Rus Livingood
July 29, 2013 – Reds @ Padres – 10:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (59 – 47)
Away Record (27 – 30)
Padres Record (48 – 58)
Home Record (27 – 23)
Starters: Leake (10 –4) vs. O’Sullivan (0 – 2)
The Setting: I am watching at home and hoping for some good luck and electric bats!
The Game and Analysis:
•Even with a terrific pitching performance by Mike Leake, the Reds could not come away with a victory in this game. The Reds would struggle at the plate, but took a 1 – 0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. The Padres would not go away quietly, though, hitting a two-run walk-off homer for the 2 – 1 win.
•The Reds got a little something going in the first inning, starting with two outs. Joey Votto hit a double to the base of the wall near center field, and then Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier both drew walks. Xavier Paul would pop up to the third baseman in foul territory to strand all three runners, though. The Reds’ offensive struggles would carry on for one more inning at least.
•For the Padres’ half of the first, a leadoff single allowed them to threaten to score. Back-to-back groundouts moved Everth Cabrera to third. Yonder Alonso would walk to put runners on the corners, but a flyout to left field ended their inning.
•The Reds would have runners at first and third with two outs in the top of the second, but weren’t able to get a run in. With two outs, Mike Leake hit an infield single to short. Cabrera made a diving stop up the middle, rolled and fired to first as Leake and the ball arrived at nearly the same time. Replays looked like Leake was out by a half-step, but he was called safe. A sinking liner to right by Derrick Robinson allowed Leake to go to third. Cesar Izturis would pop uo to end the inning, and the Reds had left five runners on base in their first two innings.
•Bruce would give the ball a ride in the top of the third, but Will Venable leaped up and robbed a potential home run. The ball would have hit the top of the wall, which is roughly a foot wide of padding. You have no idea how the ball is going to bounce on the top of that wall, but that could definitely prove to be a bigger play as the game goes along.
•Both clubs would continue to have scoring opportunities but ultimately not be able to push runs across early in the game. In the bottom of the third, the Padres would load the bases with two outs, but Mark Kotsay grounded out to end the inning. Through three innings, the Reds had stranded five runners, and the Padres stranded six.
•The games’ first run came in the top of the fifth inning. Robinson led off with a triple to the gap in right-center field. Robinson can fly, and he drove the ball all the way to the wall in this large outfield. There are so many ways to get that runner in with less than two outs. Izturis hit a sharp grounder to first, and Yonder Alonso stepped on the bag and then fired to home to try and get Robinson. He seemed to double-pump slightly, allowing Robinson to just beat the tag. It was 1 – 0 Reds. Hold up. . .on the replay, I see Alonso did not touch first base, so Izturis is on first. After a Votto flyout, Bruce dropped a ball down the left field line, and it bounced into the stands in foul territory for a ground-rule double. That put runners on second and third with only one out. Frazier would pop up to the shortstop for the second out, and then Paul would walk to load the bases. Devin Mesoraco hit an easy grounder to short to end the inning, stranding another three runners.
•A couple of other opportunities for both teams were cut short. Zack Cozart had a throwing error that allowed Cabrera to reach base for the third straight time, but then Mesoraco threw out Cabrera by several feet on a steal attempt. Votto hit a liner to left in the next half-inning, and Kotsay slid to cut the ball off. His throw to second was in plenty of time to get Votto, who had tried to stretch it into a double. Such was the way that this game was going. There were lots of scoring opportunities and it looked like runs would be hard to come by.
•Leake and Sean O’Sullivan both turned in exceptional pitching efforts. O’Sullivan went 6.0 innings, and gave up just the one run. Leake threw 7.0 scoreless innings. The game would be turned over to the bullpens.
•The score remained 1 – 0 until the bottom of the night, as the bullpens for both teams sat down every batter in order. Aroldis Chapman would come on for the save. Alonso was the first batter, and he drew a seven pitch walk to put the tying run on base. Chris Denorfia was brought in as a pinch-hitter for Venable, and he crushed a first-pitch fastball to centerfield for a walk-off home run.
What Worked: Leake turned in a great performance, which was sorely needed with the Reds’ offensive struggles.
What Didn’t Work: The wasted opportunities were plentiful for the Reds. They were 0 – 5 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Chapman could not close down the game.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 59 – 48 and trail the Cardinals by 5.0 games and the Pirates by 4.5 games in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: That is four losses in a row for the Reds, and they have scored three runs in those four games. They are 1 – 23 with runners in scoring position over that time. This team is so much better than they are playing right now.
Up Next: Game two is tomorrow night.
