Published November 20, 2014
Scott Rolen snapped out of a slump with three hits against an ineffective Josh Johnson, helping Edinson Volquez and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Florida Marlins 7-2 on Friday night.
Jay Bruce homered for the first time since June 30 and drove in three runs for Cincinnati, which bounced back from an embarrassing three-game sweep by St. Louis. Joey Votto had two hits and two RBIs.
Highly touted rookie Mike Stanton homered twice for Florida, which had won four straight.
Volquez (3-1), in his sixth start since coming back from Tommy John surgery, allowed one run and eight hits in six innings.
Johnson (10-5) pitched a season-low 3 2-3 innings while giving up a season-high 10 hits. His ERA went from a baseball-best 1.97 to 2.27.
Reds manager Dusty Baker served the first of his two-game suspension for his part in the bench-clearing brawl between Cincinnati and St. Louis on Tuesday. Baker watched from general manager Walk Jocketty's box while bench coach Chris Speier ran the club.
The Reds pounced on Johnson, scoring as many runs in the first inning as they had totaled against him in his previous three appearances against Cincinnati.
Rolen snapped an 0-for-12 slid with the last of four consecutive first-inning singles, producing two runs. One out later, Bruce's bouncer up the middle took a bad hop off the glove of diving shortstop Hanley Ramirez and into center field, sending Votto home and making it 3-0.
Rolen also showed off his prowess on the basepaths in the third. The All-Star third baseman reached on a leadoff double and advanced to third on Jim Edmonds' grounder to second. Bruce then hit a chopper up the middle and Ramirez came home, but Rolen scored on a nifty slide past catcher Ronny Paulino.
Bruce led off the fifth with his 11th homer, a 419-foot shot to center field off Taylor Tankersley.
Stanton, who carried an 8-for-12 surge into the game, hit his 13th homer and second in two nights with one out in the sixth. He added a one-out homer to right in the eighth.
NOTES: The Marlins didn't reach their Cincinnati hotel until 4 a.m. Friday, about three hours later than expected, after beating Washington in a game that started almost two hours late and lasted almost 3½ hours. ... Edmonds went 0 for 4 to remain hitless in nine at-bats since joining the Reds in a trade on Monday. ... Cincinnati RHP Johnny Cueto decided to not appeal the seven-game suspension he received for his part in the Reds' brawl with St. Louis on Tuesday. RHP Homer Bailey is expected to come off the disabled list and start in Cueto's spot on Sunday. ... Highlights of the Cubs-Cardinals game in St. Louis were shown on the Great American Ball Park scoreboard in left field.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/scott-rolen-collects-3-hits-to-spark-cincinnati-reds-to-7-2-win-over-florida-marlins