Rus Livingood
July 23, 2013 – Giants @ Reds (Game 2) – 10:30pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (57 – 43)
Home Record (32 – 16)
Giants Record (45 – 54)
Away Record (17 – 31)
Starters: Zito (4 – 7) vs. Reynolds (0 – 0)
News: This game is being played in San Francisco (obviously), but the Reds are listed as the home team. The information above reflects that. The Reds are wearing their alternate uniforms with red shirts and white pants, but they are apparently wearing their away batting practice caps. I assume that is because they want a fresher hat to wear. Maybe they didn’t pack their home caps. I’m not sure.
The Setting: I am watching this via DVR.
The Game and Analysis:
•Greg Reynolds was making a spot start for the Reds so they didn’t have to disrupt their rotation. He would get beat up a little in the first and the Reds were never able to fully recover. Though they had plenty of chances and favorable conditions, the Reds could not come through and lost the second half of the double header 5 – 3.
•It was a rocky start for Reynolds in the first. With one out, he gave up a single to Tony Abreu and then hit Buster Posey with a pitch. Pablo Sandoval doubled home both men for an early 2 – 0 lead, and then scored on a single by Hunter Pence in the next at bat to make it 3 – 0 Giants. That would be all they would get in the first, but lots of damage was done.
•All the Reds could muster in their first at bat was a walk by Joey Votto. The Giants would pick up another run on a leadoff double by Brandon Crawford and a sacrifice fly after he was sacrificed to third on a bunt by Barry Zito. Gregor Blanco lifted a high fly to right-centerfield, not too deep, and it looked like Jay Bruce would have a good shot at throwing out Crawford on the tag. He fired a one-hop strike to the plate that beat Crawford by a couple of feet, but Crawford slid in front of and under the tag. Until the second or third replay with a different angle, I was convinced the ump was blind. Corky Miller never tagged him, though, and the Giants had a 4 – 0 lead.
•The Reds would get a couple of runs back in their half of the second. Bruce and Todd Frazier would kick off the inning with back to back singles, and Miller would drive both of them home with a two run double to right field. Zito would strike out the next two batters to keep the score at 4 – 2 after two innings.
•The two clubs would trade innings of getting runners on base but not being able to push any runs across. The Reds had a good opportunity to score in the fourth inning, but Pence came up with a spectacular catch to rob a potential run and keep the Reds from having a big inning. Jack Hannahan had walked, and Miller laced a line drive to the gap in right-center. It looked to be a sure double, and would have easily scored Hannahan from first to cut the deficit to one. Pence laid out and robbed Miller of extra bases, though, putting a runner on first with one out instead of runners on second and third with no outs, or more likely a runner on second with a run in. The Reds would come up empty in the frame.
•In the fifth, the Giants finally touched up Reynolds again. They had the bases loaded with one out after three singles had sandwiched a fly out. Brandon Belt hit a grounder to Phillips, scoring a run to make it 5 – 2 Giants.
•The Reds would add their final run in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Bruce singled and scored on a double by Frazier. Bruce just beat the throw home with a slide that avoided the tag, and Frazier went to third on the throw. That would be all for Zito, and reliever Jake Dunning hit pinch-hitter Chris Heisey before retiring Miller to end the inning. After five innings, the score was 5 – 3.
•That is where we would ultimately end up, as both bullpens got the job done and didn’t give up any runs. The Giants bullpen had been through the ringer in the first two games of the series, including the earlier game from today. They still managed to put up 4.1 scoreless innings and hold on to the victory. Sergio Romo pitched the last four outs for the Giants and ended up with four strikeouts.
•Todd Frazier had a big day at the plate, going 3 – 5 with two doubles. His average is still around the .250 mark, which is below most expectations for him this year. His power numbers looked great early in the season, but those have fallen off with his struggles at the plate.
•Jay Bruce also enjoyed a 3 – 5 day at the plate. After an 0 – 11 start after the All-Star break, Bruce is five for his last 11. He has scored two runs in each of his last three games.
•Votto, Frazier, and Bruce were 7 – 14 in the game. The rest of the team was 3 – 24.
What Worked: The bullpen gave up one hit in four scoreless innings. Votto, Bruce, and Frazier had nice games. It is always nice to see Corky Miller smack the ball around.
What Didn’t Work: Reynolds got dusted up for the five runs, which proved to be too much for the Reds. The Reds were an atrocious 1 – 14 with runners in scoring position.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 57 – 44 and trail the Cardinals by 5.0 games and the Pirates by 3.5 games in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: Splitting the doubleheader was a disappointment to me. The Reds have owned the Giants this year and I was hoping for a sweep today to help make up an extra half-game in the standings. The bats just weren’t able to come through with runners in scoring position today. Also, these West Coast games wreak havoc on my already hectic schedule.
Up Next: The final game of the series is tomorrow night.
