CINCINNATI (AP) — Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered in the ninth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 on Friday night in the opener of an interleague series between playoff contenders.
Encarnacion-Strand drove a 2-2 pitch from Jordan Hicks (2-8) deep to left for his fourth homer. It was Cincinnati's fourth hit of the game.
“He's a mature hitter,” Reds manager David Bell said. “A two-strike slider. Probably a pretty good pitch. Christian was in a good position to hit it hard, and he's got plenty of power.