Reds score four in the ninth to beat M’s 6-5

PEORIA, Ariz. – Tony Cruz belted a three-run ninth-inning homer, and the Cincinnati Reds rallied to defeat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Sunday.

The Mariners’ victory hopes ended with a play at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Baserunner Danny Muno, who representing the tying run, was thrown out at home by second baseman Brandon Dixon to end the game.

The Mariners’ rally started with a one-out single from Chuck Taylor off the leg of reliever Dylan Floro. Muno later doubled down the left with two outs to put runners on second and third for Mariners’ No. 2 prospect Evan White. The young first baseman looked like he might have tied the game when he hit a comebacker off of Floro that bounced into shallow right field. Taylor scored easily. But Dixon’s throw easily beat Muno, who was waved home by third base coach Scott Brosius.

Daniel Vogelbach continued his torrid spring, checking in with a RBI single in the seventh inning. Vogelbach also drew a walk in the game. He’s now batting .478 (11-for-23) this spring with five doubles, two homers, seven walks and five RBI. He has a .613 on-base percentage this spring.

Mike Zunino continues to look better at the plate. He drew a walk in his first plate appearance and later scored on Andrew Romine’s single. In his second plate appearance, he fell behind 1-2 in the count, but singled up the middle to drive in a pair of runs. Zunino added another single in his third and final plate appearance of the game.