McCoy: Wynns has career day as Reds blast Orioles 24-2

The Morton Salt Company’s slogan is, “When it rains, it pours.”

It wasn’t raining Sunday afternoon in Camden Yards, but it poured Cincinnati Reds runs across home plate against Baltimore Orioles pitcher Charlie Morton and every other pitcher that trudged to the mound.

After the Reds poured seven runs against Morton in 2⅓ innings, the runs kept pouring in, pouring in and pouring in.

It was Cincinnati 24, Baltimore 2, the second most runs scored by a Reds team since 1900.

The runs line after a scoreless first inning reads like the national debt - 1,722,003,554 - 24.

Ten players drove in runs and ten players had hits.

It was ‘Austin Day.’

Back-up catcher Austin Wynns, a former Baltimore Oriole, had six hits and drove in six runs with five singles and a three-run homer.

Austin Hays had four hits and drove in four runs, lifting his batting average to .429.

His name isn’t Austin, but Noelvi Marte had five hits and drove in seven runs that included a grand slam home run.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Marte and Wynns batted eighth and ninth and contributed 11 of the team’s 25 hits and 13 of the team’s 25 RBIs.

The Reds were 15 for 25 with runners in scoring position and left 13 more on base.

Through it all, the Camden Yards organist kept playing upbeat music when he should have been playing a funeral dirge.

In 2⅓ innings against Morton, the Reds scored seven runs on seven hits and four walks on their way to their ninth win in 13 games. And by taking two of three, they’ve won three of their last four series and scrambled back to .500 at 11-11.

What the Reds did against Morton was no shock. He entered the game 0-4 with an 8.84 earned run average, not the production the Orioles expected when they gave the 41-year-old righthander a one-year, $15 million contract.

The outpouring was a blessing for the Reds, forced to start relief pitcher Brent Suter because no starting pitcher was available.

Credit: AP

“It was a hard night after last night’s game because we wondered what are we going to do,” said manager Terry Francona. “How are we going to get through this?”

So it was a Bullpen Day and Suter gave them three innings of one unearned run and three-hit pitching.

He was followed by Ian Gibaut, Taylor Rogers, Scott Barlow and just called up Randy Wynne.

They held the Orioles to two runs and seven hits. Wynne pitched the final three innings and was awarded his first major-league save because he pitched three innings...even in a 24-2 blowout.

And about the pitching, Francona said, “You can’t believe it. You come into this game and you are up against it. Suter warmed up in the ninth (Saturday), but starts this one and sets the tone with his energy and professionalism.”

In a 24-2 game, it is difficult to point to a defensive play, but it was significant.

The Reds led, 1-0, in the second and the Orioles had a runner on second. Jackson Holliday hit a blooper toward center that appeared to be a run-scoring hit.

Not with Elly De La Cruz on the field. He crossed second base and dove. With his body still in the air, completely prone, he stabbed the ball while in flight.

Suter flung his arms in the air and did a little celebratory jig on the mound.

Asked to rank that play, De La Cruz thought and thought and said, “I’ll have to think about it,” which shows how many super human plays he has made.

And then he homered leading off the next inning to give the Reds a 2-1 lead, and ignite the third-inning seven-run eruption.

Of De La Cruz’s defensive play, Suter said, “That was amazing, the best play I’ve ever seen. That was the best play I’ve ever been a part of while pitching. It looked like he was Clark Kent up there...it was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe he caught it.”

Said Francona, “You never overlook those things. In this game, things change on a play sometimes. That was big at the time. It was a great play and you saw Suter’s reaction. That was even better.”

Credit: AP

Then came the outpouring of runs.

“Some guys are starting to feel good about themselves, and that’s good,” said Francona. “That’s with some good hitters and hopefully that will start to carry over a little bit. We got after it and it ends up being a real good day.”

It was a career day for Wynns. He singled home the Reds’ first run. He singled home a run during the seven-run third. He singled in the sixth.

He singled home a run during a five-run eighth against Orioles infielder Jorge Mateo that included Marte’s grand slam.

And he hit a three-run homer in the ninth against Orioles catcher Gary Sanchez during a four-run ninth.

“That feels preee-ty good, especially against my old team,” said Wynns. “It was fun, man, we had a great time today. It was a challenge, too...a bullpen day that turned into a great day.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the pitchers,” he added. “They were all ready for the challenge and they did their job. What Suter did was huge, just huge.”

And the Reds are afforded a huge opportunity for their last six games of this trip. They play three in Miami against the Marlins (8-12), then three in Denver against the Colorado Rockies, 3-17 to start the season.