Rus Livingood
May 1, 2013 – Reds @ Cardinals – 1:45pm – Reds on the Radio – MLB Gameday
Reds Record (15 – 13)
Away Record (3 – 9)
Cardinals Record (15 – 11)
Home Record (6 – 5)
Starters: Bailey (1 – 2) vs. Lynn (4 – 0)
The Setting: At work, listening to the game on the radio and following along on the computer. I am the only manager in my department this week, and I’m not sure how hectic it is going to be. Maybe I will be able to listen to a lot of the game, and maybe I won’t. We’ll see how it plays out.
The Game and Analysis:
•I ended up being able to listen to the entire game until it was time to leave work, and caught the end of the game on my phone. That is always a fun surprise while I work in the office. You never know what your day will bring with this job, and my work takes precedence over listening to the Reds game. Sure there were phone calls and customers, but everything was handled in a timely fashion and I was able to keep the radio playing in the background the entire time.
•The Reds lost 4 – 2 to lose the series and a chance at leaving St. Louis in a tie with the Cardinals. This was a prime opportunity to come in and make up some good ground, but the Reds never seem to play well in St. Louis.
•Homer Bailey got into trouble in the fourth inning. He gave up a home run to Carlos Beltran to start the inning, and then after two outs he gave up a single to Yadier Molina and a double to Matt Carpenter. He was able to get out of the inning with only one run scored, but Lance Lynn and the Cardinals had yet to give up a run. Bailey got into an even worse jam in the sixth inning, and was removed from the game in favor of J. J. Hoover when he had given up a walk and three straight singles to allow the Cardinals to jump to a 4 – 1 lead.
•Brandon Phillips drove in both runs for the Reds, carrying over his RBI success from April. He doubled in Joey Votto in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 1 – 1, and then hit a solo home run in the ninth to mark the final score at 4 – 2. Phillips went 2 – 4 at the plate and was one of the few bright spots for the Reds offensively.
•The Reds were frustrating with their inability to score runs, a problem they have had at several points early in the season. In one particular instance, Jay Bruce tripled with one out in the second inning. The next batter, Todd Frazier, was hit by a pitch. Donald Lutz then flied out to left field, but Bruce was unable to score. Frazier moved to second on the throw, but the Cardinals walked Corky Miller to get to Bailey, who grounded out to end the inning. In the sixth, Phillips was on second with one out after doubling in Votto for their first run. Bruce and Frazier both struck out swinging for the second and third outs.
•I have to hand it to Lynn; he scattered five hits over seven innings, and was able to keep the Reds from doing much with their opportunities. He came up with big strikeouts or routine ground balls when his team needed him to do so. Lynn owned Shin-Soo Choo in this game, striking him out all three times he faced him.
•Speaking of Choo, he failed to reach base for only the second time in a game this year. He is in a 3 – 26 slump.
•Todd Frazier continued his free fall with an 0 – 3 day at the plate. He also grounded into two double plays.
•Zack Cozart went 0 – 4 and dropped his average to an even .200.
What Worked: Phillips did his job driving in runs. Logan Ondrusek and J. J. Hoover were efficient in relief. The heart of the order went 5 – 11, leading us to. . .
What Didn’t Work: Choo and Cozart went 0 – 8 with four strikeouts. With the heart of the order having good days at the plate (reaching base 6 – 12 times) they could have used some base runners ahead of them to maybe drive in some runs. It seems that when a couple of guys are hitting the ball well, others on the team are not. Then all of a sudden, no one can make an out and the Reds rack up double digit runs. Today was not one of those days.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 15 – 14 and trail the Cardinals by two games in the NL Central. They also trail the Pirates and Brewers.
Overall Thoughts: There were no blowouts in the series and the scoring was relatively low. I hate to see the Reds lose a series to the Cardinals more than anyone, and especially while they are chasing them in their division. The road woes continue for the Reds, and their offense is struggling right now. Today ended 20 games in 20 days for the Reds, several of which went to extra innings. They get a much deserved day off tomorrow.
Up Next: The Reds have a day off and then head to Wrigley Field to take on the Cubs for a weekend series.
