BOSTON -- Roughly 30 minutes before first pitch on Wednesday night, Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s name wasn’t on the Reds’ lineup card.
Two hours later, he was pumping his fist as he rounded the bases at Fenway Park following his first career grand slam to put the Reds ahead in an eventual 8-4 win over the Red Sox.
And Encarnacion-Strand made sure his first slam wasn’t a cheapie.
Facing righty reliever Greg Weissert, Encarnacion-Strand hit a 2-2 fastball up in the zone over the Green Monster and out of the park. Boston’s outfielders barely budged as a chorus of boos from the Fenway faithful filled the air. The ball left the bat at a Statcast-projected 109.1 mph and travelled 439 feet.
“He got that pretty good,” said manager Terry Francona.
Encarnacion-Strand said he had to “make sure” the ball was out. His teammates? They had no doubts. As soon as Encarnacion-Strand made contact, everyone in the visitors’ dugout threw their arms up in unison as Elly De La Cruz ran through and high fived the length of the dugout.
Encarnacion-Strand was a last-minute sub for Cincinnati, playing first and batting eighth. The Reds’ original lineup had National League Player of the Week Spencer Steer starting at first and batting fifth. Steer was a late scratch after developing some bruising on his right hand following a hit-by-pitch in the continuation of Tuesday’s suspended game earlier in the day.
The Reds were riding a hot streak when they came into Boston on Monday, owners of the third-best record (14-7) in the Majors since June 6, behind only the Astros (16-6) and Dodgers (15-7). They fell in Monday’s opener after a tough start by Chase Burns, played three innings on Tuesday and then ultimately lost, 5-3, when the game resumed on Wednesday afternoon. Three hours later, they were back on the field to close out the series.
“We did some good things,” Francona said. “And then we catch [some breaks]. … But to our credit, we took advantage of it and we got aggressive and did some really good things. Because, face it, that’s a really long day. And when you’re down for most of the day, it’s longer. So that’s going to make that plane ride a heckuva lot better.”
Encarnacion-Strand’s grand slam ended a 14-game homer drought for the 25-year-old and provided a major spark for Cincinnati’s offense.
De La Cruz gave the Reds their fifth run of the seventh inning with an RBI single before they tacked on another three insurance runs with a chaotic series of events in the eighth.
Santiago Espinal got the ball rolling with an RBI single. With the bases loaded, TJ Friedl reached on a fielder’s choice after the ball bounced off shortstop Trevor Story’s glove. Gavin Lux crossed home and Encarnacion-Strand scored from second after running through third-base coach J.R. House’s stop sign. The Red Sox challenged the tag play at third on Espinal, but the call stood after review and Espinal was safe.
“There was a lot going on there,” Francona said. “We kind of caught some breaks there, but I also thought we hustled really well. But you're right -- J.R. was stopping him. But I don't know who was going to stop him.”
Though his average has been hovering around .200 as of late, Encarnacion-Strand showed on Wednesday night the power he’s capable of and how damaging his swing can be when he keeps pitchers in the zone.
If he continues to do that, there’s no stopping him.