Penny gets win as Marlins top Reds
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cincinnati, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Brad Penny picked up another win for the Marlins.
Put your calendar away. It's 2014.
Penny gave up one earned run over five innings in his first major-league game in almost two years, and the Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 on Saturday night.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Signed to a minor-league contract in June and called up for the start, Penny (1-0) surrendered four hits, four walks and two total runs while striking out three in his first outing for the Marlins since 2004.
"I had a little butterflies," said Penny. "I was a little nervous."
The 36-year-old right-hander pitched out of the bullpen for San Francisco in 2012 in his last MLB season and hadn't made a start since Sept. 25, 2011 with Detroit. Saturday marked his 120th career win -- and 49th for the Marlins, with whom he won a World Series while a member of the staff from 2000-04.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Christian Yelich had two hits, two RBI and a run scored for Miami, which has won the first two games of the three-game series, improving to 4-10 in their last 14 against the Reds.
Jay Bruce had a solo homer for the Reds, who watched right-hander Alfredo Simon scuffle through another start.
Simon went five innings and remained winless in his last five starts. He threw 91 pitches, walking five batters and giving up two runs and four hits with five strikeouts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"In a nutshell, it wasn't a well-played game by either side," said Reds manager Bryan Price.
In the bottom of the ninth, Chris Heisey hit a leadoff single up the middle off Steve Cishek but was caught leaning off first when the Marlins closer threw over. Heisey was tagged out in a rundown and Cishek got two quick outs to end the game and earn his 29th save.
The Marlins took a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning by scoring two runs off Sam LeCure (1-4).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For the second time in the game Jarrod Saltalamacchia drew a leadoff walk and scored, going to second base on Adeiny Hechavarria's single and to third on Jordany Valdespin's sacrifice bunt before coming home on Yelich's sac fly. Donovan Solano's double to the gap in right-center plated Hechavarria for the two-run lead.
The Reds cut it to 4-3 in the eighth after Devin Mesoraco doubled off Bryan Morris, went to third on Brayan Pena's pinch-hit single and scored on Skip Schumaker's bouncer to short that was too slow for the Marlins to turn into a double play. Morris struck out Kris Negron and got Zack Cozart on a grounder to end the inning.
Reds closer Aroldis Chapman hit triple-digits on his fastball as usual but gave up a two-out double to Garrett Jones and a walk to Marcell Ozuna before striking out Saltalamacchia.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier, Yelich hit a leadoff double and scored later on Giancarlo Stanton's sacrifice fly but the Reds tied the game when Bruce teed off on a 91 mph Penny fastball in the bottom of the first inning for his 12th homer of the season.
Saltalamacchia's leadoff walk in the second led to another Marlins run after he moved up on Hechavarria's single, then Penny's bunt and scored on Yelich's groundout.
But the Reds tied the score again at 2-2 in the third on Todd Frazier's RBI single (Bruce was thrown out at home trying to score from second base on the play).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Simon is 0-4 in his last five starts and hasn't won since July 9, before the All-Star break ... Penny is 120-100, including 49-42 for the Marlins. He was 14-10 for the 2003 Marlins team that captured the World Series and won three games that postseason, including two in the Fall Classic. Current Marlins manager Mike Redmond was one of the catchers on those teams.