Lorenzen swats pinch-hit homer vs. Cubs

CINCINNATI -- Reds right-handed reliever Michael Lorenzen hit his third career home run on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, helping spark a come-from-behind 8-6 victory over the Cubs.
"I was hitting with my guy [assistant hitting coach] Tony Jaramillo in the cage and they said, 'He ready? Two outs, nobody on, we don't want to burn a pinch-hitter,'" Lorenzen said. "I was ready to go and just hit it out of the ballpark."
Lorenzen, who is a lifetime .246 hitter, launched a 1-1 pitch from Cubs lefty Mike Montgomery for a solo homer with two outs in the fifth after Lorenzen was called upon to pinch-hit for starter Sal Romano.
"With Lorenzen, it's a matter of not wanting to use a bench player," Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. "If we had somebody on base, it would have been somebody else hitting."
It was Lorenzen's second career pinch-hit homer. He last homered on April 6, 2017, off Phillies lefty Adam Morgan.
Lorenzen is 2-for-4 this season. On the mound, he is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 12 appearances with one save.
Sunday's victory was the Reds' seventh straight win as they completed their first four-game sweep of the Cubs since 1983.
It has been quite a series for Reds pitchers at the plate. On Saturday, right-hander Anthony DeSclafani became the first Reds pitcher to hit a grand slam since 1959.

"What Disco did yesterday was unbelievable," Lorenzen said. "It was a pretty wild series for us, a really wild series."