Brandon Phillips launched a pair of 3-run home runs and drove in 7 in total as the Reds cruised to a 15-5 win over the Pirates in the opener of a weekend series at Great American Ballpark. Phillips 7 RBI were a career high mark for the longtime Red.

Marlon Byrd hit a 3-run shot of his own off A.J. Burnett in the 1^st to get the rout started. Pedro Alvarez would answer with a solo homer off Reds minor-league call up David Holmberg in the second, but a Jay Bruce sac fly in the 3^rd followed by a Phillips RBI single in the 4^th would make the score 5-1. The Reds poured on 6 runs in the 5^th as an unearned run crossed followed by Phillips' first blast of the evening and Bruce's two-run double.

Burnett was chased after 4.1 innings, allowing 10 hits and 8 runs, 7 earned, with 4 strikeouts and a pair of walks. The loss drops Burnett to 8-5. His opponent, Homlberg, would pick up the victory in his only start for Cincinnati this season by tossing 6 innings and allowing 2 runs on 5 hits with 4 K's and 3 walks.

Phillips' second longball of the night came in the 6^th and gave the Reds a 14-2 lead at that point. The Pirates scored 3 in the 7^th off of Ryan Mattheus as Andrew McCutchen singled in a run and the recently acquired Aramis Ramirez doubled in a pair. A bases loaded walk forced in the Reds last score.

Billy Hamilton swiped two bases last night, bumping his league leading total to 49.
 

The Cleveland Indians have now seen three straight starters go the distance, as Carlos Carrasco tossed a complete game last night in a 3-1 win over the Athletics. Carrasco gave up two hits and a run in the first inning but allowed only a single baserunner on a walk the rest of the game, striking out 7 in an excellent performance.

The Indians gave Carrasco the lead early, with Michael Brantley doubling in a run then scoring on Carlos Santana's 2-run homer in the top of the first. The Indians would fail to score after the first, but with Carrasco dealing, they didn't need it.

Carrasco improved to 11-8 with the win. Meanwhile, his opponent Chris Bassitt took the loss and fell to 0-4 for Oakland, giving up those three early runs before settling in himself. Bassitt went 6, giving up 6 hits, all 3 runs earned, with 6 K's and 1 walk.
 

The Indians dealt away OF Brandon Moss yesterday to St. Louis for minor league pitcher Rob Kaminsky, who was a first round pick in 2013.

Moss was in his first season with Cleveland and hit .217 with 15 HR and 50 RBI in his short time with the Tribe. He fills a gap in St. Louis that arose as Matt Holliday went on the DL.