TJ Friedl went 4-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, and the Cincinnati Reds cruised to an 11-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Noelvi Marte finished 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs for Cincinnati (73-77), which erupted for nine runs in the fourth inning. Spencer Steer and Jonathan India also drove in two runs apiece for the Reds, who will go for the three-game sweep on Sunday.
Byron Buxton drove in the lone run for Minnesota (78-70).
The Reds finished with 15 hits, compared with five for the Twins.
Reds right-hander Nick Martinez (9-6) limited the Twins to one run on three hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out six, and he threw 54 of 76 pitches for strikes.
Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (5-5) gave up three runs on five hits in three innings. He walked three and struck out three.
Minnesota scored the first run before Cincinnati responded in a big way. Buxton hit an infield single to drive in Matt Wallner in the bottom of the first.
The Reds turned a 1-0 deficit into a 9-1 lead in the fourth. Twelve batters came to the plate for Cincinnati during the big inning.
Ty France started the outburst with an infield single to drive in Steer. Marte followed with a two-run, ground-rule double, and India added a two-run single to make it 5-1.
Steer took advantage of his second at-bat of the inning to hit a two-run double that scored Elly De La Cruz and India. Friedl capped off the high-octane inning with a two-run shot to right-center field that marked his 13th homer.
Jake Fraley added a solo shot in the fifth to increase Cincinnati’s lead to 10-1. It was his fifth homer of the season and his first since Sept. 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Will Benson added an RBI single in the eighth to put the Reds on top 11-1. His hit to right field drove in India, who led off the inning with a double.
–Field Level Media