Rus Livingood
June 30, 2013 – Reds @ Rangers – 3:05pm – Fox Sports Ohio
Reds Record (46 – 35)
Away Record (20 – 21)
Rangers Record (47 – 34)
Home Record (23– 16)
Starters: Latos (7 – 1) vs. Darvish (7 – 2)
The Setting: I hopped up early this morning to help my buddy load another moving truck’s worth of furniture before I had to go home and get ready for church. I am going to watch this game via DVR as I am helping him unload the truck and move into his house. I am one tired puppy, and it is going to get worse after today. I might melt into my couch once I turn the game on.
The Game and Analysis:
•Going into the game, I was expecting a stellar pitching matchup where one inning could win or lose the game. That is basically what we got. Mat Latos and Yu Darvish made runs hard to come by, but ultimately the Rangers pulled out the 3 – 2 victory to win the series.
•Latos had the strikeouts racking up for him again, ultimately striking out nine in the game. He struck out the side in the second inning, and had six through the first three innings. Through he had allowed runners to reach second base, the Rangers were not able to push any runs across against Latos in the first four innings. In the fifth, they finally got him. Engel Beltre reached first safely on a bunt to start the inning, then went to third on the speedy Leonys martin’s double. After striking out Ian Kinsler for the first out, Latos fielded a squeeze bunt from Elvis Andrus. The throw home was wide as Latos threw the ball in one motion while falling down as he barehanded the bunted ball. Beltre scored, and the ball hit him right in the side of the face and went into foul territory. Martin was also able to come around and score on the play and Andrus went to second. It was 2 – 0 Rangers. They would score again in the seventh and force Latos to leave the game after 6.2 innings, down 3 – 0.
•Darvish fared much better than Latos, as he gave up only four hits in his 6.2 innings of work, and having no runs scored against him. He did walk four batters and get his pitch count ran up to 117 before he left the game. The Reds were able to put runners on the corners after going first to third a couple of times on Darvish, but could not get the clutch hit or put the ball in play to score the runners. A walk to Derrick Robinson signaled the end of the game for the Rangers pitcher. The Reds worked the counts on Darvish, which lead to his removal from the game. Xavier Paul in particular saw 19 pitches in his three at bats against Darvish.
•The Rangers used their speed and some small ball throughout the game to score their runs. In the seventh inning, Martin singled and stole second base. After an out, he went to third on a single to Shin-Soo Choo. Martin had to wait as it appeared Choo might catch the sinking liner, and Choo sold that possibility very well. Nelson Cruz singled home Martin in the next at bat anyway to put the Rangers up 3 – 0.
•The Reds were able to score their first runs of the game in the eighth inning. Tanner Scheppers was brought in to pitch at the start of the inning, but had trouble throwing strikes. He walked Zack Cozart on four pitches, and threw a fifth straight ball to Joey Votto before Votto singled to left. Brandon Phillips followed with a single that loaded the bases with none out, and that would be all for Scheppers. Neal Cotts was brought in to face Jay Bruce, and Bruce just missed hitting a grand slam as he hit the ball about 390 feet to deep right-centerfield. It was deep enough to advance all three runners, and put the Reds on the board. Chris Heisey followed with a sacrifice fly of his own to score Votto and make the score 3 – 2. Brandon Phillips just beat the tag at third as he was able to tag up and advance. Todd Frazier flew out to end the innings.
•That would be it for the scoring as Joe Nathan locked up the ninth inning for the save. Even thought Scheppers did not record an out and was on the hook for the two runs, the bullpen that was rolled out today has some impressive numbers. Their ERAs after today’s game: Robbie Ross 1.86; Tanner Scheppers 1.55; Neal Cotts 0.40; Jason Frasor 2.95; and Joe Nathan 1.51.
•As mentioned, the Rangers used a speedy lineup for this game. They only stole two bases in the game, but Devin Mesoraco had no chance in throwing them out. At one point, the commentators said he was unsuccessful in his last nine attempts at throwing out a runner, but I think that was before the stolen bases today. It remains an issue with Mesoraco.
What Worked: The Reds clawed back and almost tied this game up against a terrific Rangers bullpen. The pitching was fantastic on both sides. The Rangers executed “small ball” like they were tailor made for it.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds didn’t have nearly enough chances on which to capitalize. Latos did what he could to try and get the runner out at home on the bunt in the fifth, but his errant throw cost another run that became much bigger as the game went on.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 46 – 36 and trail the Pirates by 5.5 games in the NL Central and the Cardinals by 3.5 games.
Overall Thoughts: The Reds had the opportunities to win the game, but could not pull it out. They did not play up the the level they should have, nor did they do that the majority of this road trip. They went 2 – 6 on this horrible trip, with a net of four losses in the win column. Meanwhile, the Pirates on a tear and the Cardinals are still ahead of them even though they have hit a rough patch. The Reds have to turn it around and soon.
Up Next: The Reds head home (thankfully) to host the Giants in a four game series starting tomorrow.
