Rus Livingood
May 26, 2013 – Cubs @ Reds – 1:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (31 – 18)
Home Record (18 – 6)
Cubs Record (18 – 30)
Away Record (8 – 16)
Starters: Garza (0 – 0) vs. Cueto (2 – 0)
The Setting: Home, sweet home. This is day two of my relaxing weekend, and I am definitely taking advantage of it. The baby had a minor meltdown in the nursery at church this morning, because 1) we did not take a pacifier with us and she wanted to nap with it and 2) they were out of “puffs” in the nursery. These puffs are baby crack, and my daughter threatened to burn the place to the ground due to them not being able to meet her demands. So we came home a little early, and the baby is out cold as I get ready to enjoy the game. Also on the agenda today is lighting up my own grill for the first time this year. I’ve grilled out with other people, but there is nothing like manning your own grill. That will be after the game, though.
The Game and Analysis:
•Well, this game ended up being a turd in the punch bowl. Here I was enjoying a nice relaxing weekend, and the Reds were on another winning streak. They were cruising along toward another victory, and all of a sudden they decided they didn’t want to win the game. They didn’t actually decide that, for those of you scoring at home; it just feels like that to me because my day went sour. The Reds lost this one 5 – 4 in extra innings, and I’ll break down how if you keep reading.
•Johnny Cueto was terrific through the first six innings, as he gave up one hit (a double by Starlin Castro), and was shutting out the Cubs. He had walked a couple of batters, and one batter reached on an error when Cueto dropped a throw by Joey Votto. However, no runner had made it to third, and Cueto had a 4 – 0 lead and had thrown 83 pitches. Then in the seventh inning, he gave up three singles and a run as he faced six batters and threw 23 pitches. Still, it was a stellar start for the ace of the club, allowing only one run on seven strong innings in his second game back from the disabled list.
•The Reds had jumped out to a 4 – 0 lead in the fourth inning. Jay Bruce started the scoring with a solo home run with one out. Todd Frazier was then hit by a pitch, and Xavier Paul walked. Ryan Hanigan then hit a long single to centerfield to make the score 2 – 0. On the play, Hanigan hammered the ball to center over the outstretched glove of David DeJesus. Frazier had run back to second by the time the ball hit the ground and bounced to the wall. Hangian was left with a single due to the baserunning misstep by Frazier, who still scored on the play. After a wild pitch and a strikeout of Cueto, Garza intentionally walked Shin-Soo Choo to load the bases and face Zack Cozart. Cozart responded to the challenge with a two run double down the left field line to make the score 4 – 0.
•Logan Ondrusek replaced Cueto in the eighth inning and promptly retired the first two batters. Castro singled on a full count and went to second on a wild pitch. Anthony Rizzo also went to a full count, then doubled past a diving Votto to drive in Castro to make 4 – 2. Alfonso Soriano then followed with a two run homer to the score at 4 – 4. Manny Parra relieved Ondrusek and gave up a single and a walk before finally getting out of the inning to keep the score tied.
•The game went to the tenth inning and J.J. Hoover retired the first two batters. He had gotten himself out of a jam in the ninth inning after giving up a leadoff double to Darwin Barney. With two outs in the tenth, Hoover walked Scott Hairston on eight pitches, then gave up a double to Wellington Castillo for what would be the game winning run.
•The Reds managed a couple of base runners in the ninth and tenth, yet came away with no runs. Kevin Gregg got the win for the Cubs, as he had entered the game in the ninth inning before the Cubs had the lead.
•Choo went 0 – 2 and saw his average drop to .285 on the year, though he did reach base three times on two walks and a hit by pitch. Choo is in a 1 – 21 slump that is part of a much longer slide. He is really struggling right now.
What Worked: Cueto looked great in his second start since returning from the oblique strain. The Reds turned it on with another big inning, showing that they can score runs in bunches. For the Cubs, they scored all of their runs with two outs, coming up with clutch hits late in the game.
What Didn’t Work: Unfortunately, those four runs in the fourth inning were all the Reds would score in the game, and they had only five hits total. The bullpen blew a pretty comfortable lead at three runs with four outs to go.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 31 – 19 and are 1.5 games behind the Cardinals and tied with the Pirates in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: I have relayed before how sick I get when the Reds have a win ready to go and then lose the lead and the game. This was no different. After finally making up a game in the standings on the Cardinals, the Reds lost it right back and let the Pirates catch them again, too. At least I will be cooking out this evening and tomorrow.
Up Next: The Reds welcome the Indians to town for a short two-game series before travelling up the interstate for two games in Cleveland. It’s the Battle for Ohio starting on Memorial Day.
