Rus Livingood
August 7, 2013 – Athletics @ Reds – 12:35pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (62 – 51)
Home Record (34 – 19)
Athletics Record (64 – 48)
Away Record (29 – 28)
Starters: Colon (14 –3) vs. Bailey (6 – 10)
The Setting: We are absolutely slammed at work and have been for a while. I am recording this game and watching it when I get a chance at home this evening.
The Game and Analysis:
•The Reds finally scored more than a handful of runs and built up a big enough lead to put them in position to win. The bullpen took over from there and held off the A’s for the 6 – 5 victory. Two wins in a row? This feels. . .different. Read all about it below.
•The Reds didn’t waste any time getting on the board. After a 1-2-3 top of the inning for Homer Bailey, the Reds would score in the bottom of the inning. Shin-Soo Choo singled to right field, and then Todd Frazier walked. Frazier is batting second in an apparent attempt at seeing more fastballs and strikes in general. He entered the game in a horrible 0 – 28 slump. Joey Votto singled to load the bases with no outs, but Brandon Phillips hit a weak fly ball that could not get Choo home. Jay Bruce would get him in with a groundout to short, though, and the Reds had an early 1 – 0 lead. Xavier Paul would line out to end the inning.
•With two quick outs in the second, Bailey would give up a solo homer to Josh Danaldson to tie the score at 1 – 1. Albert Callaspo would then double, and Bailey would intentionally walk Stephen Vogt to get to Bartolo Colon who grounded out to Votto at first.
•The Reds would retake the lead in their half of the second. Zack Cozart singled and came around to score on Corky Miller’s double in the next at bat. Bailey would then ground out to send Miller to third, but Choo and Frazier struck out to strand him there. It was 2 – 1 Reds through two innings.
•The Reds would add some much-needed runs in the third as well. Votto opened up the inning with a single, and Bruce hit a one out homer to make the score 4 – 1. After another out, Cozart drew a walk and scored on another Miller double. It was now 5 – 1 Reds. Bailey would also walk, but Choo grounded out to end the inning.
•In the top of the fourth, the Athletics would threaten with a potential big inning. With Brandon Moss on first and two outs, Callaspo doubled to put runners on second and third. Vogt singled to right to score Moss, and Callaspo went home as well. Bruce came up throwing and gunned him down at home for the third out. Callaspo would collide with Miller, and ended up leaving the game. Great throw by Bruce and a good job by Miller to catch it and make the tag. The score was 5 – 2.
•Miller would need to leave the game after another inning, as his leg was sore from the collision. Devin Mesoraco would pinch-hit for him in the fifth, and came up with a big hit. Paul led off with a ground-rule double, and moved to third on a sac bunt by Cozart. Mesoraco then hit a hard single to third to score Paul and make the score 6 – 2. Bailey would lay down the second sacrifice bunt of the inning for the Reds, moving Mesoraco into scoring position. Choo was walked intentionally, and Frazier hit a lazy fly to end the inning.
•Bailey ran into trouble in the fifth and would be pulled from the game. He gave up a leadoff double to Jed Lowrie and a one out single to Moss. With runners on the corners, Donaldson singled to left to bring the score to 6 – 3. Eric Sogard then laced a two-run triple down the right field line to make the score 6 – 5. That would be all for Bailey, and it would be up to Manny Parra to help get the Reds out of the jam. Derek Norris grounded a ball to short, and Cozart threw home to get Sogard in a rundown for the second out. That was huge. Parra struck out Josh Reddick for the final out.
•The bullpens took over the game and base runners were rare for both teams. J.J. Hoover would give up two singles with two outs in the eighth, but the score would remain 6 – 5 until Aroldis Chapman came in for the save. He started with a couple of balls and a slightly lower velocity than usual, putting me in a worried state. He settled down and started cranking up the heat, though, retiring the A’s in order and sending the Reds to their first consecutive victories since July 24 and 25.
What Worked: The Reds built enough of a lead early to hold off the A’s. The bullpen came up big, holding the tight lead for 3.2 innings. Bruce’s throw to nail Callaspo at home ended up being huge with the one-run win.
What Didn’t Work: Bailey had to leave early when he got roughed up in the sixth. Frazier batting second didn’t factor into the game much, so the jury is out on whether that is a good decision or not. He went 0 – 3 and is now hitless in his last 31 at-bats.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 63 – 51 and trail the Pirates by 6.5 games and the Cardinals by 3.5 games in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: SWEEP! Okay, so it was only two games, but it is still a sweep. The Reds picked up a game on the Cards and can hopefully keep up the momentum. The bats have looked better recently.
Up Next: The Reds have a day off before hosting a weekend series against the Padres.
