Milwaukee — With his teammates stretching and playing the trap in the left field before Saturday’s game at American Family Field, Jose Barreiro was called to early work with coach Alan Zinter at the home plate.
For about 30 minutes, it was a single instruction to Barrero, who had been summoned from Triple-A to be Cincinnati Reds daily stopping point for the last two months this season.
Barrero took a lot of ups and downs with Zinter. Hit the tee. He swung in devious flings with Zinter shielded by an L-screen 15 feet away. He sprayed balls all over the field. The goal was to shorten his shot and improve his posture, so he could get to know the pitches better.
At the top of the fourth inning, Barrero was rewarded with his first act of Homer. After two rounds, he pulled off a two-time career win as he lifted the Reds to a 7-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
“Putting training isn’t everything, but it definitely took what he was working on in the game,” said Reds manager David Bell. “Normally, it doesn’t go that way. Normally, it’s a bit of a delayed reaction. He took it right into the game. It speaks volumes about what kind of athlete he is.”
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Barreiro became the second player in Reds history to score his first two goals in the same match, joining Harry Steinfeldt, who did so on July 31, 1900 in Boston, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
About five minutes into the game, Barreiro walked outside the visiting club and met a young Brewers fan, Charlie. He traded a signed bat for his first home ball, which he grabbed while on a FaceTime call with the family afterward.
“I would dedicate it to my mother,” said Barrero, who He changed his title from Garcia last year To honor his late mother Tania. “I will give it to my brother, who has been with me side by side through all this. You will go with him.”
Through thick and thin, developing young players will be the most important part of the Reds’ season after the trading deadline. The Reds need to give the 24-year-old Barreiro time to adjust to a major league offering and see if it is their shortest place in the future.
One shot before Parrero’s first, he missed a potential double by two feet. Brewers factory leftist Aaron Ashby didn’t take advantage, leaving a 94-mph fastball over the middle of the board, hitting Barrero 408 feet behind the center field wall.
“I hope something clicked, because it really is only a matter of time,” Bell said.
Parreiro, who was attending for the first time in 125 Serie A games, smiled as he approached third base coach JR House and his smile widened as he greeted parisiner Albert Almora Jr on the house plate.
After being congratulated in the bunker, he received a hug from Almora and pressed into the helmet by Kyle Farmer, making a heart with his hands and saying something as he looked up at the sky, in devotion to his mother.
“This was my first ride, so I was spinning the rules and I just felt like all the emotions come through,” Barreiro said through translator Jorge Merlos. “I felt unbelievable.”
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The Reds have seen stellar potential from Barrero for years. He was called up at the end of the 2020 season and made the playoffs despite never playing over the ball in the minor leagues. Returning to the Minors in 2021, he was named the best player in the organization’s minor league.
An orthopedic injury, which required surgery, cost Barrero a chance to earn a spot on the Reds’ opening day squad this year. He didn’t do well in Triple-A Louisville after his comeback, but the Reds will work closely with him at the big league level.
“He hits the ball very hard,” said Zenter. “He arranged it. He got a quick flick in it. He just got the ability to lead baseball all over the field, so it’s very exciting. That early spring training a couple of years ago when he came out that was my first training look at him. It was like, “Wow, there is something in there.”
Before the sixth inning, Barrero received an 88-mph diver in a 2-0 from Brewers’ Hoby Milner blunt. Barrero rolled over the left field wall, a 389-foot-tall solo homer.
It was a special day for Barreiro, who only made one match in the minor leagues when he came back twice. Aristides Aquino, another player given a bigger role after the trade deadline, made it to the base twice and knocked out a runner on the plate for the fifth time this season.
“You see that real smile and the eyes sparkle with a bit of excitement,” Zenter said. “Then he had a little splurge on that next AB. His chest bulged out a little bit, so that’s a good thing. We’ll keep moving forward.”
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