May 25, 2010
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:15 am
Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds started a 4-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday, and also finally caught up to the St. Louis Cardinals in number of games played. Thanks to their 7-5 win over the Pirates, the Reds are now tied for first place. Aaron Harang was good enough to get the win, although his single and then later scoring from 1st base in the 4th may have been more important than his mediocre start. It’s always fun to see the pitcher hit, and it’s even more fun to see the pitcher run. Hey, at least Harang’s faster than Bengie Molina.
Next Game
The Reds play the second game of the series against the Pirates tonight at 7:10pm EDT. Mike Leake will take on Paul Maholm.
Bailey to the Disabled List
Yesterday, the Reds placed Homer Bailey on the 15 day disabled list and called up reliever Enerio Del Rosario.
Bailey wasn’t exactly happy about the move, although being blindsided with it probably didn’t help.
“No one asked my opinion,” Bailey said. “I can understand missing one start. But I’m not a doctor.”
Considering Bailey is 24 years old, I can understand the Reds’ caution. As Redleg Nation points out, the number of pitchers–successful or not–still pitching at age 25 who first appeared in the majors at 21 is slim. Give the kid a chance to heal without doing further damage and maybe the Reds will have a chance of beating the odds.
What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have won a 5-game winning streak at home, which is a season high.
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.
April 22, 2010
By
Zeldink
Posted at 10:54 pm
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Bats | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
| Indians | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
W: Chapman (1-1)
L: Karstens (1-2)
Boxscore
Aroldis Chapman and the Louisville Bats came to Indianapolis tonight to face the Indians. There were definitely more Cincinnati Reds fans in attendance than when I last visited on Monday.
Chapman was effectively wild. His raw talent was amazing, routinely hitting the high 90s on the scoreboard pitch speed. His change-up was in the low 80s. That’s a nice speed differential. However, he allowed 3 hits and walked 5 over 5 1/3 innings. That only amounted to 1 run, and the win, thanks to a strong Louisville Bats offense, but I hope he has the time to improve in the minors. I’d hate for him to be called up early and destroyed by the maelstrom that is the Reds.
Wilkin Castillo and Juan Francisco led the Bats offensive charge, both clubbing home runs and driving in 2. Thanks to the Bats’ bullpen, that lead held up, and Chapman received his first professional win.
Aroldis Chapman was the primary reason we made the trip. Below are a few pictures of him in action.
