CINCINNATI — Off the bat, everybody at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday night time thought Ramón Laureano hit a two-run house run to offer the Guardians the lead within the third inning.
The ball left Laureano’s bat at 103.2 mph. It had a 73 p.c probability of being a success, per Statcast. But Friedl ran again to the deepest a part of middle subject, timed his bounce completely and reached over the wall earlier than coming down with the ball to finish the inning and strand a runner.
“It would’ve been a different ballgame if he didn’t make that catch,” starter Andrew Abbott stated.
But that was solely the start of Friedl’s heroics within the Reds’ 7-2 win over the Guardians. He singled within the first, fourth and sixth innings, and he scored all thrice to gasoline a Cincinnati workforce in determined want of a pick-me-up after a gradual begin to August.
“He’s what we want to be as a team,” second baseman Matt McLain stated. “The way he plays through his ups and downs, he’s always playing hard, and that’s really what matters. And when he goes about it the right way, obviously he’s a good player and stuff’s going to show up.”
Friedl’s catch got here at an ideal time for the Reds, however the timing was simply as good for his or her outfield corps, too. Before the sport, first-base coach Collin Cowgill arrange a machine in proper subject to shoot balls simply over the wall because the outfielders took turns working towards robberies.
When Friedl ran towards the dugout on the finish of the third inning, nobody was happier than Cowgill to see the apply repay nearly instantly.
“I’m running in, I’m looking at [Cowgill] and he’s ecstatic,” Friedl stated. “And I’m looking at him like, ‘We worked on that. That’s ’cause we worked on that today. What are the chances?'”
It was the primary time all season the Reds had performed a drill like that.
“This was the first day, so now we’re doing it every day,” left fielder Stuart Fairchild stated.
Friedl confirmed off his velocity once more within the fourth inning by stealing second base. Cincinnati leads the Majors with 139 stolen bases, and Friedl leads the workforce with 23.
In the sixth, Friedl as soon as extra exhibited his elite velocity by beating out a bunt single to the pitcher, a ability he’s honed for years, he stated. While most batters may shrink back from bunting, Friedl embraces it and makes it a part of his sport.
“With my speed, kind of like a top-of-the-order guy, [I’m] getting on base in more ways than one,” Friedl stated. “I’m not always going to be feeling good at the plate. I can’t always rely on hitting the ball hard, hitting home runs. I’ve got to have something in my back pocket for times when I’m not really feeling that good.”
Friedl finds himself as that top-of-the-order man and one of many longest-tenured gamers on the Reds — he had extra profession at-bats than all however two of the beginning 9 on Wednesday. But he’s solely in his first full season within the Majors. Friedl was optioned 5 occasions in 2022. He was referred to as up for the ultimate time on Aug. 16, precisely one 12 months in the past.
As Friedl progresses by means of the early years of his profession, supervisor David Bell and his Reds teammates and have solely seen enhancements. His star flip within the sequence finale was the fruits of what the middle fielder has performed to date, and it reveals what he’ll be capable of do subsequent.
“He’s still young in his career, it’s still early,” Bell stated. “He’s continuing to get better, and I don’t see that changing. He’s going to keep finding ways to get better and [ways of] staying on the field and helping his team win. There’s a lot of beauty in keeping it simple like that, and I think that’s what allows TJ to come through at the biggest moments.”
Content Source: www.mlb.com