The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Miami Marlins 4-3 on Tuesday. The loss was not without highlights for the Reds as Noelvi Marte hit the hardest home run of the season to tie the game in the third inning.
Leading off the third Marte hit a rocket to left field off Edward Cabrera that was clocked with an exit volocity of 116.7MPH. The ball hit an empty seat about eight rows back and bounced back onto the field. Thank goodness for weekday games in Miami because that could have hurt someone.
116.7 MPH off the bat on this crush job by Noelvi Marte! 😳 pic.twitter.com/Tl0yRdep4K
— MLB (@MLB) April 22, 2025
After the game Reds manager Terry Francona was informed about how hard Marte had hit the ball as a reporter told him it was tied for the hardest hit home run of the year. His response was perfectly old school.
This little interaction made me chuckle, not going to lie. #Reds pic.twitter.com/DP829XvVaE
— Reds Daily (@RedsDaily4) April 23, 2025
"OK," Francona seemed to ask in response. "We get one run. That's fine."
With opening day third baseman Jeimer Candelario struggling early in the year and moving to first to replace injured Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Marte has found his way into the lineup. After a slow start going 1-for-12 in his first few games, Marte is 7-of-14 over his last three games with three doubles and two home runs, including this one. That's fine indeed.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Terry Francona Nonplussed by Home Run’s Exit Velocity: ‘We Got One Run'.
