May 12, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:38 am
Last Game
Johnny Cueto pitched the best game by a Reds pitcher this millennium last night when he shutdown the Pirates for 9 shutout, 1-hit innings. It was a sight to behold, not that you would know it from Reds TV broadcaster Paul Keels’ flat, emotionless delivery. The guy would have trouble making the first human walking on Mars sound exciting.
Next Game
Assuming the rains stay away, the Reds will go for the sweep of the Pirates this afternoon. That would be nice retribution for when the Pirates swept the Reds earlier this season. Homer Bailey hopes not to be a starting pitcher combo breaker as he faces Zach Duke at 12:35pm EDT.
Heisey’s Night Overshadowed
Dusty Baker has few options at the lead off spot, and with both Drew Stubbs and Orlando Cabrera getting a game off–Paul Janish started! Can you believe it!–Baker turned to rookie Chris Heisey. Heisey had no hits in 7 at-bats going into last night’s game, but Baker’s move paid off. Heisey had his first hit and later, his first home run. If Cueto hadn’t been so magnificent, everyone would have been talking about Heisey. As it is, his performance gets overshadowed a but.
Reds beat reporter John Fay helps in that regard, though. Heisey had an amazing game, but neither his mother or father were present to see it.
Chris Heisey got choked up in the ninth inning Tuesday.
He had just hit his first big league homer. He had taken the field for the ninth when he thought of his father, Craig, who died in October of 2007 of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Here’s to many more games like last night for Heisey.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds are now 18-15. The last time they were 3 games over .500 was June 11, 2009, when they were 31-28.
May 11, 2010
By
Zeldink
Posted at 9:56 pm
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Reds (18-15) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| Pirates (14-19) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
W: Cueto (2-1)
L: Morton (1-6)
Boxscore
Now that’s what I call pitching!
Johnny Cueto threw a beautiful game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, tonight, providing a glimmer of hope that his pitch-inefficient days may be behind him. It took Cueto 102 pitches to get through all 9 innings. He allowed 0 runs, just 1 hit, 0 walks, and struck out 8. It was beyond awesome, and I hope he can pitch like that more often than not in the future.
The game was close through the first 6 innings. The Reds took an early lead, thanks to a sacrifice fly from Joey Votto and an RBI double from Scott Rolen.
The Reds really broke it open once they got to the Pirates bullpen, with 2 runs in the 7th and 4 in the 8th. Joey Votto may have had his hitting streak snapped in the first game against Pittsburgh, but he hasn’t slowed down. In addition to his sacrificial fly, he also collected 2 hits, another RBI, and scored twice. Rookie Chris Heisey also had an outstanding game, collecting his first hit and his first home run. He had a 3-4 day at the plate.
It sure is nice to see the Reds playing so well lately. They’re now 18-15, 3 games over .500 for the first time all season. And with how good the starting pitching has been lately, they may have a chance against St. Louis this weekend.
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.
