Iglesias does the expected -- and unexpected

CINCINNATI -- Reds shortstop José Iglesias spends lots of pregame time sharpening his defensive skills during infield work. The former All-Star often practices making backhand plays to improve his timing and rhythm. But the types of plays Iglesias made on Wednesday, supporting the Reds in a 2-1 victory over the Marlins at Great American Ball Park, showed he can improvise also.

After Iglesias dazzled with his glove, he surprised with his bat by leading off the eighth inning with the game-tying home run. His team would have been staring at a larger deficit had it not been for his defense in the early innings behind starting pitcher Tyler Mahle.

After Mahle issued back-to-back one-out walks in the first inning, Starlin Castro smoked a hard one-hopper to the middle. With a quick reaction, Iglesias made a diving stop to his left and flipped to second baseman Derek Dietrich with his glove to start the inning-ending double play.

“That was huge,” Iglesias said. “That double play right there got us in a really good spot for the game.”

As good as that play was, it was merely the opening act of Iglesias’ evening. The bases were loaded with two outs in the second inning when Curtis Granderson hit a slow grounder to the right side. Playing behind second base on the shift, Iglesias darted across the infield to scoop up the ball and tossed it to first baseman Joey Votto while on the run for the third out.

“I just tried to save a run right there,” Iglesias said. “If you look at in the end of the game, that’s probably the play where we win the game. You never take it for granted. Every run matters.”

Unlike his backhand glove practice, reacting to the Granderson was pure instinct.

“Some plays you just react to it pretty much,” Iglesias said. “When you put a good effort on it always, you’ll be in good position.”

Iglesias, who came into this season with a 5.0 career defensive WAR, according to baseball-reference, has a new admirer in Mahle.

“Oh, it’s awesome when you’ve got a guy like that back there that can make just ridiculous plays, like that diving double play and running across the whole field saving runs and getting that third out on a weak ground ball,” said Mahle, who pitched five innings. “It gives you a lot of confidence that if they put the ball in play, they’re going to be there. And not just Jose, but everybody out there.”

Iglesias almost made a third great play in the sixth inning of Jorge Alfaro’s two-out grounder to the hole. His foot slipped for a moment as he fielded the ball and his throw was a hair late to first base, giving Alfaro a single.

The Reds were looking to fortify their bench after Spring Training had already opened when they signed Dietrich and Iglesias to Minor League deals. It was a little surprising that Iglesias lingered on the free-agent market so long with his reputation of having a good-enough bat and superlative glove, but Cincinnati pounced and got him for $2.5 million, with the chance for him to make an additional $1 million in bonus money based on games played. When Scooter Gennett was injured at the end of camp, manager David Bell shifted Jose Peraza to second base, and Iglesias moved up to a regular role at shortstop.

“He really wants the ball. He wants everything hit to him,” Bell said. “He wants to make plays, and it shows. He has fun doing it. He works extremely hard at it, but he really enjoys it. That’s a big part of why he’s as good as he is.”

Down 1-0 in the eighth and facing reliever Drew Steckenrider, Iglesias lifted a 2-1 pitch to the opposite field that landed in the first row of seats in right-center field for his first homer for the Reds and just the 22nd of his career. With two outs, Jesse Winker lifted an 0-1 pitch the other way that carried just enough to clear the left-field fence. After a 1-8 start, with eight straight losses, Cincinnati has won back-to-back games to assure a series win over Miami with a game remaining Thursday.

“As a team, we played great defense, and that paid off in the end,” Iglesias said. “I always say that defense wins, and this is a great example of how the whole team was focused on every pitch the whole way. We never gave up, and it paid off.”