Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (5-2)	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	9	13	14	2
Cardinals (3-4)	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	4	1

Boxscore

It took a while for them to go, but when the 9th inning came yesterday in a tie game, my, how the Cincinnati Reds went.

Through the majority of the game, it wasn’t looking like it was the Reds’ day. Starter Mat Latos pitched well in his second start, continuing to make progress in erasing his history of poor Aprils, but Cincinnati was lacking on defense and offense. In particular, new center fielder Shin-Soo Choo had problems with the sun, dropping two balls and allowing 3 unearned Cardinals runs to score.

With the way Jaime Garcia was striking out Reds batters, it seemed like that would be enough. But the Reds kept staying close. Then in the 8th inning, pinch-hitter Xavier Paul singled into right field to score Jay Bruce and tie the game at 4.

The game felt like it was starting to turn to favor the Reds. And then the 9th inning happened. It started with a walk to Shin-Soo Choo. After getting Chris Heisey to pop out, everything fell apart for the Cardinals and their closer Mitchell Boggs. Joey Votto was intentionally walked, allowing Brandon Phillips to come to the plate and double in the go-ahead run.

A lead was all I was hoping for. What came next was a comedy of errors and ineptitude rarely displayed by a St. Louis ball club. 12 more batters went to the plate, and the Reds scored a total of 9 runs in the inning. Choo started everything with a walk, and in his second at-bat of the inning, he erased those 3 unearned runs he’d allowed by crushing a double that cleared the loaded bases.

All in all, it was a fun game. The Reds have faced nothing but good, playoff-contending teams to start the season, yet they sit atop the standings in first place with a 2 game lead on the Cardinals.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Padres (15-18)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	10	1
Reds (11-18)	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	3	0	7	8	0

Boxscore

Yes, the Cincinnati Reds are fine-tuning their intensity.

For most of spring training, the Reds’ players were obviously testing out things other than winning. Which was fine. For the first time since I can remember, there were no true battles for roster spots. Everything was set, and everyone had time to work on things and ease back into baseball. Now that opening day is less than a week away, it’s time to practice how to win. And the Reds have done that two games in a row.

Yesterday, Mike Leake made his final start of the spring and did well. Leake pitched 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and no walks while striking out 4.

The offense has woken up, too, and I’m certain that all the regulars playing most of the game is a factor. Shin-Soo Choogot the Reds on the board in the 5th with a solo shot. But Ryan Ludwick was the hero for this game, hitting his first spring home run in the 7th inning, a 3-run shot that broke a 1-1 tie.

Then in the 8th, Joey Votto added his own 2-run home run to extend the lead, which was good, since the San Diego Padres scored a couple more in the top of the 9th.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (10-18)	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	9	11	15	0
Cubs (16-17)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	8	1

Boxscore

As if in response to Amanda’s call to start practicing intensity, the Cincinnati Reds demolished the Chicago Cubs yesterday, winning 11-1.

Johnny Cueto made his final start of the spring, and looked like the ace of old. He tossed 6 shutout innings, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. Granted, it was the Cubs, but that’s still good to see this late in the spring.

The Reds took the first lead in the 3rd inning when Cueto had a two-out single. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Emmanuel Burriss doubled to center and Cueto scored. In the 7th inning, Todd Frazier added another run by hitting his 5th home run of the spring.

The Cubs made it a one-run game again by scoring in the bottom of the 7th, but the Reds broke it open in the 9th, unloading on the Cubs bullpen and scoring 9 runs in the inning. It was a prodigious display of offense that I hope we get to see often in the regular season.

The win is the Reds’ 10th of the spring, so they won’t be toiling in the single-digit wins wasteland any more.

And now there are just 5 spring training games left until Opening Day.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (2-11)	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	4	10	0
Angels (2-8)	0	0	0	1	0	0	5	0	-	6	12	0

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds dropped their seventh game in a row yesterday, losing 6-4 to the Angels. However, just like the points in Who’s Line is it Anyway?, the losses don’t matter.

What can matter is the results of the players. Since the Reds have pretty much no competition for any of their starting roster spots, the players can actually take the time to focus on practicing and getting ready for the season. It makes for a different kind of spring training as a Reds fan.

So what were the results? Mike Leake started the game and had three strong innings, allowing no runs, four hits, and striking out 2. Aroldis Chapman followed him, and gave up a home run to the first batter he faced. That was the only run he allowed in his two innings of work.

The reason the Reds lost was due to the usage of young prospect Josh Ravin, who allowed five runs in his 1/3 inning of work. Again, another example that the Reds can treat spring training differently than in the 2000s. Here they’re letting a prospect pitch against some talent at a higher level than him, ostensibly in the hopes it can spur Ravin to realize how much harder he needs to work to compete in the majors.

As for the offense, the bats finally woke up, thanks to Jay Bruce. He hit two home runs, both solo shots, which had the Reds leading until Ravin’s appearance in the 7th. The offense tried to come back, but the two runs in the 8th and 9th just weren’t enough.

Today the Reds will play Team Canada. Mat Latos will start for the Reds, while the Canadians send out Mark Hardy. Game time is 9:05pm.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (2-10)	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	6	3
Diamondbacks (5-5)	1	0	0	0	2	0	4	0	-	7	9	0

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds continued their losing ways yesterday, dropping their 10th Spring Training game to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2.

Johnny Cueto started and pitched well. Over three innings, he allowed one run on one hit and struck out four.

Overall, the pitching wasn’t as bad as the 7-spot makes it look. The defense committed 3 errors, contributing to 4 unearned runs. Manny Parra and Clay Hensley took the brunt of that in their relief appearances, combining to give up 6 runs, only 2 of which were earned.

As for the scoring, the Reds took an early lead, thanks to a Zack Cozart solo home run in the first. The offense was largely silent until the seventh, when Henry Rodriguez knocked in a run.

The real excitement, though, came before the game began. Dusty Baker and Kirk Gibson, the Diamondbacks manager, had a disagreement about the usage of the designated hitter.

“He wanted his pitcher to hit and I wanted Choo to DH,” Baker said following a 7-2 Reds loss. “They sent over word that’s what they wanted to do. It would have been fine with me to do both. It’s up to the home team of what they want to do. Usually here we let teams DH early.”

Apparently, Gibson wasn’t having any of that. It was National League rules all the way.

At the exchange of lineup cards, there were some words between the two managers. Gibson offered to shake hands, but Baker refused.

“We didn’t have a very pleasant encounter at home plate,” Baker said. “That’s how it goes. It’s over.”

The result? Choo didn’t start and Cesar Izturis was moved to the leaf-off position. Cueto batted in the third inning, but struck out looking because he was forbidden to swing the bat.

Such drama for a Spring Training game.

Today, the Reds will play the Angels at 3:05pm EST.