Rus Livingood
June 19, 2013 – Pirates @ Reds – 7:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (43 – 29)
Home Record (25 – 13)
Pirates Record (42 – 29)
Away Record (17– 16)
Starters: Locke (6 – 1) vs. Arroyo (6 – 5)
The Setting: As is typical, I am watching from the comfort of the recliner in my couch.
The Game and Analysis:
•The offensive struggles continued for the Reds, as they were getting shut out against the rival Pirates. Then Jay Bruce happened. He tied the game in the ninth inning with a solo home run, and the Reds eventually pulled out the victory in the 13th inning, winning 2 – 1 as they extended their lead over the Pirates in the National League Central.
•Bronson Arroyo didn’t have his best stuff, but that is when he seems to scrape together a great performance. He scattered seven hits over seven innings, while walking three and giving up one run. The lone run came in the third, as Starling Marte hit a triple and scored on an “error” by Arroyo. Marte had tripled with two outs, and Russell Martin hit a comebacker to Arroyo that ricocheted off his glove or leg and bounced toward second. It was ruled an error before the official scorer later came to his senses and saw that Arroyo was abrely able to even get his glove near the ball, so it was changed to a hit.
•There was plenty of defense and run-saving plays from both clubs. Zack Cozart was thrown out at the plate by seemingly 10 feet on a relay throw by Neil Walker on a double by Ryan Hanigan. I had already figured on the Reds scoring a run on the play. Cozart returned the favor by getting a clutch force out with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and one out. The Reds picked the Pirates off twice, helping end threats and keep the Reds within reach. Jeff Locke picked off Derrick Robinson of the Reds. The biggest play may have been Bruce robbing a potential home run from Andrew McCutcheon, though. The ball kept drifting and drifting, and Bruce timed a great leap to snag the ball before it went to the top of the wall for what could have been a home run. You never know what would have happened, but it would have easily been extra bases for the speedy McCutcheon and could have changed the game drastically.
•And, as mentioned, Bruce crushed a home run off the previously perfect Jason Grilli to end a lengthy saves streak by Grilli and send the game into extra innings. It was a no-doubter by Bruce and left the bat in a hurry. It was Bruce’s fourth homer in the last six games. He seems to be dialed in when he guesses right, but he doesn’t seem to be on one of those famous hot streaks of his where he bats .600 for a couple of weeks. He is just connecting with homers at a good pace right now, and they are coming in more and more clutch situations.
•In the thirteenth inning, Brandon Phillips came through with a clutch single that bounced through the middle and plated Derrick Robinson for the winning run. It was the slumping Phillips’ lone hit, but like he has for most of the year, he got a key run to cross the plate when the Reds needed it the most.
•Robinson batted leadoff against the Pirates lefty Locke, with Shin-Soo Choo batting second. The strategy didn’t seem to factor one way or another, though both hit singles to start the final inning. Robinson was 1 – 4 with a couple of walks, and Choo was 2 – 6.
•The Reds hit two batters in the game, so the Pirates will most likely try to back over a Reds player in the parking lot prior to tomorrow’s game. Could we please end this? To be fair, I have no idea if either of these hit batsmen were intentional or not.
What Worked: Both teams pitched wonderfully and were backed up with terrific defense. Bruce came through in the clutch, and then the Reds put up the big hits in the thirteenth to win the game.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds were stymied through eight innings, and have not put up very good numbers of late.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 44 – 29 and trail the Cardinals by 2.5 games in the NL Central. They are now 1.5 games ahead of the Pirates.
Overall Thoughts: Had the Reds lost this game, I would have been worried. The Cardinals would have gained a game on the Reds to go back to a 3.5 game lead, and the Pirates would have shut out the Reds in back to back games and jumped the Reds in the standings. As it turned out, though, Bruce hit the homer that changed the Reds’ fate (for this game). I stayed up until the very end, which wasn’t that late considering it was a 13 inning game.
Up Next: The final game of the series is a day game tomorrow.
