Jake Roth – USA Today Sports
The Cincinnati Reds are on a five-game winning streak (3-2 home/away) and a different star emerges each night. Tonight against the Miami Marlins, in the second game in a three-game series, the defense really stood out. The Reds defense (including pitching) allowed eleven hits, but yielded zero runs across four different pitchers, with Mike Leake earning the win.
The star of the night this time around was Shin-Soo Choo. Going 4-for-5 with two HRs, two RBIs and three runs scored, Choo hit solo homers in the fourth and sixth innings, giving him nine this season for his ninth career multi-homer game. Tonight’s feat came in Marlins Park, a spacious stadium where sluggers tend to struggle.
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“This ballpark is big,” Choo said to MLB.com. “Some balls fly, some don’t. I’m not thinking about hitting homers. I’m just swinging hard.”
Coming into this game, only batting .225 in May, Choo summoned his second two-HR performance in eight days. He also led off the game with a single and scored on a double by NL RBI leader Brandon Phillips. Choo’s four hits tied a career-high, and raised his season average to .322. He improved to 5-for-5 lifetime against Marlins pitcher Alex Sanabia.
Choo’s second home run landed in the right-field bullpen, while his first landed in the nightclub beyond the left-field fence. Nightclub patrons were caught by surprise as they watched the Miami Heat on TV. With little given by the Marlins to cheer for, the home crowd of 14,866 roared loudly only when highlights of the Heat’s playoff victory over the Chicago Bulls played on the video scoreboard.
