Rus Livingood
June 14, 2013 – Brewers @ Reds – 7:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (40 – 27)
Home Record (22 – 11)
Brewers Record (27 – 38)
Away Record (11– 18)
Starters: Lohse (2 – 6) vs. Arroyo (6 – 5)
Storylines: Jonathan Broxton is headed to the disabled list. As mentioned yesterday, he had an inflamed right elbow and the Reds were trying not to use him the game. He approached Dusty Baker and told him he was good to throw an inning and ended up losing the game in the fourteenth inning. Broxton had the elbow checked out today and is headed to the disabled list for a 15 day stint. Pedro Villarreal was recalled to the main roster.
Another note is Joey Votto is taking his first game off of the year. Jack Hannahan will start at first base, and the middle of the Reds lineup will all move up a slot in the order.
The Setting: I am watching the game at home and thankful for the weekend to be here!
The Game and Analysis:
•This game had some good pitching and bad fielding by the Reds, then they blew the lead and then they won with a walk off home run in extra innings. Does it sound like it had a little bit of everything? Well, it did. Jay Bruce lofted a homer to the opposite field to give the Reds a 4 – 3 victory in the tenth inning.
•The Reds hopped out to an early lead, scoring one run each in the first two innings. In the first, Shin-Soo Choo led off with a double and stole third base with one out. Brandon Phillips singled him home. In the second inning, Zack Cozart scored as Choo grounded to second and Scooter Gennett missed the ball trying to charge it and throw home. It was 2 – 0 Reds after two innings.
•Gennett, who was born in Cincinnati, made up for his error with a solo home run in the top of the third to bring the score to 2 – 1. Gennett is small in stature but is a hustler and seems to have a good upside. He went 3 – 5 on the day and impressed me with his swing and the way he plays the game.
•The score would remain 2 – 1 until the sixth inning when Bronson Arroyo got in some trouble and allowed the Brewers to tie the score. With the bases loaded, Arroyo let a pitch get away from him and hit Martin Maldonado to force in the Brewers’ second run. It was an unearned run as Todd Frazier had allowed a ground ball to go right through his legs earlier in the inning. It could have been a double play ball, but you can never count on a double play when factoring in an error. Even if the double play would not have been recorded, the run was still unearned as the bases would not have been loaded when Maldonado was hit.
•The Reds got a run back and took the lead in their half of the sixth. Frazier hit a single and stole second base as the pitcher attempted to pick him off first. The throw by the first baseman was wild, allowing Frazier to go to third. Jack Hannahan hit a sacrifice fly to score Frazier.
•Arroyo looked to be cruising along, and then he gave up a game-tying homer to Maldonado in the eighth inning. There were two outs in the inning, and in Arroyo fashion, the bottom dropped out for him quickly. Maldonado hit the home run; Gennett singled up the middle; and Juan Francisco singled to send Gennett to third. A walk to Norichika Aoki loaded the bases and took Bailey out of the game. Sam LeCure came in and retired Jean Segura to end the inning.
•The game went to extras, and Jay Bruce came to the plate in the tenth inning. He hit a fly ball to left field that kept drifting and cleared the wall for a walk off homer. Bruce has been comfortable going to the opposite field this year, and he hasn’t seemed to get in prolonged slumps so far this year. Sure, he has gotten red hot for a week or so, but he has been pretty steady at the plate. He is still young, and seemingly can get better and better as he has shown improvements with experience.
•The Reds’ bullpen notched 2.1 innings without allowing a base runner and striking out three of the seven batters they faced. LeCure recorded the huge out with the bases loaded and one of the league’s hottest hitters at the plate. Aroldis Chapman Looked dominant in his inning, and Alfredo Simon got the victory after a solid inning of work.
•Cozart had a couple of fielding errors in the game to contribute to the sloppy play. The Brewers had 12 hits against Arroyo, and certainly did not need the extra opportunities that the Reds gave them. Luckily, the three errors by the Reds did not allow much damage, and the Reds were able to pull out the win.
What Worked: Jay Bruce is the man. Votto was out (with the exception of a walk in a late pinch-hit opportunity), and it was up to the other Reds to come through in the clutch. Bruce delivered in a big way. The pitching performances were sorely needed after the long game yesterday.
What Didn’t Work: As mentioned, the fielding errors could have been costly due to the number of extra outs that were given and the sheer volume of Brewers that were on base all day.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 41 – 27 and trail the Cardinals by 2.5 games. They remain 0.5 game ahead of the Pirates.
Overall Thoughts: This was a great way for me to start my weekend. A walk off home run pumps you up with an adrenaline spike at the very end of the game. What to do after that? Well, you go to bed and try to get some sleep if you are me. I’ll be up and at them early tomorrow morning.
Up Next: The Reds host the Brewers tomorrow for the second game of this series.
