Rus Livingood
July 12, 2013 – Reds @ Braves – 7:30pm – Fox Sports Ohio
Reds Record (51 – 41)
Away Record (21 – 25)
Braves Record (53 – 39)
Home Record (30– 13)
Starters: Arroyo (7 – 7) vs. Medlen (6 – 8)
The Setting: My best friend is visiting his parents in the town we grew up in, Gilbert, WV. He is in the military and is currently stationed in Colorado. Due to deployments and where he is stationed, I have only gotten to see him for two hours in the past few years. I am going to take the opportunity to visit my parents while I come in to see Jay. We’ll be staying in one of my parents’ rental cabins while we are in. I’ll be able to watch the game on good old Fox Sports Ohio on the big screen.
The Game and Analysis:
•Hey, now that was much better than yesterday’s game. The Reds scored early and built a lead that the Braves could not overcome. The key here was limiting the Braves on offense as Bronson Arroyo and the Reds came away with a 4 – 2 victory.
•The Reds came out of the gate strong. Shin-Soo Choo led off with a single, and Derrick Robinson bunted a ball that allowed him to reach safely. Joey Votto walked to load the bases, and Brandon Phillips singled to score Choo and Robinson for a 2 – 0 lead. After Jay Bruce grounded into a double play, Todd Frazier hit a sinking liner to right field that was just out of the reach of a diving B.J. Upton. Upton was injured on the play and Frazier ended up with an RBI triple. The Reds plated three runs before the Braves had a chance to bat, which provided some cushion.
•The Reds added another run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Jay Bruce. Robinson started the inning with a single, and went to third on a double by Votto. Brandon Phillips was hit by a pitch to load the bases with none out, and that would be all for starting pitcher Kris Medlen. Bruce hit the sac fly to make the score 4 – 0, and the Reds were still in a good position to get some more runs in. Frazier hit into a fielder’s choice that saw Phillips out at second. Frazier was then caught stealing second to end the inning. The double steal was on, I believe.
•Arroyo pitched a wonderful game, and had only given up two hits with two outs in the seventh inning. Brian McCann connected on a solo home run, tallying the only run the Braves would get against Arroyo. Arroyo’s final line was 7.0 innings, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 run, and 3 strikeouts on 90 pitches. He had one of those games he has from time to time where a couple of hits are the most you are going to get off him.
•The bullpen for the Reds has been lights out over the last 10 games. In yesterday’s column, I said I thought the scoreless streak for the bullpen was in the upper twenties now. Well, I shot a little low, as Same LeCure’s perfect eighth inning made 33.0 innings of scoreless baseball for the Reds bullpen. That is just unbelievable! When Aroldis Chapman came in for the ninth inning, he hoped to extend that streak. He retired the first two batters he faced, and then walked Tyler Pastornicky. During Freddie Freeman’s at bat, Pastornicky took second without a throw. Chapman seemed to be throwing harder than usual (if that is something you can fathom) and probably due to his parents being in attendance as they were finally free from Cuba. Chapman lit up the radar gun with fastballs to Freeman, hitting 102, 102, 104, 103, and 103. The pitch that registered 104 was a ball, but Freeman fouled off three of the others. Finally, on a 91mph slider, Freeman dropped a single to center that scored Pastornicky. Chapman then got McCann to pop up to Votto in foul territory to end the game and notched his 21st save of the year.
•Choo went 2 – 5 and continued his hot hitting. His average is up to .282 on the year, and his on base percentage is .420. Choo’s ten game hitting streak has him batting .405 over that span. In his last three games, he is batting .538 (7 – 13). The commentators attributed Choo’s recent hot streak to the fact that he cleaned the pine tar off his helmet at the urging of his Korean fan base. I did not make that up.
•The Reds were only 2 – 12 with runners in scoring position, but Phillips and Frazier got those two hits in the first inning to give the Reds enough lead to ride Arroyo’s gem for the win.
•After losing Jayson Heyward in yesterday’s game, Atlanta lost both Upton brothers in this game. B.J. left the game on that diving catch attempt in the first, and then Justin exited with a leg strain in the seventh. The entire starting outfield is currently out with injuries.
What Worked: The pitching deserves the credit for this win. Arroyo was superb, and the bullpen looked great even though Chapman gave up a run. The bats did enough damage early in the game to get the victory.
What Didn’t Work: The club was 2 – 12 with runners in scoring position. Jay Bruce came up with two men on and no outs in the first and hit into a double play. He came up with the bases loaded in the fifth and hit a sacrifice fly. He could have inflicted a lot of damage in those situations, but made outs both times. That is not a knock on Bruce, just an example of how the night went for the Reds with missed opportunities to break this game open.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 52 – 41 and trail the Cardinals by 5.0 games and the Pirates by 4.0 games in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: I’ll take the win, but I was hoping to see Chapman blow away the side with a flawless save, as well as see the Reds push across a few more runs. Is perfection too much to ask for?
Up Next: Game three is tomorrow afternoon.
