NewsVotto returns to lineup with bang
Reds slugger plays long ball after entering in seventh
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
05/10/09 6:47 PM ET
CINCINNATI -- Joey Votto wasted no time at all. Finally released from the grasps of a flu that had kept him out for three games, Votto returned with a bang, drilling a home run after entering Sunday's 8-7 loss in the seventh inning on a double switch. The crowd of 27,664 fans cheered loudly when Votto entered the game at first base. The change had him batting ninth and leading off the bottom of the seventh. Receiving a low 1-0 pitch from Cardinals reliever Kyle McClellan, Votto lifted a shot into the left-field seats for his fourth home run of the season. Although Votto is batting .376 this season and has been the club's most dependable hitter, he wasn't missed as much as expected. The Reds entered Sunday 3-0 in their past three games without him, but superstition had zero to do with manager Dusty Baker's decision to keep his first baseman out of the starting lineup in the series finale vs. the Cardinals. "If we weren't playing so well, he'd be in there for sure," Baker said before the game. "I figured this way he can get all of his strength back." Regular catcher Ramon Hernandez has played first base while Votto was out. Votto is slated to start when the Reds kick off a three-game series against the Diamondbacks on Monday in Arizona. In other health news, shortstop Alex Gonzalez (strained left oblique) was on the field Sunday morning again taking ground balls. Gonzalez appeared to moving around with no issues and nimbly snagged balls and fired to first base. Gonzalez said he hasn't done any hitting yet, which would be the biggest test he can have before he could return. Even though it has been shorthanded without Votto and Brandon Phillips for much of the past week, the club has resisted placing Gonzalez on the disabled list. Meanwhile, third baseman Edwin Encarnacion is continuing to rehabilitate from a chip fracture in his left wrist. Encarnacion has been able to remove the soft cast, but he hasn't resumed baseball activities yet. Encarnacion, who has been on the 15-day DL since April 28, will make this week's West Coast road trip to continue his workouts with the club. He also was on the team's previous five-game trip. "He's working hard," Baker said. "We've been rolling him ground balls and he's throwing them across the field. He'll probably be in better shape when he gets back. He can't do much baseball stuff. He can't hit or really field, but he can throw, run and workout."Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
