SEATTLE (AP) - One good swing by Freddy Galvis turned things around for the Cincinnati Reds.
Galvis’ grand slam was that swing for the Cincinnati Reds in an 11-5 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night. After scoring just six runs in two listless losses to the Mariners, Galvis helped the Reds salvage a rare win in the Pacific Northwest.
“After the grand slam, we had some pretty good at-bats and we had a few homers to help us finish scoring later,” Galvis said. “Sometimes a team needs a little lift and today that helped us get the momentum and score some runs.”
Galvis’ second slam of the season and third of his career capped a five-run rally in the seventh inning for a 7-5 lead. The Reds rolled into the eighth and picked up two-run homers from Curt Casali and Eugenio Suarez to wipe away yet another monster home run by Mariners rookie Kyle Lewis.
“It was nice to get a couple innings like that,” Reds manager David Bell said. “A big hit by Freddy. He looked really good at the plate tonight. That’s big. We’ve been struggling to get runs. That’s what it takes usually, a big hit by somebody, and then it kind of opened up after that. We needed it.”
The win was the first in Seattle since 2007 and snapped a six-game losing streak to the Mariners.
Lewis hit a solo shot off the scoreboard in left field in the fifth, pushing the Mariners to a 5-2 lead and becoming just the second player in major league history to homer in each of his first three games.
Lewis joined Trevor Story as the only players to accomplish the feat. Story connected in his first four games - totaling six homers in that span - for Colorado in 2016.
The 24-year-old Lewis, a 6-foot-4 right fielder picked 11th overall in the 2016 draft, also doubled and singled.
Called up Tuesday from Double-A Arkansas, Lewis homered in the fifth inning for Seattle’s first hit against the Reds’ Trevor Bauer. On Wednesday, he homered in the seventh to end Sonny Gray’s no-hit bid.
“When you lose it’s a little different, but still cool,” Lewis said.
Seattle tied a team record by starting seven rookies. Dylan Moore connected for his ninth home run since making his debut this year and shortstop Donnie Walton picked up his first career hit.
Not all the Mariners rookies had as much success, though.
Highly regarded prospect Justin Dunn started for Seattle and walked five before getting pulled with two outs in the first inning. He gave up sacrifice flies to Aristides Aquino and Phillip Ervin and threw 37 pitches, 23 for balls.
“There’s lessons you’re going to learn, and I think he learned a very valuable one tonight: the value of slowing it down,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.
Moore’s homer tied it at 2 in the second and Omar Narvaez added his career-high 20th home run for a 4-2 lead in the third.
Galvis’ slam came off Dan Altavilla (1-1). Sal Romano (1-0) struck out three in 1 1/3 innings. The Reds bullpen gave up just one run in 5 2/3 innings.
Suarez is two home runs behind major league leader Pete Alonso, the New York Mets rookie.
“That guy’s amazing,” said Galvis, the first short stop to hit grand slams for two teams. “He can play third like a Gold Glove third baseman. And the good thing is he can hit for power everywhere on the field. He’s a special player and I think he’s going to be doing that for a lot of years.”
ROSTER RECORDS
With the appearance of Dunn and fellow rookie pitcher Art Warren, the Mariners extended their major league record to 67 players used this season and set a new standard with 42 pitchers taking the mound. The previous record of 40 pitchers was shared by the 2017 Mariners and the 2014 Texas Rangers.
CLEMENTE AWARD
Second baseman Dee Gordon of the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds two-way player Michael Lorenzen have been nominated by their teams for the Roberto Clemente Award. They’ll be recognized Sept. 18 on major league baseball’s 18th annual Roberto Clemente Day.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: It’s highly unlikely CF Nick Senzel will play again this season, general manager Dick Williams said. An MRI shows Senzel has tears in the labrum of his right shoulder. Senzel will meet with doctors to determine the extent of the injury.
Williams said Senzel might not require surgery, and that even if he does, he would likely be ready for spring training.
“I’ve been through a lot the last two years, I thought it was behind me and to hear about this, it’s frustrating,” Senzel said. “It’s not something that’s going to derail me. I’m just going to take the right course of action. I’ll decide that after we sit down and talk.”
Mariners: OF/DH Domingo Santana (right elbow strain) could see the field this weekend or early next week, manager Scott Servais said. Santana began throwing lightly on the Mariners’ last road trip. Servais said he’ll be available as a pinch-hitter or DH at first and could return to his right field position during the final homestand of the season. . Reliever Matt Magill was available again Thursday after missing several days with a sore back.
UP NEXT
Reds: RHP Luis Castillo (14-6, 3.21 ERA) takes the mound in the series opener at Arizona. He’s 17-7 in his last 34 appearances.
Mariners: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (6-9, 5.24 ERA) will open the home series against the Chicago White Sox. He’s allowed one run and seven hits in his last two appearances, striking out 13 over 14 innings.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Please read our comment policy before commenting.