Rus Livingood
August 2, 2013 – Cardinals @ Reds – 7:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (60 – 49)
Home Record (32 – 17)
Cardinals Record (63 – 44)
Away Record (31 – 27)
Starters: Miller (10 – 7) vs. Arroyo (9 – 8)
The Setting: After a long road trip with most of the games starting after 10pm Eastern Standard Time, I am glad to see the Reds back home. I will be watching this game on no delays, here at home with the family.
The Game and Analysis:
•Ugh. This was a beatdown. I really don’t like the Cardinals, and they have our number. It seems like they can run out a bunch of .260 hitters that just mash the ball against the Reds no matter the pitcher or situation. Mash is one adjective to use for their offense in this game, as they built a 12 – 0 lead by the fifth inning and cruised to a 13 – 3 win.
•The Cardinals busted out of the gate and put a hurt on the Reds in the first inning. They sent eight men to the plate and built a 4 – 0 lead before the Reds even had an at bat. With one out, Carlos Beltran doubled; Allen Craig singled to move Beltran to third; and Matt Holliday walked to load the bases. David Freese cleared those bases with a fly ball to center that hit at the base of the wall. It was 3 – 0 Cardinals. Jon Jay followed with a screaming grounder that hopped up on a diving Brandon Phillips. The ball deflected off Phillips’ glove and caromed into rightfield to easily score Freese for a 4 – 0 lead. The next two batters would be retired, but the stage was set for how this game would go.
•The Cardinals added another run in the second on a two-out double by Carlos Beltran and a Craig RBI single. They showed a stat on Allen Craig that said he was batting .471 with runners in scoring position this year. That is utterly insane this late in the season. The Cardinals were now up 5 – 0.
•In the fourth inning, the game would be blown wide open. With two outs and Daniel Descalso on first (leadoff single), Beltran singled to put runners on the corners. That would be all for Bronson Arroyo, as he was relieved by Curtis Partch. That did not provide much relief, as Partch walked Craig on four pitches to load the bases, then walked Holliday on five pitches to force in a run (6 – 0). Freese would then draw another walk after Partch started with a 1 – 2 count and threw three straight balls. It was 7 – 0, and the bases were still loaded. Jay took care of that, though, as he doubled past Frazier at third, scoring Craig and Holliday and bringing the score to an ugly 9 – 0. Partch would finally get out of the inning when he got Tony Cruz to ground out. Arroyo was charged with seven runs in 3.2 innings.
•The Cardinals would not stop there, as Descalso led off the fifth with a home run (10 – 0), and would add two additional runs in the inning. With two outs, Beltran drew a walk on four pitches, then Craig drilled a two run homer to bring the score to 12 – 0. If you listened closely, you could actually hear Partch’s bags getting packed for AAA Louisville. Control problems lead to bad things, and here they were gasoline on an already large fire.
•Through the first five innings, Shelby Miller had mowed through the Reds lineup. He had given up a leadoff single to Shin-Soo Choo to start the game, then did not give up another hit until Devin Mesoraco got a two-out single in the fifth inning. Joey Votto had drawn to walks, and that was all Miller had allowed. In the sixth, the Reds finally got some offense going. Choo led off the inning with a walk and Derrick Robinson singled. Votto came to the plate and swatted a three run home run to put the Reds on the board and make the score 12 – 3. Phillips followed with a single, and I had visions of the Reds staging one of the biggest comebacks ever! However, the next three batters got out and the Reds would have to wait until another time to put up a 13 run inning.
•Miller was taken out of the game after the Phillips single. His final line: 5.0 innings, 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 runs, and 8 strikeouts on 97 pitches.
•Logan Ondrusek was brought into the game to start the seventh inning, and he was greeted with a second solo home run by Descalso. The lead was now 13 – 3.
•That is where the score remained through the end of the game, as neither team would produce any runs with the runners they got on base. Mercifully, this game was over.
What Worked: Votto went 2 – 2 with a three run homer and reached base all four times he came to the plate. Next Question.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds pitchers gave up 8 walks on the day, highlighted (?) by Partch’s four walks in 1.1 innings of work. Arroyo and Partch were both hammered in this game.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 60 – 50, and trail the Pirates by 5.5 games and the Cardinals by 5.0 games in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: This game was hard to watch. When your team is getting crushed, it is difficult; when they are getting crushed by the one team you dislike and always seems to have your team’s number. . .that is a whole new level of disgust. The Cardinals went 5 – 8 with runners in scoring position, and they are the only team in the league to hit over .300 in those situations.
Up Next: Game two is tomorrow night.
