Rus Livingood
June 18, 2013 – Pirates @ Reds – 7:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (43 – 28)
Home Record (25 – 12)
Pirates Record (41 – 29)
Away Record (16– 16)
Starters: Morton (0 – 1) vs. Latos (6 – 0)
The Setting: I am watching the first inning or two at The Union (buy some food!) as I have a meeting to cover some things with a colleague. I’ll finish up at the old homestead as usual.
The Game and Analysis:
•The offense struggled for the Reds as they trailed right off the bat and lost to the Pirates 4 – 0. The Pirates didn’t accumulate many hits either, but they made them count and evened the series at one game each.
•Starter Mat Latos came into the game having not lost in his last 21 starts. Four pitches into the game, he would find himself losing 1 – 0. Starling Marte tripled on the second pitch, just beating the relay throw by Brandon Phillips. Two pitches later, Russell Martin hit an infield single to the shortstop to score Marte. Zach Cozart had bounced the ball to Joey Votto, who could not hold on as he tried to pick the ball at first. It was ruled a hit, but the throw was in plenty of time. Latos would go on to give up two more runs in the inning, giving the Pirates what would end up being plenty of cushion in a 3 – 0 lead. Latos allowed a couple of walks to load the bases with one out, and then Pedro Alvarez hit a long fly ball down the left field line that one-hopped to the wall. The runners had to wait and see if the ball was caught, but two runs easily scored on what would end up being a long single. Latos allowed only those three hits in the game, and came out throwing with a vengeance starting with the second inning. Why was he amped up? Well. . .
•In the bottom half of the first inning, Shin-Soo Choo was hit with the first pitch thrown by Charlie Morton. It was obvious that the Pirates hit Choo on purpose, at least it was to me and everyone in the Reds dugout. Oh, and the fans in the stadium, too. Latos was visibly upset and confirmed as much in post-game interviews. Choo has been hit a Major League-leading 19 times this year, and six of them have been by the Pirates. This beanball war began last year, and the Pirates seem to continue it game after game. If the Reds answer with a hit batsman, the Pirates retaliate for that beaning. Brandon Phillips lost four games due to getting hit earlier this year, and this pitch hit Choo in the knee.
•So how dominant was Latos after he returned to the mound? He had thrown 32 pitches in the first inning, striking out one. He struck out the side in the second (17 pitches); struck out two in the third (10 pitches); struck out two in the fourth and got a soft groundout, though he did give up a walk (18 pitches); and got two more groundouts and a strikeout in the fifth (11 pitches). He just seemed to go on a tear and was striking out batters left and right.
•The Pirates picked up another run in the seventh inning on a Marte single to give the Pirates their final run. The RBI single came off reliever Curtis Partch, who had strung together several innings of shutout baseball since giving up a grand slam to Matt Holliday earlier in the month.
•Overall, the Reds pitchers had 17 strikeouts, which tied the club record in a game. J.J. Hoover struck out the side in the ninth inning in his only inning of work.
•The bats were cold for the Reds, and I do mean cold. Morton has had great success in Cincinnati in the past, and he gave up only three hits in 5 2/3 shutout innings this time. The Pirates bullpen continued to be the best in the league by shutting down the Reds the rest of the way.
•Joey Votto picked up two of the Reds’ four hits, including a one out double. The double came in what could have been a big inning for the Reds, as Choo led off with a single but was thrown out for the second straight day by Martin on a steal attempt. Cozart then struck out but was able to make it to first on a wild pitch. Votto then hit the double that put runners on second and third with one out, and Phillips and Jay Bruce coming to the plate. Phillips struck out and Bruce hit a soft grounder to first to end the inning. Votto has now gotten two hits in three straight games.
What Worked: The pitching was pretty good with the exception of the rough first inning for Latos.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds were nearly completely shut down by Morton and the bullpen. The Pirates stole three bases against the Reds, while Martin gunned down Choo for the second straight game.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 43 – 29 and trail the Cardinals by 2.5 games in the NL Central. They are 0.5 game ahead of the Pirates.
Overall Thoughts: The Pirates have a very good team, and it begins with pitching. I hate to say it, but maybe the Reds should be the bigger team and not retaliate with a pitch for the final two games of this series and hope that the Pirates decide they “won” the beanball war. It is getting ridiculous at this point, and someone might end up getting injured worse than what has already happened this year. As for the Reds bats, they better kick it into high gear, because they are going through a rough stretch right now.
Up Next: Game three of this four game set is tomorrow night.
