. The Red Sox already have clinched a playoff berth and home field advantage for the wild card game, if it would come to that. Boston has never played a wild card game, and doesn't want to settle for one now.''The ball's in our court,'' David Price (6-3) said. ''We win, we're fine. We don't care what the Yankees do. We just go play our game.'' Their AL Cy Young Award winner is still struggling heading into playoff time, though.Rick Porcello gave up Gennett's fourth grand slam - a Reds' season record - in the first inning. He lasted a season-low four innings, turning a 5-4 lead over to the bullpen. Porcello has lost 17 games - most in the majors - after winning 22 last year along with the Cy Young.With the left-handed Price fresh, manager John Farrell decided Porcello was finished after 57 pitches.''I just felt with the left-hander in David going against the heat of the order was the move to make,'' Farrell said. ''I know Rick did not want to come out of that game, and I fully respect that.'' Part of Porcello's problem has been a lack of run support. Boston has been blanked while he's on the mound in 10 of his losses. This time, the Red Sox got him off the hook, overcoming Gennett's career-high 27th homer with the help of Devers' three-run shot off Sal Romano (5-7).The Red Sox are last in the AL with 159 homers.Price pitched 2 2/3 innings and contributed a single, bringing the Red Sox to the front of the dugout for a celebration. Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 34th save in 38 chances. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 10 appearances.SCOOOTER'S LOREGennett was claimed off waivers from Milwaukee late in spring training. He has provided some of the Reds' best moments in an 88-loss season, including a four-homer game on June 6. His homer off Porcello ended the Red Sox' streak of 26 straight scoreless innings. He and Lou Gehrig are the only players with a four-homer game and four grand slams in any season.''That sounds crazy,'' Gennett said of his connection with Gehrig.INTERLEAGUEThe Red Sox are 10-1 against the Reds all-time in their interleague series. The Reds beat the Red Sox in seven games for the 1975 World Series championship. Overall, Boston is 14-4 in interleague play this season. The Reds are 5-13.FATHER-SONFarrell had lunch with his son Luke, a Reds reliever. Luke wears the same No. 52 as his father. The last time a manager faced his son as an opposing player was 2004, when the Giants' Felipe Alou went against his son Moises of the Cubs. Farrell didn't get into the game Friday.''It's definitely unique,'' John Farrell said. ''Hopefully it's just a side story to a successful series for us.'' HOMECOMINGBoston left fielder Andrew Benintendi had several hundred relatives and friends cheering him from the upper deck in left. Benintendi attended Madeira High School in suburban Cincinnati and regularly attended games at Great American Ball Park. His favorite player was Ken Griffey Jr.''I just remember watching the guys play and picturing myself out there,'' Benintendi said . ''It's crazy that I'm here now.'' BARNHART'S EXTENSIONReds C Tucker Barnhart agreed to a $16 million, four-year contract that covers his salary arbitration years and the first season after he would have been eligible for free agency. He receives a $1.75 million signing bonus and salaries of $4 million next year, $2.5 million in 2019, $3.5 million in 2020 and $3.75 million in 2021. As part of the deal announced Friday, Cincinnati has a $7.5 million option for 2022 with a $500,000 buyout.TRAINER'S ROOMRed Sox: INF Eduardo Nunez is increasing his daily workouts as he recovers from a sprained knee, but isn't close to a full return. ''We have to see some marked improvement,'' Farrell said. ''First thing would be a potential pinch-hit situation. We're not going to risk anything until we get him on the base paths and get a better feel for what he's capable of doing.'' Reds: CF Billy Hamilton was back in the lineup for the first time since he broke his left thumb on Sept. 6 while bunting. He had two singles and was caught stealing when he over-slid second base.UP NEXTRed Sox: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-6) is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA in his last three starts. He's 2-2 in eight career interleague starts.Reds: Rookie Robert Stephenson (5-5) is 5-1 with a 2.84 ERA in his last six starts.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
New York native Romano starts for Reds vs. Red Sox 1h ago• 3 min read CINCINNATI -- Rookie right-hander Sal Romano will carry some extra motivation to the mound on Friday night when he and the Cincinnati Reds face the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.Romano is focused on winning a game for the Reds and helping further solidify his spot in the rotation for 2018. However, the Long Island, N. Y., native also grew up a New York Yankees fan. Romano's beloved Bronx Bombers trail the Red Sox by three games in the American League East standings."I'm a big Yankees fan," Romano said. "I've been to a lot of Yankees-Red Sox games at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. I wish we were playing in Fenway Park. I know the Yankees are three games behind them. It'll be pretty cool to face them." Romano will be making his 15th major league start and first against Boston. He is 5-6 with a 4.07 ERA and has 63 strikeouts and 31 walks in 77 1/3 innings.A scheduling oddity has the Reds closing the home portion of their regular-season schedule with an interleague opponent, which has never happened before.Cincinnati (66-87) is 5-12 in interleague play this season. The Reds' .416 winning percentage against AL clubs since the advent of interleague play in 1997 is the worst of any team.Boston leads the all-time series 9-1. The Red Sox have swept three of the four series played between the clubs. The Reds and Red Sox haven't played each other since 2014. The most memorable meeting, of course, was in the 1975 World Series, won by Cincinnati in seven games. It is regarded as one of the most exciting Fall Classics ever played.Boston (88-64) has plenty at stake going into this series. After clinching a postseason berth on Wednesday night in Baltimore, the rest of the champagne remains on ice as the Red Sox continue to chase the AL East title."Given where we are in the standings and what is at stake, every win is important," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Just getting into the playoffs is not our goal. Certainly, it is a steppingstone to other things that we have our sights set on. We still have a lot of work ahead of us." The Red Sox have won 11 of their past 14 games, including six of their past seven. They are a season-high 24 games above .500.There a few compelling storylines for this weekend's series.In addition to Romano's Red Sox hatred, this weekend also will be a homecoming for Boston outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of Madeira, located about 12 miles northeast of Great American Ball Park.Reds right-hander Luke Farrell, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 9, is John Farrell's son. Luke wears uniform No. 52, the same number his father wore as a major league player and still wears as a manager.If Luke faces the Red Sox this weekend, it would be the first time a major league player has faced his manager father since the Cubs' Moises Alou faced his dad Felipe's Giants in 2004.Reds manager Bryan Price said he would try to make it happen."Little things like that go mostly undiscussed, but it's little things like that I think go a long way," Price said. "You may not have that luxury if you're in first place by a game, but when you're in last place, you can have those special moments." Boston right-hander Rick Porcello, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, will start the series opener. After struggling for most of the first half of the season, Porcello (10-17, 4.46 ERA) has a 3.76 ERA in 14 starts since July 3. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 10 of those starts.Oddly enough, Porcello started the only game in which the Reds ever beat the Red Sox, allowing four runs in five innings of a 6-5, 10-inning loss on June 8, 2012. It was his lone career start against Cincinnati.
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