Votto bats leadoff, picks up 900th career RBI

LOS ANGELES -- Reds manager David Bell knew it wasn’t an unreasonable request, but he still wanted to run the thought of Joey Votto batting leadoff by his veteran first baseman. In Tuesday's 6-1 loss to the Dodgers and right-handed starter Kenta Maeda, Votto started a game at the top of the order for just the second time in his career.

Votto struck out leading off the game, but he put the Reds on the board with a double in his second at-bat, plating Tyler Mahle to make it 4-1 in the third inning for his 900th career RBI. He finished the game 1-for-4.

For Bell, the move was about getting the first guy on base, and few in baseball are better at getting on base than Votto. He has led the National League in on-base percentage seven times, including last season.

“What can you say about Joey?” Bell said. “He’s up for it. We obviously believe in his ability to get on base. He is willing to do anything to help us win.”

Votto, 35, did not see anything too unusual about batting first. In all 13 of his previous starts in 2019, he batted second. For much of his career, he’s been a No. 3 hitter.

“I’m happy to do it,” Votto said about batting leadoff. “I don’t feel any sort of way about where I hit in the order. If I can help in any way to make it easier for the fluidity of the lineup, then so be it.”

Votto, who entered the night batting .240/.333/.400 on the season, hadn’t led off since June 18, 2008, which was also against the Dodgers, for manager Dusty Baker. That game was a 6-1 loss for Cincinnati and Votto collected a lined single to left field in his first at-bat against pitcher Derek Lowe. The next batter, Jolbert Cabrera, erased him by grounding into a double play.

Why did Baker bat Votto at the top that day? Votto could not recall.

“Maybe he wanted to get me going or he saw something in the lineup that he thought me hitting leadoff could help,” Votto said.

Bell has had outfielders Jesse Winker (11 games) and Scott Schebler (three games) as the Reds’ primary leadoff hitters. After a slow start, Winker has started finding his power with four home runs over the past week. Schebler has yet to find a groove at the plate.

Historically in baseball, the leadoff spot has been occupied by speedy hitters. Bell hasn’t limited himself to that type of thinking, nor has been afraid to try different things. On Monday, Curt Casali was the first Reds catcher in franchise history to start a game batting first.

“If we have guys that can consistently get on base, we can score a lot of runs,” Bell said. “It really is important to have guys at the top of the order that can get on base and not only hit their way on but be able to control the strike zone and have the ability to walk.”