Extra work in batting cage fueled TJ Friedl's go-ahead homer in Reds win over Nationals

WASHINGTON, D.C. – TJ Friedl had dirt stains on both legs of his pants and across his chest, the universal symbol of a player who had an active game.

It was difficult to count all the ways Friedl made an impact in the Cincinnati Reds' 6-2 victory Saturday at Nationals Park. He reached base three times, including a two-strike bunt single. He made two outstanding catches. And, oh yeah, he hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning in a left-on-left matchup with Washington Nationals reliever Jake McGee.

"I don’t know if anyone's had a two-strike bunt and a homer in the same game," Reds Manager David Bell said, "but he did it."

When the Reds prepared for left-handed starting pitchers in back-to-back games last week, Friedl jumped at the opportunity to spend more time in the batting cage.

Friedl wasn’t in the lineup for either of those games because the Reds have right-handed options against lefty starters, and he hadn’t hit well against them in a small sample size, but he doesn’t often have a chance to work on it.

Reds Major League BaseballAs the Cincinnati Reds attempt to avoid 100 losses, here's how ex-Reds are performing

Reds Major League BaseballCincinnati Reds sign pitcher Chase Anderson, who will start Monday vs. Cardinals

The pitching machines, one delivering fastballs and one firing sliders, were set up from the vantage point of a left-handed pitcher. Assistant coach Rolando Valles is the left-handed coach on staff for batting practice, so Friedl worked on recognizing left-handed spin from the machine and from Valles.

"Just seeing that angle and seeing those pitches gave me that comfort level, so when I’m in the box in the game, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before," Friedl said.

Flash forward to Saturday when the Nationals brought in McGee to face Friedl with two runners in scoring position and one out. With the score tied, the infield was drawn in.

Friedl saw five pitches in the at-bat: slider, fastball, fastball, fastball, slider.

The fifth pitch, the second slider he saw, didn't move off the plate and Friedl launched it to the first row of seats in center field for his second homer of the season. He raised his right arm in celebration when he saw the ball clear the wall.

"He’s believing in himself," Bell said. "He’s creating these opportunities. He’s creating his level of confidence to go in there and believe he can get it done. It does start with the work and he’s here to prove he belongs here and he’s absolutely doing that on both sides of the ball."

It was Friedl’s second big hit against a left-handed pitcher in the past week. He delivered a go-ahead triple off Philadelphia Phillies reliever Brad Hand in the top of the ninth inning of a 7-6 loss on Tuesday.

Friedl, known for his speed and defense, is 13-for-30 with six extra-base hits since rejoining the Reds a couple of weeks ago. He made some changes with his swing after he was demoted to Triple-A in June, standing a little taller and he opened his stance to see the ball better, and the results are showing up.

When he saw the Nationals' defense shift to the right side of the infield with two strikes in the second inning, he dropped a good enough bunt where pitcher Paolo Espino didn't even think about a throw to first.

"I know I’m confident with my bunting ability," Friedl said. "When I see the whole side of the infield there, I don’t have to be perfect with it. I don’t have to lay it down the line like sometimes you have to. I just have to get a good pitch on the outer half and get it past the pitcher. Once I see the left side of the infield clear out, that’s the time when I’m like OK, this might be a good situation for it."

Three hits were just one half of the show Friedl put on for the crowd of 30,325. In the fourth inning, he chased a line drive and made a leaping grab while crashing into the center-field wall. Friedl held onto the ball as he fell to the ground. Reds starter Luis Cessa pointed in appreciation from the mound.

In the eighth inning, Friedl saw a line drive sailing over his head. He put his head down to sprint, covering more ground, and when he looked up, he saw the ball was tailing. He made a half-step adjustment, leaped and laid out on the warning track for an out.

"It’s all just those moments that you live for," Friedl said. "Everything you work for as a kid. Tracking fly balls with my dad and stuff like that, it’s everything I’ve worked for just coming to fruition."

Cessa, making his second start since joining the Reds’ rotation, permitted four hits and one run across four innings. Two of the hits didn’t leave the infield and he didn’t issue any walks.

It was Cessa’s longest outing since he pitched four innings in a relief appearance for the New York Yankees on June 30, 2019.

"It’s so different," Cessa said. "I can’t remember right now what I was doing when I started in my career in the big leagues as a starter. It’s so different being in the bullpen and being a starter. You need to work hard, for sure, to be ready every five days."

Cessa's biggest mistake was leaving a slider over the inside part of the plate for Lane Thomas in the second inning. Thomas pummeled the full-count slider down the left-field line for a solo home run. Cessa has surrendered three runs in 12 2/3 innings this month and each run is from a solo homer.

There was loud contact against Cessa, but his defenders helped him out. Shortstop Jose Barrero made a sliding stop in the first and flipped the ball from the ground for an inning-ending force out at second base.

With a runner on first base and one out in the third inning, Barrero fielded a grounder behind the second-base bag and made a wide flip to second. Jonathan India contorted his body to reach out with his barehand before firing to first base to complete the acrobatic inning-ending double play.

Then there was Friedl's first highlight grab to end the fourth inning.

"What a game," Bell said of Friedl. "Great plays, incredible plays. Obviously, the defense just comes up big. Bigger than we even give it credit for, but they were great plays."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: TJ Friedl, Luis Cessa lead Cincinnati Reds to win over Nationals