CINCINNATI — For the third time in as many visits to Great American Ball Park, Matthew Boyd fell to the long ball. This time, it didn’t come from Joey Votto.
Much as Boyd tries to avoid his propensity for home runs, the big drive seems to find him, especially in this park. On Saturday, it came from Aristides Aquino, whose three-run homer punctuated a wild third inning and put the Reds up for good in a rain-soaked 7-4 Detroit defeat.
Boyd has led the American League in home runs allowed in each of the last two seasons, but he has cut his home run rate in half this year with help from a wider pitch arsenal and less predictability.
However, this is a ballpark that dogs him. Votto hit a grand slam off Boyd to break up a scoreless duel on June 19, 2018, and slugged a solo homer off him in an Opening Day defeat last year in a wild outing that included a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch.