ByHoly crap!
By which I am referring to crappy play that Dusty Baker seemed to regard as holy, coming from Corey Patterson. Somehow, however, cooler heads have prevailed and Mr. 9-outs-in-one-game has been optioned to AAA Louisville.
Don’t believe me? Read it for yourself.
The contract of Andy Phillips has been selected to take his spot on the roster.
By| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirates (24-27) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 0 |
| Bruces (1-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | 9 | 12 | 2 |
Yes, there were other games in the Central last night, but really, none of them can approach the significance or the lasting impact of the Pirates-Reds game last night. Plus, thanks to preparing a birthday party for my kid, I have time for only one game wrap today.
In case you hadn’t heard, uber-prospect Jay Bruce premiered for the Reds last night, and he didn’t disappoint. In fact, no one’s gotten him out yet. Bruce’s line: 3 for 3, with two walks, two runs scored, two RBI, and a steal.
Not everyone was impressed, though.
Johnny Cueto threw too many pitches, but got the win thanks to an Adam Dunn home run. The bullpen made it a little closer, but Francisco Corder closed things out again.
Ian Snell started well for the Pirates, but Cincinnati figured him out the second time facing him. They did have enough offense to win, had they gotten anything resembling good pitching.
The same two teams again today, although Baker will be tempted to sit Bruce against the Pirates, thus ensuring the Reds loss. Tom Gorzelanny starts against Bronson Arroyo at 7:10pm EDT.
ByThe Reds have announced that they have sold the contract of Minor League RHP Justin Lehr to the Doosan Bears of the Korean Professional League. What they have not yet announced but is apparently common knowledge in Korea, is that Red Hot Mama favorite Tom Shearn will be joining him, barring unforeseen circumstances.
I wish Tom the best of luck, though I sure wouldn’t have minded if Cincinnati had realized that they could have used him right about now.
By| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodger (26-24) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Cubs (30-21) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 3 | 7 | 0 |
The Cubs continued their struggling on the road/dominating at home trend yesterday by, well, dominating the Dodgers at home.
Ryan Dempster continues to perplex everyone who’s paid any attention at all to his career by being a very good starting pitcher. And Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez continue to show their an impressive force in any lineup, as they both homered, providing all of Chicago’s runs.
The same two teams play again today at 7:05pm EDT when Hiroki Kuroda takes on Sean Gallagher.
By| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewers (24-27) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| Nationals (22-30) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
It took 11 innings, but the Brewers finally saw through the beery haze and found their giant fly swatter–behind the keg, naturally–and dealt with the Nationals.
Ben Sheets was solid in his start, but was only around for six innings. No injury forced him out, though, as manager Ned Yost opted to pinch hit for him in the sixth. The game-winning run came in the 11th when Gabe Kapler singled in Prince Fielder. Salomon Torres then pitched the bottom of the inning for the save.
Milwaukee returns home to host Tim Hudson and the Braves at 8:05pm EDT. Dave Bush will start for the Brewers.
