Major League Baseball

Sampson gets 1st big league win, Reds beat Diamondbacks 4-1

Published Aug. 8, 2015 11:44 p.m. ET

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PHOENIX (AP) Nothing seemed to faze Keyvius Sampson in his first major league victory.

Cincinnati's rookie right-hander gave up a first-inning run, then blanked Arizona for the next five in the Reds' 4-1 victory Saturday on the night the Diamondbacks retired Hall of Famer Randy Johnson's No. 51.

''It's fun,'' Reds manager Bryan Price said. ''It's something we're starting to get used to, a lot of guys getting their first hit, their first win.''

All the Cincinnati runs came on homers by Eugenio Suarez, Brandon Phillips and Marlon Byrd, whose solo shot in the ninth was his 150th career home run.

The Reds had 30 consecutive scoreless innings before Suarez's two-run home run gave them a 2-1 lead in the fourth. Brandon Phillips and Marlon Byrd hit solo homers.

''Three homers, that will do something to end the drought,'' Price said.

The 24-year-old Sampson (1-1), claimed off waivers from San Diego in January gave up a first-inning run but the Diamondbacks never scored again. He went six innings and allowed four hits, struck out four and walked three, calmly working his way out of trouble, even taking a ball off the back of his thigh and throwing out A.J. Pollock at first with a runner at third and one out in the third. He fell behind the next batter, Paul Goldschmidt, 2-0 but struck him out on two curveballs and a fastball.

''I don't want to show any kind of signs of weakness so they can see me laboring or thinking like they're in my head or thinking about the bad stuff,'' Sampson said. ''So I always want to keep things positive.''

Sampson lost his only other start, despite a solid outing in Pittsburgh's 3-0 win over the Reds last Sunday. He pitched a perfect inning of relief in his major league debut on July 30.

''`I'm here just trying to buy more starts,'' he said.

Goldschmidt hit into an inning-ending double play with runners at first and second in the fifth. He is in a 3-for-27 slump.

''He can't always be the guy that saves us,'' Arizona manager Chip Hale said. ''We always count on him to be that guy but it is not that easy to do all the time. They are pitching him pretty well. He obviously didn't get the hits tonight but we always want him up in those situations and we will take our chances.''

Robbie Ray (3-7) pitched six innings for Arizona, allowing three runs and five hits. He matched his career high with eight strikeouts and walked one but fell to 0-3 in his last five starts.

Aroldis Chapman, hitting 103 mph on the Chase Field radar gun, threw a scoreless ninth for his 24th save in 25 opportunities.

The Reds, shut out in their previous two games, scored all three runs off Ray with two outs. Suarez hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and Phillips added a solo shot in the fifth.

In the fourth, Byrd hit a bloop double down the left-field line and, on the next pitch, Suarez homered to put the Reds up 2-1. Phillips lined a 3-2 pitch just over the wall in left field to make it 3-1.

Arizona scored in the first when Pollock doubled to right and scored on David Peralta's single.

The Diamondbacks had runners on first and second with one out in the fourth and again in the fifth. In the fourth, Sampson escaped the jam with consecutive flyouts to right by Aaron Hill and Nick Ahmed.

RETIRING 51

Johnson joined former teammate Luis Gonzalez as the only players to have their numbers retired by the franchise.

The Diamondbacks presented Johnson with a drum set that is an exact replica of the one used by the band Rush. Johnson is good friends with the band's members.

Johnson, noticeably loosened from his intense days as a pitcher, took the microphone and thanked many people by name.

''There were a lot of special memories created here,'' he said.

When the ceremony ended, he stood on the mound and waved to the crowd of 40,512.

TRADES

The Diamondbacks pulled off their second trade in less than 24 hours, sending INF Cliff Pennington to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league SS Dawel Lugo.

On Friday night, Arizona traded LHP Oliver Perez to the Houston Astros for minor league LHP Junior Garcia.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Anthony DeSclafani (7-7, 3.71 ERA) goes for his third consecutive win in the series finale Sunday.

Diamondbacks: LHP Patrick Corbin (2-3, 3.99) looks to bounce back from his worst start since coming back from Tommy John surgery. He gave up three runs in 1 1-3 innings at Washington on Tuesday.

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