Daily Archives: August 2, 2012

August 2, 2012

Game 104: Padres 4, Reds 6

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W: Arroyo (7-6) L: Wells (2-4) S: Chapman (23)

Boxscore

Last night, the Reds won their second in a row against the Padres.

Bronson Arroyo had a little trouble on the mound, but he manned his way through 6.0 innings to give the bullpen a break last night. He allowed 4 runs (earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks. Then came the parade of once and future closers: Sean Marshall pitched the seventh, Jonathan Broxton pitched the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman took the ninth. Only Chapman allowed so much as a hit.

The offense is hurting. Joey Votto isn’t quite back from arthroscopic knee surgery. Brandon Phillips wasn’t in the line-up due to a calf injury. Devin Mesoraco is on the 7-day DL with a concussion. But apparently none of that matters if you’ve got Ryan Ludwick.

Ludwick owned 4 of the Reds’ 6 RBI. In the first he hit a 2-run home run to take the lead, in the fifth he singled in Jay Bruce to retake the lead, and in the seventh he was party to some really poor baserunning that, nontheless, brought in the insurance run.

Honorable mention goes to Drew Stubbs, who was 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

The win brings the Reds record to 63-41. They’ve won more than 60% of their games. How crazy is that? This afternoon they finish the series with the Padres. Johnny Cueto (RHP, 13-5, 2.39 ERA) takes on Ross Ohlendorf (RHP, 3-1, 5.05 ERA). First pitch at 12:35 p.m.

August 2, 2012

Broxton’s debut with the Reds

Last Game
The Reds had to come back from deficits twice, but they finally put the game in the win column. After losing the first game in the series to end the win streak at 10, winning the third game officially starts a new streak. Final score: Padres 4, Reds 6.

Next Game
The Reds and Padres finish out the 4-game set today at 12:35 p.m. in Great American Ball Park. Johnny Cueto (RHP, 13-5, 2.39 ERA) is trying to bounce back from a rough outing last time. For the Padres, Ross Ohlendorf (RHP, 3-1, 5.05 ERA) will be trying to make the series a split.

Always Be Closing
Our shiny new non-waiver trade deadline acquisition, Jonathan Broxton, made his debut last night. Over the course of 11 pitches in the eighth inning, he got Mark Kotsay to strike out on a foul tip, John Baker to ground out to the mound, and Cameron Maybin to ground out to first.

With his last team, the Kansas City Royals, Broxton was a closer. Clearly, the Reds already had a closer in Aroldis Chapman. (Well, 2, actually, if you consider that Sean Marshall started out the year in that role before saying the secret kill word that got him blackballed. And now that I mention it, 3, if you count Ryan Madson, but he had that season-ending injury in spring training and is looking even less likely to be brought back next year now.)

I guess General Manager Walt Jocketty takes the Pokemon approach to closers (Gotta catch ’em all!), but I can’t say that it won’t be nice to have someone to fall back on on those days when Chapman just doesn’t have it.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
In his last 35 games (121 ABs), Ryan Ludwick is batting .339. He has contributed 11 home runs and 29 RBI.