Gennett Hits Four Homers In Win Over Cardinals, Cubs Beat Marlins

By ESPN

Cleats, pants, jersey, hat. Scooter Gennett peeled off his uniform -- the one still dripping from a douse of celebratory ice water -- and handed every piece to a clubhouse manager. All of them were headed to Cooperstown.

All so hard to believe.

The diminutive Cincinnati native put on the greatest home run show in franchise history Tuesday night. He tied a major league record with four homers -- becoming the 17th player to accomplish the feat -- and matched the club mark by driving in 10 runs during a 13-1 victory over the slumping St. Louis Cardinals.

Kluszewski. Robinson. Bench. Perez. Junior. None of them ever hit four in a game.

They can all scooter on down the list.

"It's surreal, man. It really is," Gennett said, wearing a backup set of clothes after the others were whisked away. "I'm truly blessed. I'm from here, born here. Watching all those guys play when I was little. And to do something that's never been done -- I can't put words on it."

He wasn't the only one nearly speechless. No major leaguer had ever had five hits, four homers and 10 RBI in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Gennett's 17 total bases also were a team record.

"He had a career night, a great night," said Adam Wainwright, who gave up Gennett's second career grand slam. "Guys do that now and then. He almost beat us by himself tonight."

Gennett was the most unlikely player on the roster to turn into an historic slugger.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound infielder was claimed off waivers from Milwaukee late in spring training for a utility role. Some seasons, he barely hit four homers at all -- he reached double digits only once and had 38 in his career heading into the game.

Four homers? Unthinkable.

Josh Hamilton was the previous player to hit four home runs in one game, for Texas against Baltimore in May 2012. The last National League hitter to do it was Shawn Green for the Los Angeles Dodgers against Milwaukee in 2002.

The 27-year-old Gennett singled his first time up and then homered in four straight at-bats . He joined the Cardinals' Mark Whiten as the only players with a grand slam among four homers in a game, according to Elias. Whiten did it in 1993 at the Reds' old riverfront ballpark, driving in 12 runs that stand as the major league record.

"It's amazing, especially since he's not an everyday player for us," manager Bryan Price said. "He's got power, but four homers in one game? I don't know what to tell you.

"It's very emotional. It was an honor to witness that."

Gennett snapped an 0-for-19 slump during the Reds' 4-2 win over the Cardinals on Monday. He went 5 for 5 on Tuesday and raised his batting average 32 points to .302.

Gennett got his big night started with an RBI single off Wainwright (6-4), who brought a long scoreless streak into the game but couldn't handle a team that has hit him like no other. He lasted only 3 2/3 innings and gave up nine runs for just the third time in his career.

The last time? Also against Cincinnati in 2013.

Gennett's grand slam in his next at-bat was the first Wainwright had allowed since 2012. Gennett then connected for a solo shot and a two-run homer off John Gant.

With the crowd of 18,620 on its feet, Gennett hit a two-run drive in the eighth off John Brebbia for a place in history and his second curtain call.

"I was kind of laughing, to be honest with you," Gennett said. "For a guy like me to do that is crazy -- a little short of a miracle."

Tim Adleman (4-2) gave up one run -- on Stephen Piscotty's homer -- in seven innings, sending the Cardinals to their season-high fifth loss in a row. They've dropped eight of 10 overall.

The Reds have won three in a row against the Cardinals for the first time since 2015. They've taken nine of their last 14 against St. Louis.

Wainwright's streak of scoreless innings ended at 17 in the first inning. The right-hander fell to 9-11 career against Cincinnati with a 5.01 ERA.

Cubs 10, Marlins 2

Jake Arrieta got into a groove, Anthony Rizzo hit a big home run and Kris Bryant showed off his all-around game. Yup, it looked a lot like last year.

Arrieta pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning, Rizzo drove in four runs and the surging Chicago Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 10-2 on Tuesday night for their season-high fifth straight win.

Jason Heyward had three hits and two RBI as Chicago remained perfect since returning home after a winless six-game road trip. Bryant reached base four times, scored two runs and robbed Giancarlo Stanton of a hit with a diving stop on a grounder to third in the third.

After an uneven start to the season, the Cubs are showing signs of the all-around play they had on their way to the World Series title last year.

"The feeling's a little bit different in the dugout all of a sudden, since we've been back home," manager Joe Maddon said. "The guys are starting to feel a little bit more. It's a little bit more reminiscent of the last two years."

Arrieta (6-4) allowed two runs, struck out five and walked three in just his second win in the past month. The 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner retired 16 in a row over one stretch.

"I was relying pretty much exclusively on the sinker because it was really good tonight," Arrieta said, "and just pitching to the conditions."

J.T. Realmuto and JT Riddle each drove in a run for Miami, which had won seven of eight before it stumbled on consecutive windy nights in Chicago.

Jeff Locke (0-1) cruised into the fifth inning with a 1-0 lead and retired the first two batters before everything fell apart for the Marlins in a hurry.

Jon Jay kept the inning alive with a walk, helped by two close calls with two strikes. Bryant then walked before Rizzo drove a 1-0 pitch to the first row of the bleachers in right for his 13th homer. Willson Contreras reached on an error on shortstop Riddle, and Heyward followed with a stinging RBI double for a 4-1 lead.

"Kept the line moving there," Rizzo said. "Drove the ball all over the place and guys were squaring the ball up, it was really nice."

Rizzo is 11 for 29 with five homers and 12 RBI in his career against Locke.

"He sees the ball real well off me, since we were about 19 years old," Locke said.

Chicago broke it open with six more in the seventh, highlighted by two-run doubles for Javier Baez and Jay.

Locke was long gone by then, having allowed four runs, three earned, and four hits in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out three and walked four in his second appearance after missing the start of his first season with Miami with left shoulder tendinitis.

"I thought he was really good," manager Don Mattingly said. "I think it was just the fourth out that you're asking him to get in the fifth was the big one. Once he punches out Jay there for the third out, we just weren't able to get the fourth one."

Arrieta was pulled after Realmuto's leadoff triple in the seventh. The right-hander improved to 3-0 with a 3.04 ERA in four home starts this season.

White Sox 4, Rays 2

Jose Quintana is still seeking his first win in more than a month, however there are signs he could be back on the right track.

The left-hander rebounded from two poor outings by pitching into the sixth inning of Chicago's 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, helping the White Sox stop a five-game losing streak.

"I think the confidence that he showed today in high-leverage situations throughout the ballgame was kind of vintage Q," manager Rick Renteria said. "It's a good game for him to build on and keep moving forward."

Avisail Garcia, Yolmer Sanchez and Todd Frazier homered for the White Sox.

Chris Beck (1-0) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning to get the victory in relief of Quintana, who avoided becoming the first pitcher in the major leagues to lose eight games this season.

"You have another chance to do the job, and tonight I showed what I can do," Quintana said.

"It's a new game, so I just focused on attacking the (strike) zone. I never changed my approach, but I threw more to the corners ... and I kept the ball down better," Quintana added. "You get results when you keep the ball down."

Garcia led off the seventh with a solo homer, snapping a 1-1 tie against Chris Archer (4-4), who also gave up a lead-off homer to Sanchez on the fourth pitch of the game.

Jose Abreu added an RBI single in the eighth before Frazier led off the ninth with a homer off Ryan Garton.

Evan Longoria drove in a run for Tampa Bay with a first-inning single off Quintana, who allowed one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings. Jesus Sucre had an eighth-inning sacrifice fly for the Rays, who have lost four straight.

David Robertson pitched the ninth for the White Sox, earning his ninth save in 10 opportunities.

Quintana entered the night having gone 0-2 with a 19.29 ERA over his previous two starts and was tied with Boston's Rick Porcello, Cleveland's Josh Tomlin, San Francisco's Jeff Samardzija, Miami's Edinson Volquez, Colorado's Tyler Chatwood and Atlanta's Bartolo Colon for the major league lead in losses with seven.

The Chicago starter struck out Logan Morrison with the bases loaded to get through the fifth inning. Beck came to the rescue in the sixth, getting Sucre to ground into an inning-ending double play after an intentional walk loaded the bases again with one out.

Archer allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings. He fanned 11, tying David Price's club record for career double-digit strikeout games with 23.

"He did his job," Morrison said after the Rays went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. "We let him down."

Tuesday, June 6 Scoreboard

Boston 5, New York Yankees 4

Baltimore 6, Pittsburgh 5 (F/10)

Los  Angeles Angels 5, Detroit 3

Cincinnati 13, St. Louis 1

Chicago White Sox 4, Tampa Bay 2

Philadelphia 3, Atlanta 1

Milwaukee 5, San Francisco 2

Texas 10, New York Mets 8

Chicago Cubs 10, Miami 2

Kansas City 9, Houston 7

Colorado 11, Cleveland 3

Arizona 10, San Diego 2

Oakland 4, Toronto 1

Seattle 12, Minnesota 3

Washington 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 1

Wednesday, June 3 Schedule (All Times Central)

Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers, 2:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Colorado, 2:10 p.m.

Toronto at Oakland, 2:35 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Boston at New York Yankees, 6:05 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Detroit, 6:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:35 p.m.

New York Yankees at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Miami at Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.

San Francisco at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m

Houston at Kansas City, 7:15 p.m.

San Diego at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Minnesota at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.