Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds (10-15-2) stopped their losing streak, thanks to another great pitching performance by Mike Leake.

Leake continues to battle against Travis Wood for that 5th starter spot, and it’s going down to the wire. Against the Oakland A’s (11-15-3), Leake went 6 innings, 1 more than originally scheduled. He allowed 2 runs, both of them earned, and struck out 2. Thanks to the miracle of the B-team exploding on offense, Leake even picked up the win.

On the offensive side, it was a miracle that any runs were scored, let alone 8. Most of the primary players were making the trip to Las Vegas to play the Dodgers, Drew Stubbs, Scott Rolen, and Ramon Hernandez as the regular starters. However, Stubbs and Rolen were all that were needed, with both driving in 3 runs. For Stubbs, one of those was a solo homer, his 5th of Spring Training.

After Leake left, Aroldis Chapman took the mound. (Incidentally, anybody else not really down with him being called the “Cuban Missile” on the radio broadcast? Surely there’s a better nickname out there. Of course, all I can think of is Aroldis “Cane Sugar” Chapman, so what do I know.) Chapman pitched well, allowing 1 run over 2 innings. More importantly, he struck out 3. He did walk 3, which is the most in an outing all spring. Hopefully, he’ll get to work on that in the minors.

Micah Owings pitched the 9th inning, but did not bat.