On July 8, Manny Cruz did something that he will never forget.
Leading off the top of the third inning for the Arizona League Reds against the White Sox, Cruz lifted a fly ball over the left field fence for his first-ever professional home run.
For the season, Cruz is hitting .288, which places him third on the Reds.
Fitzsimons gets his first pro hit
It was a long time coming, but Connor Fitzsimons got himself into the hit column on Wednesday for the Arizona League Angels in a game against the Dodgers.
Fitzsimons was inserted as a defensive substitution at catcher in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth, Fitzsimons led off with a line drive double to right field.
Fitzsimons has played in four games for the Angels. He has caught a total of 27 innings and committed two errors.
Blandino makes second start
Matt Blandino made his second start of the season, third appearance overall, for the Reds on July 9 against the Athletics. Blandino pitched 2.2 innings, gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits, struck out four and walked one.
Blandino has a 2.79 ERA on the season for the Reds.
