Fitting for Independence Day Logan Cooke Jersey , the Cincinnati Reds saved all their fireworks for the fourth.
Starting pitcher Sal Romano’s suicide squeeze capped Cincinnati’s six-run fourth inning, and the Reds rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4 on Wednesday night.
”It was nice to be able to contribute with the bat,” said Romano, who was hitting .038 going into the game. ”The first thought when I saw the signal, I thought the number one thing was get the ball down wherever the pitch was. I was excited. I have never done it before. It was definitely a big insurance run and got the out of the game.”
Jesse Winker and Jose Peraza each had a two-run single during the big inning, and Scooter Gennett also singled in a run. The Reds overcame Daniel Palka’s third home run in two games to win the three-game series and complete a 4-3 homestand before a crowd of 24,442, which stayed for a postgame fireworks show.
The Reds have won 13 of 17 and have come from behind in eight of their last 11 wins.
Yoan Moncada added a two-run homer for the White Sox Torrey Smith Jersey , who have dropped five of seven and 14 of 20.
Cincinnati improved to 8-2 in interleague play, the most wins since going 11-9 in 2013. The White Sox are 4-11 against NL teams.
Romano (5-8) struck out six and allowing six hits and four runs in five innings. His bunt back to the mound brought home Adam Duvall for the final run of Cincinnati’s breakout fourth inning.
Reds relievers Amir Garrett and Michael Lorenzen teamed up for 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Jared Hughes celebrated his 33rd birthday by pitching the final 1 2/3 for his sixth save.
Dylan Covey retired his first nine batters before the Reds erupted for five hits and six runs while sending 10 batters to the plate in the fourth. Winker and Peraza each had a two-run single before Romano’s bunt knocked Covey (3-4) out of the game. Covey allowed a walk, struck out two and hit a batter in 3 2/3 innings.
”I was trying to get ground balls, but I was leaving my pitches elevated,” Covey said. ”I tried to make adjustments. That’s not my game, I’ve got to keep the ball down.”
”Their guy was shutting us down pretty good,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. ”We saw some things from him better the second time around. We put together some good at-bats.”
Moncada, whose 12th-inning bases-loaded triple broke open Chicago’s 12-3 win Tuesday Jaelen Strong Jersey , gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-run homer in the third. Palka went deep for a 3-0 lead in the fourth.
The Reds added a run in the eighth on pitcher Chris Volstad’s bases-loaded throwing error.
EXPLOSIVE
The Reds sent nine or more batters to the plate in one inning in five of the seven games on the just-completed homestand.
SHREWD MOVE
Billy Hamilton, who entered the game as a pinch-runner in the sixth and stayed in to play center field, threw out Jose Abreu at the plate trying to score from second to end the eighth – Hamilton’s eighth assist of the season, tying Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber for the NL lead among outfielders.
SHAKEUP
The Reds traded RHP Dylan Floro and a minor league pitcher to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor league pitchers, optioned IF/OF Brandon Dixon to Triple-A Louisville and recalled RHP Tanner Rainey and LHP Cody Reed from Louisville before Wednesdays game.
DON’T FORGET TO WRITE
A 10-day, nine-game road trip and the All-Star break will keep the Reds away from Cincinnati until July 20.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: Abreu returned to Chicago’s lineup after leaving Monday’s game and missing Tuesday’s with a bruised left ankle from a foul ball.
Reds: Gennett reported no problems from having his left hand bent back while trying to make a catch on Adam Engel’s bunt Tuesday.
UP NEXT
White Sox: LHP Carlos Rodon (1-3) faces the Astros on Thursday. He is 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA in four career starts against Houston.
Reds: RHP Tyler Mahle (6-6) faces the Cubs on Friday at Wrigley Field. Mahle was 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA in five June starts.
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Eighteen years after the Raiders made kicker Sebastian Janikowski a surprise first-round draft pick, his career in Oakland has come to an end.
The team told Janikowski this week that he won't be brought back when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next month.
"The Raider Nation salutes Sebastian Janikowski as the sun sets on his illustrious career with the Oakland Raiders Jordan Mills Jersey ," owner Mark Davis said in a statement Thursday. "He joined the team as a surprise first-round pick in the 2000 Draft and finishes his time in Oakland as one of the greatest or perhaps the greatest kicker in pro football history. His powerful left leg produced an NFL-record 55 field goals of 50-or-more yards. The motto 'Once a Raider, Always a Raider' has never been more true as his 18-year career makes him the longest-tenured player in Raiders history."
Davis' father, Al, made the stunning decision in 2000 to take Janikowski with the 17th overall pick. The only other kicker taken in the first round since the start of the common draft era in 1967 was Steve Little, who went 15th to the Cardinals in 1978.
Janikowski's successful career made him the Raiders all-time leader in games played (268) and points scored (1,799). His 55 field goals from at least 50 yards are the most in NFL history. The only other player from the 2000 draft still on his original team is Tom Brady, who was picked 199th by New England.
Janikowski, who turns 40 on March 2 Jeremy Vujnovich Jersey , missed all of last season with a back injury. His agent, Paul Healy, said in an email that Janikowski is too young to retire.
Janikowski said last spring that he hoped to still be with the Raiders when the team moved to Las Vegas in 2020. But that didn't happen after the back injury sidelined him before the start of last season and Giorgio Tavecchio took over as kicker.
There was some thought that new coach Jon Gruden might give Janikowski another chance since he was Oakland's coach when Janikowski was drafted and for his first two seasons. Janikowski is one of five players who were on NFL rosters last season who have played at least one game for Gruden, joining punter Shane Lechler, kicker Matt Bryant, cornerback Aqib Talib and Raiders left tackle Donald Penn.
Janikowski's departure leaves long snapper Jon Condo as the only player on the Raiders with the team before Al Davis died in October 2011. Condo is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent next month and his long-term status with the franchise is unknown.