Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports
Cincinnati Reds‘ Homer Bailey helped his team extend their winning streak to four games with a complete game six-hitter over the Miami Marlins.
The Marlins, who have the NL’s worst record, were just the right matchup for Bailey to get back into the win column. This was his first victory in over a month (April 5 being his last victory), and it was well earned with an 125-pitch performance. Bailey (2-3) also tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts and walked none in his fourth career complete game.
According to Reds manager Dusty Baker, Bailey would not have faced any other batters if he had not have forced Marlins 1B Greg Dobbs into a weak liner for the final out. The right-hander has endured spotty run support this season, but the Reds scored five times in the second inning to go ahead 6-1. A five-run lead was plenty for Bailey, and he was glad to give the Reds’ relievers a break, according to MLB.com.
“They’ve been griping at me … The last couple of games I only went five or six. It’s about time I gave them a day off.”
Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who drove in a run and had three hits to hike his average to .322, took notice of Bailey’s performance.
”Homer to me has turned into one of those guys where you could maybe consider him the ace of your staff … He has consistently gotten better over his career, and it’s really impressive to see him improve and grow.“
