Rus Livingood
June 28, 2013 – Reds @ Rangers – 8:05pm – Fox Sports Ohio
Reds Record (45 – 34)
Away Record (19 – 20)
Rangers Record (46 – 33)
Home Record (22– 15)
Starters: Cueto (4 – 1) vs. Perez (1 – 1)
The Setting: I am watching on a very big delay via DVR. I attended a going away party for some very dear friends of mine tonight, and I wouldn’t have missed that for the world. Now I’m sitting on the couch and watching this game as quickly as possible.
The Game and Analysis:
•Look up. Do you see the sky? It is falling. Johnny Cueto had to leave the game with the same injury that has put him on the shelf twice this year. It was reported as an oblique strain earlier this year with mentions of his right lat muscle, however this time they focused on the lat muscle. Either way, it is supposedly the same injury and Cueto was noticeably in pain after a couple of pitches he made. He was tagged with the loss after leaving the game down 1 – 0 while pitching to the first batter of the second inning. The Reds’ bats did not provide any help as the Rangers shut them out for a 4 – 0 win.
•Cueto was replaced by Tony Cingrani, who more than likely will replace him yet again in the starting rotation, as I imagine Cueto will be put on the disabled list. Cingrani threw 79 pitches in four innings of work, giving up three runs in the process. He walked four batters in the second inning, three of them consecutively to bring in two runs and make the score 3 – 0. Cingrani had an uncharacteristic six walks, which directly led to all three of his runs given up. Something to watch in the near future will be Cingrani’s transition back to the starting rotation, as well as this sudden control problem. As if the Reds don’t have enough problems going right now, you can add this to the list.
•The Reds went 0 – 10 with runners in scoring position, failing all day to capitalize on their opportunities. In three separate innings, the Reds had a runner in scoring position with no outs, yet they failed to score a single run.
•The Rangers stole three bases off catcher Devin Mesoraco. I need to look up the stats, but he has not been very successful throwing runners out lately. Ryan Hanigan, the other Reds catcher, throws runners out at a much better pace, but it seems like the plan is to transition Mesoraco into starting the majority of the games as they move forward. Mesoraco needs to work on this aspect of his game.
•The Reds got three shutout innings out of Alfredo Simon (2.0) and Sam LeCure (1.0).
•For the Rangers, Jurickson Profar made a heck of a play to rob Devin Mesoraco of a hit in the third inning. Profar was playing deep at shortstop when Mesoraco hit a hard one-hopper that made the fielder move back and to his right. When he fielded the ball, he was several feet into left field, off of the infield skin. He wheeled and fired a bouncing strike to get Mesoraco at first. It was a slick play.
•Speaking of nice plays, Jay Bruce robbed a foul ball in the first inning. Robbed a foul ball, you say? Well, A.J. Pierzynski skied a long fly ball down the right field line that moved foul. It was about to go over the wall (which continues to run in the same direction from fair to foul territory), when Bruce leapt up and reached over the wall to catch the ball and end the inning. Bruce has made a habit of trying to make this play, and he has made several that I can recall offhand. If the ball is a row or two deep in foul ground, Bruce has a good shot at it.
What Worked: The bullpen did fairly well considering they had to pitch seven full innings. Simon and LeCure did a particularly great job.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds struggled mightily with runners in scoring position in this game. Cingrani struggled with his control. Devin Mesoraco and the Reds pitching staff failed to contain the running game against the Rangers.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 45 – 35 and trail the Pirates by 4.5 games in the NL Central. They trail the Cardinals by 3.5 games.
Overall Thoughts: The Reds were shut out for the second straight game. They have now lost six of their last seven games and continue to dig themselves into a hole in the NL Central. The bats are cold, the pitching is not up to par, and they just lost their ace for the third time this season, possibly for a lengthy amount of time. Things do not look good in the Reds camp right now.
Up Next: The Reds face the Rangers tomorrow night at 7pm. Everything I read says the game will be on Fox. My DirecTV guide seems to say otherwise. We’ll see if the game is viewable for me or not.
