July 2, 2010
By
Zeldink
Posted at 8:30 am
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Reds (45-35) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 0 |
| Cubs (34-45) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
W: Smith (1-0)
L: Howry (1-2)
S: Cordero (22)
Boxscore
The Cincinnati Reds made it take longer than it should have, but eventually, they defeated the Chicago Cubs yesterday.
Travis Wood made his first professional start and pitched great. It helped, of course, that he was going against the Cubs, who have been terrible all year. Dusty Baker did make a questionable decision in leaving Wood in the game to start the 8th. Up to that point, though, Wood had breezed through 7 innings of shutout ball with a very low pitch count. Unfortunately, Wood was tired and walked the only 2 batters he faced.
The small, 2-run lead off of RBIs from Scott Rolen and Jonny Gomes, vanished quickly once reliever Nick Masset entered. Both inherited runners scored. Masset did shut down the Cubs for the rest of the inning, but he’s still got a ways to go to become the Masset we saw last year.
The bullpen was great from then on, with Jordan Smith getting the eventual win, and Francisco Cordero getting an almost uneventful save.
The Reds offense barely managed to retake the lead. They had opportunities in the 9th and the 10th, yet managed only 1 run, and that was thanks to Jay Bruce breaking up a double play and allowing the go-ahead run to score. 16 hits in a game is great; stranding 13 and scoring only 3 is not so great. Still, the team managed another win from their final at-bat. This team definitely has some confidence. Plus, they are in first place by 1.5 games thanks to a Cardinals loss. And that’s something that hasn’t happened this late in a season in a very long time.
June 2, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:04 am
Last Game
Joey Votto started his first game in a week and was he ever awesome. He went 4 for 5 with a home run and 3 runs scored as he helped the Reds defeat the Cardinals 9-8 in the second game of the series. The win put the Reds back by themselves in first place, 1 game up on the Cardinals.
Next Game
Rookie Sam LeCure will make his second start for the Reds, while the Cardinals will turn to Chris Carpenter to get back into first place. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:15pm EDT.
Shuffling the Bullpen Chairs
Before the game yesterday, the Reds attempted to improve the bullpen with pre-existing parts. Mike Lincoln was placed on the DL for made up reasons, and Carlos Fisher was sent down to the minors. Both had pitched terribly lately. Enerio Del Rosario and Logan Ondrusek were called back up to the big leagues.
It worked yesterday, with Rosario pitching a scoreless inning after Johnny Cueto collapsed in the 6th. The rest of the bullpen was effective, too.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
With Scott Rolen’s 2 home runs last night, he is at 13 and has now hit more home runs this year than any year since 2006, when he hit 22 for the Cardinals. Also, he is 4 away from 300.
May 10, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 2:11 pm
Last Game
The Reds pinned another loss on the Cubs and Ryan Dempster, thanks to awesome efforts from Mike Leake and Joey Votto. The win gave the Reds the series over the Cubs. As for Dempster, he continues to be winless in Great American Ball Park. It’s like he’s the anti-Roy Oswalt.
Next Game
The Reds go on the road to face the Pittsburgh Pirates, confident after a solid home stand that saw them go 4-2, winning both series against the Mets and the Cubs. Bronson Arroyo takes the mound against Ross Ohlendorf at 7:05pm EDT.
Chapman Update
Aroldis Chapman continues to pitch for the Louisville Bats. He won his third game yesterday, allowing 1 run, 4 hits, and 5 walks over 5 2/3 innings, while striking out 6. On the season, he’s allowed 10 runs in 31 2/3 innings, walking 18 and striking out 36. He continues to be effectively wild, but he’s never made it past 6 innings because of pitching inneficiently. Yesterday, his outing took 111 pitches.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Joey Votto currently has an 8-game hitting streak, which ties him with Orlando Cabrera and Scott Rolen for the longest streak by a Red this year.
May 9, 2010
By
Zeldink
Posted at 9:57 pm
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Cubs (14-18) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Reds (16-15) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 5 | 6 | 0 |
W: Leake (3-0)
L: Dempster (2-3)
S: Cordero (10)
Boxscore
The Cincinnati Reds put away the Chicago Cubs Sunday, thanks to the continued awesomeness of rookie starter Mike Leake and young stud Joey Votto.
Leake won his 3rd game of the season, to lead the Reds starters in wins. He again lasted 7 innings, shaming all the other older, more experienced starters. He also had excellent control, striking out 7 and walking only 1. And that’s not even mentioning his no-hitter he took into the 6th. Most strikingly for a Reds pitcher, he only threw 91 pitches. He continues to impress.
Also impressive, Joey Votto. The Reds took an early lead in the second that Leake made stand up until the 7th. The Cubs took their only lead on a home run from Tyler Colvin. But in the very bottom of the inning, Joey Votto came to at with 2 on and the team losing by 1. He launched one off Ryan Dempster to right field to retake the lead.
Francisco Cordero closed out the 9th for his 10th save.
May 7, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 9:56 am
Last Game
The Reds managed to eke out another last at-bat victory to take the series from the Mets on Wednesday, in a game where Johnny Cueto threw 118 pitches. They won 5-4 thanks to an extra-innings, walk-off home run from Orlando Cabrera.
Next Game
After an off-day, the Chicago Cubs come to Cincinnati. Homer Bailey, fresh off his 121 pitch outing, will take on Carlos Silva at 7:10pm EDT.
When There’s No Good Answers
To Those New Questions…There’s Nowhere to Go But Down
The Reds have many problems. One that manager Dusty Baker is focusing on right now is the lack of anything good coming from the lead-off spot. Chris Dickerson is injured, leaving only Drew Stubbs, who has been struggling and carries a .267 on base percentage. Apparently, Baker is leaning towards moving Phillips to the top of the order.
This is an interesting management tactic to use when dealing with a player you’ve derided in the media for lack of hustle. I’m sure that’s what all well-run, successful organizations do: promote and give even more responsibilities to their trouble employees.
At least there’s no need to hustle in the lead-off slot.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
In 28 games, Paul Janish has started 2, the last time on April 24.
