CINCINNATI —  Entering the bottom of the ninth inning, it looked like the Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day losing streak was set to extend to four years. The Reds had already stranded 10 runners in the first eight innings, and they looked incapable of taking advantage of opportunities. Down to their final three outs with a three-run deficit to close, things looked bleak for Cincinnati.

The empty seats in Great American Ball Park were evidence of fans who gave up on their team’s chances.

But in the Reds’ dugout, hope sprang eternal.

With two runners on and two out, Ramon Hernandez blasted a three-run home run into the Reds’ bullpen to give Cincinnati a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

“We never lose hope,” Hernandez said. “We always have faith.”  

The roller-coaster ninth started with a deep shot by Brandon Phillips that ricocheted off the wall in left field, but an unlucky bounce to Brewers’ left fielder Ryan Braun kept Phillips from advancing past first base. Joey Votto walked to bring Scott Rolen to the plate with runners on first and second.

Rolen hit a bouncer to third baseman Casey McGehee, a ball that looked sure to result in an out. But McGehee elected to try to tag Phillips as he advanced to third. Phillips eluded the tag, and McGehee’s throw to first was too late to oust Rolen.

After a Jay Bruce strikeout by Milwaukee reliever John Axford, Jonny Gomes hit a long fly ball to bring Phillips home.

That’s when Hernandez stepped to the plate to deliver the Reds their first Opening Day victory in four attempts.

“That’s as excited as I’ve been in a long, long time,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “We haven’t won an opener — (Reds owner Bob) Castellini told me — since me and (Reds general manager) Walt (Jocketty) have been here. It didn’t look like we were going to win another one, and then we won it at the end. So there’s (win) No. 1, and hopefully we win a whole lot more.”

Hernandez appeared in just 13-of-32 Spring Training games for the Reds while struggling with injuries, and Baker said he had considered starting Ryan Hannigan at catcher instead.

“Everyone was wondering if Ramon was going to be all right … after missing some time during Spring Training,” Baker said. “He told me, ‘Skip, I’m fine. No problem.’ So I guess he knew what he was talking about.”

Hernandez went 4-for-5 with three singles on the day.

Axford took the loss for Milwaukee (0-1), while Logan Ondrusek picked up the win for Cincinnati after pitching a scoreless inning of relief.

It was a rough day for Cincy starter Edinson Volquez, who surrendered back-to-back home runs to Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez to start the game and five runs overall, all earned. The lead-off homer was the first during a season opener for Milwaukee in franchise history, and the back-to-back dingers to kick off the first game of the season was a feat not accomplished since 1969 by the Reds.

Despite surrendering four runs in the first two innings, Volquez was able to go a full six for the Reds.

Baker expressed surprise at the rough start, but was grateful Volquez was able to settle down.

“The main thing is, he kept us in the game,” Baker said. “I didn’t have to go to my bullpen too early. He gave our offense a chance to come back.”

The Brewers got a quality start from Yovani Gallardo, who gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings.

The Reds offense struggled early on. After Drew Stubbs led the home first off with a double, sacrifices by Phillips and Votto brought him home for the first Cincinnati run. The Reds still trailed 3-1.

Cincinnati wouldn’t get another run until the fourth, when Stubbs hit a two-out homer on a 1-1 count to bring the tally to 4-2 Milwaukee.

After Reds reliever Jordan Smith gave up a run in the top of the seventh to give the Brewers a 6-2 lead, Votto got the run back with a towering one-out blast off of Brewers reliever Kameron Loe.

Cincinnati had opportunities to score even more, but couldn’t convert. The Reds stranded two runners in the first inning, one in the second, two in the sixth and left them loaded in the fourth inning.

“You hate to see that,” Baker said. “They were getting some hits with runners in scoring position and we weren’t. But you keep putting them out there and sooner or later something good is going to happen. That’s the key. The key is opportunities. Without them, you don’t have much of a chance.”

NOTES: Votto was recognized prior to the game for being named the 2010 National League Most Valuable Player. … The Reds honored the legacy of former manager Sparky Anderson, who managed the Big Red Machine and led Cincinnati to World Series victories in 1975 and 1976. Anderson died last year at the age of 78. … Pop singer Bryan McKnight and his two sons sang the national anthem. … Retired Cincinnati police chief Tom Striecher threw out the first pitch of the game. …The game was a sellout, with 42,398 in attendance.

MIL    310 010 100—6  9 0

CIN    100 100 104—7 12 1

W — Ondrusek (1-0). L — Axford (0-1). 2B — Nieves (M), Weeks (M), Stubbs (C). HR — Weeks (M), Gomez (M), Braun (M), Stubbs (C), Votto (C), Hernandez (C).

Records — Milwaukee 0-1, Cincinnati 1-0.

 

TEMPE, Ariz. — Cincinnati outfielder Drew Stubbs is one of the nicer guys in the clubhouse. Polite and even tempered. However, he bristles a bit at the notion he should bunt every other at-bat.

“I think there was a misconception last year about my bunting,” Stubbs said. “What a lot of people don’t realize, you play teams throughout the year, they have scouting reports, they’ll bring their corners in to take away the bunt. You don’t want to do it and give away outs.

“I’ll work on it. It’s an extra weapon I have. Is that my game? No.”

That’s the big question with Stubbs: What is his game? He’s the fastest runner on the Reds, but he also has as much power as anyone.

“I want him to find out who he is,” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. “Sometimes it might take a couple of years. When a guy has that much skill and there’s so many things he can do, there’s a period of confusion. Is he a hitter? Is he a slugger? Is he a high on-base percentage guy? Is he a take guy?

“Guys have been on Juan Pierre forever because his on-base percentage is basically what he hits. Yet every year, he steals 60 bags and scores 100 runs. Everybody’s not that take, work-the-pitcher-type guy.”

Stubbs’ speed makes him a fit for the leadoff spot, but he did not hit well there in 2010. He hit .220/.324/.370 in 32 games at the top of the order; he hit .268/.332/.452 in 84 games in the No. 7 spot.

Stubbs himself is torn about where he’s best suited to hit.

“When it comes to (the) position in the lineup, I still think that’s up in the air,” Stubbs said. “The reason being is I pride myself on being a well-rounded player. It comes from utilizing my speed both offensively and defensively. I have some power as well. I think the more things I can do the more ways I can help the team win. That’s my goal.”

The big knock on Stubbs is his strikeouts. He struck out 168 times in 514 at-bats in 2010. He probably could cut down on that number at the risk of losing some of his power.

There are and were a lot of high-strikeout effective players in the game.

“Look at Bobby Bonds,” Baker said. “He struck out 150 times and hit his 35 home runs. Hopefully, you help your team while you’re finding out who you are. We can help you better become who you are?”

Stubbs had a solid year overall in 2010. He hit .255 with 22 home runs, 77 RBI and 30 steals in his first full year in the majors. He finished strong, hitting .350 with seven home runs and 18 RBI in his final 27 games.

That gives him confidence going into this season.

“It definitely helps to have a full season under my belt,” he said. “Plus, I know what it takes to get through that. The highs and lows. I think I can take a lot from that.’”

Stubbs is one of the fittest players at 6-foot-4 and a chiseled 200 pounds. He worked on keeping that edge this offseason.

“I just worked on getting stronger, getting in shape,” Stubbs said. “That’s really all you can do in the offseason, then use this here in spring training, kind of refine your approach at the plate and work on defense. It’s kind of hard to simulate on-the-field activities in the offseason.”