The Reds thumped the Dodgers on Friday night in Cincinnati (CIN 9, LAD 2), and without question the highlight was a late-inning home run that occurred when the game was mostly out of reach. That home run came in the seventh of the bat of Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen.

Lorenzen was seeing his first game action since the the sudden death of his father on Wednesday. Here's the big moment:

Forgive the lack of eloquence on this writer's part, but that's pretty awesome. As Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes, Lorenzen was a pretty fair hitter in college for Cal State Fullerton, so it's not surprising that he's capable of running into one. The weight of the moment, though, surely wasn't expected.

This image says it all ...

usatsi9489123-lorenzen.jpg
USATSI

Via the AP, here's what manager Bryan Price had to say afterward:

''The Lorenzen home run was emotional for all of us. If you stay in this game long enough, you still think you won't see anything like that. It was so improbable. It was majestic and poetic. The emotions were palpable and got stronger when he got to the dugout. The curtain call showed there was some awareness in the crowd.''

And from the man himself ...

Lorenzen also worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief and in doing so lowered his ERA to a nifty 2.17. But it's that home run that he hit mere hours after returning from the bereavement list that he'll always remember.