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

Boxscore

After Johnny Cueto went down and Mat Latos saved the bullpen–and the season–from ruin in game 1, Bronson Arroyo started game 2. And I, like many, was happy to have that rested bullpen ready in case Bad-royo showed up.

That concern was not necessary. Arroyo was perfect through 4 2/3, retiring the first 14 batters he faced. He was taken out after the 7th, thanks to a long inning by the Reds’ offense where they batted around. Without that, Arroyo likely would have pitched longer. As it was, in his 7 innings, he allowed no runs, 1 hit, walked 1, and struck out 4. One of the stats delivered on the television broadcast concerned his ability to mix pitch speeds, ranging from 68 to 90. It was an awesome performance, and quintessentially Arroyo.

The offense, such a concern before the playoffs started, has apparently found that switch and flipped it. Yesterday, Ryan Ludwick got things started with a solo home run in the 2nd.

After being held scoreless for an inning, the Reds extended their lead in the 4th. With Joey Votto and Ryan Ludwick on, Scott Rolen hit a single to drive in Votto. The next batter, Ryan Hanigan, continued the small-ball playing, and drove in Ludwick and Rolen with his own single.

The game stayed 4-0 until the 8th, when the Reds turned the game into a blowout. Votto and Chris Heisey both reached with singles. Jay Bruce hit a double to score them both. Then Hanigan came to bat and drove in Bruce. Drew Stubbs continued piling on with a triple that scored Hanigan. And Brandon Phillips drove in the inning’s 5th and final run with a double that easily scored Stubbs.

After that, the Reds held a 9-0 lead. The bullpen took over, with J. J. Hoover and Jose Arredondo completing the shutout of the Giants.

The Reds hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. The two teams head to Cincinnati to play game 3 on Tuesday at 5:30pm. Homer Bailey is scheduled to start against Ryan Vogelsong.

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

Boxscore

No, no, no! #reds

— Jon Cross (@zeldink) October 7, 2012

That was what I tweeted after Johnny Cueto pitched to the second batter of the first inning and left the mound in pain. The game, the series, and the playoffs all felt like they’d ended right then and there. The Reds’s starting rotation without any injuries for the whole season would lose their ace in the first playoff game. It wasn’t fair, and the whole season flashed before my eyes.

But you know who didn’t panic? The 2012 Cincinnati Reds. The last club to make the playoffs–the 2010 squad–would have crumbled. But not this one.

Manager Dusty Baker–always one cool cat–kept calm and went to work, putting in one of the finest performances of his managerial career. He didn’t panic, inserting long-man Sam LeCure into the game to finish the first inning.

But that would only get the team so far. At most, LeCure could get the team through the third. The game would turn into a bullpen game, and the Reds’ bullpen would be wrecked for the rest of the series.

There was an alternative. A 24-year-old ace pitcher himself, almost bouncing up and down in the dugout, volunteering to go in. Yeah, Mat Latos entered himself into Cincinnati Reds lore forever for his performance last night.

After an amazing, scoreless job by LeCure, Latos entered the game in the third. He warmed up as normally as he could through the second inning, and ended up providing Cincinnati 4 innings of 1-run baseball. Oh, and he saved the season.

The offense, so cold at the end of the regular season, flipped a switch, too. Similar to how everyone stepped up when Joey Votto went down, everyone knew they had to perform even better without the team’s star pitcher.

Brandon Phillips hit a two-run home run in the third inning to get the Reds on the board. And the next inning, Jay Bruce hit a solo shot for the 3-0 lead.

Latos turned it over to the bullpen in the 7th, and the three-headed closer machine for the Reds made sure that lead stood still. Sean Marshall, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman nailed it down. Sure, Chapman made it interesting in the 9th by allowing a run on a wild pitch. But thanks to the 2 insurance runs in the top of the 9th, the outcome was never really in doubt.

That was the most fun I’ve had watching a baseball game all season. And I can’t wait for more tonight when Bronson Arroyo takes on Madison Baumgartner at 9:30pm.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (97-65)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Cardinals (88-74)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	-	1	9	1

Boxscore

It took until the final game of the year for the Cincinnati Reds to play a meaningless game in the 2012 season. Thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers losing and giving the St. Louis Cardinals the second wild card and the Washington Nationals winning and clinching the best record in the National League, the outcome of last night’s game had no meaning whatsoever.

And it felt like almost every Spring Training game I’ve ever attended. It was so much like Spring Training, that I expected the game to be called off early should the game finish in a tie.

There was the starter, Homer Bailey, pitching for only 4 innings. He did well, allowing no runs on 4 hits while striking out 6. But he left early to give the bullpen some work. Then there were all the later inning substitutions, providing a parade of minor league prospects onto the field. Tony Cingrani and Henry Rodriguez were chief among them. But the game was managed loosely, in a manner completely unlike the post-season will be managed.

There were no offensive heroes since the Reds were shut out. Bailey and the bullpen were very effective, with only the Jonathan Broxton being charged with a run.

The Reds will travel to San Francisco to rest up and get adjusted to the time zone change in advance of the first round of the National League Championship series on Saturday. Johnny Cueto will be the starter for the Reds with the first pitch scheduled for 9:37pm.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (97-64)	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	3	8	9
Cardinals (87-74)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0

Boxscore

With the Washington Nationals winning, the Cincinnati Reds had to win to still have a chance at home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Things didn’t start well.

With the exception of a Joey Votto walk–naturally–the Reds went through the first inning weakly. Then Mat Latos took the mound and allowed a double to the first batter he faced, Jon Jay. An out later, Jay scored thanks to a sacrifice fly by Carlos Beltran. Just like that, the Reds were down 1-0.

But Latos settled down. And the offense woke up. A little.

Scott Rolen homered in the 4th inning to tie the game. Then in the 6th inning, Votto lead off with another walk. Ryan Ludwick doubled to center field. Then Jay Bruce drove in Votto with a single for the lead. An out later, Dioner Navarro hit another single to give the Reds an insurance run.

Latos was pulled after pitching 5 innings. He allowed 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 4 in picking up his 14th win. The early exit was due to not wearing him out before the playoffs.

The bullpen was more than up to the task of keeping the Cardinals off the board. Sam LeCure fulfilled the long-relief role before handing it over to the Reds’ three closers. Sean Marshall, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman closed it out. That is one fine trio to have heading into the playoffs.

For home-field advantage, the Nationals have to lose today, and the Reds have to win. Homer Bailey will be hoping to do that when he starts the last game of the regular season at 8:15pm.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (96-63)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	10	3
Pirates (77-82)	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	7	0

Boxscore

A day after losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 9th, the Cincinnati Reds returned them the favor.

Of course, having the offense show up early enough in the game to provide Johnny Cueto with his 20th win of the season would have been too easy. No, the Reds had to keep all of that scoring until the end.

Still, Cueto finished the year strong. In his final start, he went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, and 1 walk. He struck out 6. If he’d pitched a scoreless 8th or the offense had woken up before the 9th, he would’ve had the win. Heck, if the defense hadn’t screwed the pooch and allowed so many unearned runs, he would’ve gotten the win. I guess that just shows you how meaningless of a statistic wins can be.

As for that offense, they started the game off by getting on base, but not being able to knock in any runs. Both of the first two innings ended with runners in scoring position. But in the third, Joey Votto was given a pitch he could hit, and hit a double that scored Brandon Phillips. The next batter, Todd Frazier, hit a ground-out to the shortstop that scored Wilson Valdez.

After that, the Reds’ bats were silent until the 9th. Then, Xavier Paul, the very first batter against the Pirates’ closer Joel Hanrahan, hit a pinch-hit home run to right field to tie the game. And instead of being a rally killer, this got the offense going. Eventually.

The next two batters recorded out, but when Ryan Ludwick hit a pinch-hit double, I started feeling that this would turn into a win. With two outs, Zack Cozart was the hero, driving in the go-ahead run with his own double.

Aroldis Chapman pitched the bottom of the 9th for the save. He was a little shaky, but he got the job done. Hopefully, he can get an appearance or two before the playoffs start. I don’t want him rusty.

The Reds next travel to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. If Cincinnati can sweep, there’s a chance they’d knock the Cardinals out of the playoffs. I’m hoping for that. Bronson Arroyo will go against Jaime Garcia at 8:15pm.