Reds 5, Marlins 0
CINCINNATI-- Marlon Byrd homered in his return to the lineup, and Mike Leake pitched seven solid innings, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-0 victory over the Miami Marlins in the opener of a three-game series on Friday at Great American Ball Park.
Byrd was reinstated from the disabled list on Friday after missing 15 games with a fractured right wrist and homered in his second at-bat.
Third baseman Todd Frazier and catcher Tucker Barnhart each had a pair of hits including a double for Cincinnati (31-35), which has won 11 of 15 against the Marlins over the past two seasons.
Center fielder Marcell Ozuna had two of four hits for Miami (29-40), which was shutout for the fifth time this season.
Both starting pitchers were efficient on Friday night.
Leake (4-4) didn't allow a hit until left fielder Christian Yelich singled with two outs in the sixth.
The Marlins had runners on first and second in the sixth but Leake fanned Stanton on an 82-mph slider to end the threat.
Marlins right-hander Dan Haren (6-4) scattered three hits, including Byrd's homer, through six innings.
He finished with two runs allowed on four hits.
Leake got some defensive help in the seventh when third baseman Todd Frazier made a diving stop on first baseman Justin Bour's grounder.
A lapse in control in the fifth and sixth innings prevented Leake from going deeper in the game.
He was removed after seven innings and 95 pitches, allowing just two hits with three walks, seven strikeouts and a hit batter.
Cincinnati added a run in the seventh when Barnhart doubled and scored on Skip Schumaker's pinch-hit single putting the Reds ahead 2-0.
Right fielder Jay Bruce's two-run double in the eighth made the score 4-0.
Leake rolled through the Marlins' lineup the first time through on just 37 pitches. He struck out four and allowed only two fly balls.
In Byrd's second at-bat since coming off the DL, he launched a 1-0 pitch from Haren into the right-center field seats, putting Cincinnati ahead 1-0 in the fourth. It was Byrd's 11th home run this season and ninth since May 1.
Leake retired the first 13 batters he faced before issuing consecutive walks with one out in the fifth.
Shortstop Eugenio Suarez helped Leake wriggle out of that jam with a nice play on Adeiny Hechavarria's high-hopper for the final out of the inning.
NOTES: Reds LF Marlon Byrd was reinstated from the disabled list on Friday, less than three weeks after fracturing his right wrist. ... Reds RHP Donovan Hand was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. ... Marlins C J.T. Realmuto, who was scratched from Wednesday's lineup because of back stiffness, returned to the lineup. ... Reds RHP Jon Moscot had season-ending surgery to repair his dislocated left shoulder. He can begin throwing in three months. ... Marlins 1B Giancarlo Stanton told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he would participate in the Home Run Derby at this year's All-Star Game in Cincinnati if asked. "I don't think there's a yard that could hold him," Miami manager Dan Jennings said. Stanton has 10 homers in June.