Forget bunting, Friedl walks it off with hit to gap

CINCINNATI -- Reds outfielder TJ Friedl is the team's best bunter, but all was well when he couldn't get a bunt down in the ninth inning against Rangers lefty reliever Will Smith -- Friedl has been one of the club's hottest hitters, too.

Cincinnati's six-game losing streak ended on Monday with a 7-6 come-from-behind walk-off victory after Friedl lined an RBI single to score Jonathan India.

"That was a great at-bat," said Reds third baseman Spencer Steer, who hit a two-run triple in the third inning. "That’s kind of TJ in a nutshell. He’s going to grind the at-bat out until the last pitch. No doubt in my mind while standing on the on-deck circle that even though he didn’t get those bunts down, that he was going to win the game for us.”

It was 6-6 when India drew a leadoff walk from Texas reliever José Leclerc, who was pulled and replaced by Smith. That brought up the left-handed hitting Friedl, who is hitting .313 with an .838 OPS this season, and he has a history of hitting well off lefties.

On Smith's first pitch, with third baseman Josh Jung in on the grass, Friedl showed bunt but drew a ball. A passed ball moved India to second base. Friedl missed sending him to third with another bunt try and then bunted a slider foul to make the count 2-2.

In a full count, Friedl got a fastball up from Smith and lined it to right-center field for the first walk-off hit of his career.

"First, it was just trying to get Jon to second," Friedl said. " ... I trust my bunting and know I’m capable of it, but with Jon on second, I’m more comfortable with myself pulling the ball just to get him over. Will Smith being a heavy slider, I had a better chance pulling the ball. Trying to get that slider up. He threw a couple good ones to work a full count. Got a fastball up and put a good swing on it."

Manager David Bell believes that Friedl thrives in those types of situations.

"He works extremely hard at his bunting. It shows how difficult it is to get the job done," Bell said. "He has to be one of the best in the game. There is a little bit of a letdown, or it can be, if you don’t get that job done. Then to stay with it and lay off some pitches and then come through against a tough lefty like that says all we need to know about TJ. Just a great at-bat. A big game and a big hit for us."

Facing a first-place team for a third consecutive series, and playing their 18th straight day without a day off, the Reds scored only six runs during the losing streak. They didn't solve all of their hitting troubles -- going 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position -- but they made the pitchers work and delivered lots of hard contact.

"It starts with being ready to hit and trusting it," Bell said. "Those are good pitchers we’re facing, they’re making good pitches, and our hitters came through with great at-bats."

Cincinnati was down, 5-1, in the third before Steer's triple kept them in the game.

"We’ve been going through a tough stretch. It was kind of one of our main focuses the last couple of games -- keep the energy up, we’re going to turn this around," Steer said. "I think we did a great job of that tonight. We were down 5-1, the dugout was still lively. It didn’t feel like we were out of it."

In the bottom of the eighth inning of a 6-4 game, the Reds evened it on a single and four walks. There were two outs when Wil Myers drew a walk from reliever Dane Dunning to load the bases. Texas brought in Leclerc against the just-called up Henry Ramos, who drew a five-pitch walk to force home a run.

Next was Nick Senzel, who worked a walk in a full count to force home the tying run and set up the drama in the ninth.

Even after delivering the game's biggest hit, Friedl isn't planning to wean himself from bunting.

"Whenever there’s an opportunity to lay a bunt down, I will always look for that chance," he said. "I’ll always trust my bat. I know what I have in the bat. Bunting is a huge part of my game that will never go away."