball Park) is he's not going to get spooked," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Maholm. "He pitched here with the Pirates and Cubs. He knows what to do here."

Zack Cozart went 2-for-4 with two runs for Cincinnati.

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo (2-4) gave up four runs on eight hits over five innings. Arroyo walked two and fanned seven, but an elevated pitch count was his undoing.

"It was a struggle for him, but when he left, it was still 4-2 (Atlanta)," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He's a battler. That's what you want from your starter, to keep you in the game."

Cincinnati right-hander Alfredo Simon struck out all six batters he faced in relief of Arroyo. Reds pitchers fanned 15 in the game, the third time this season they've fanned 15 or more.

Atlanta led by just two runs in the eighth when Simmons and Schafer broke the game open with back-to-back homers off right-hander Logan Ondrusek. The Braves' three-run rally began with two outs and nobody on.

"It happened so quickly," Baker said. "That's a tough game tonight, when you give up late runs like that."

Joey Votto doubled home Cozart in the bottom of the eighth and later scored on Todd Frazier's groundout to make the score 7-4, but Cincinnati couldn't complete the rally.

Votto represented the tying run when he faced Craig Kimbrel in the ninth with runners on first and second, but he struck out swinging. Kimbrel notched his 10th save in 12 opportunities.

McCann, making his first appearance since having a torn right labrum repaired, got a nice ovation from the sizable contingent of Braves fans prior to his first at-bat.

Freddie Freeman's RBI single in the first inning drove home Chris Johnson with the game's first run. Freeman went 2-for-5 with a double.

Arroyo fanned three batters in the first, but he also walked two and gave up a run and two hits over 28 pitches. He had five strikeouts through two innings.

Simmons launched a 1-0 pitch from Arroyo off the left field facade, putting the Braves ahead 2-0 in the second.

The Braves led 3-0 when Brandon Phillips doubled off left fielder Evan Gattis' glove, driving home Cozart with Cincinnati's first run in the fourth.

NOTES: McCann was reinstated after hitting .348 with four homers and nine RBIs in seven rehab starts for Class A Rome and Triple-A Gwinnett. To make room for McCann, INF/OF Tyler Pastornicky was optioned to Triple-A. ... With McCann back, the Braves now have three catchers on the roster. To keep Gattis' bat in the lineup, the Braves gave him his first start in left field after he made 22 starts behind the plate. ... Reds RHP Johnny Cueto threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session prior to Monday's game with positive results. Cueto, who's been on the disabled list since April 15 with a strained right lat muscle, is expected to throw at least one more bullpen session before beginning a rehab assignment.