REDiculous – Game 26 – April 28

April 28, 2013 – Reds @ Nationals – 1:35pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati

Reds Record (13 – 12)
Away Record (1 – 8)
Nationals Record (13 – 11)
Away Record (9 – 6)
Starters: Cingrani (1 – 0) vs. Detwiler (1 – 1)

The Setting: I am enjoying a lazy Sunday at home with my wife and daughter. Why can’t every day be like this?

The Game and Analysis:

•Now this is more like it! The Reds jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Four of the first six batters reached base for the Reds as they jumped out to a 2 – 0 lead in the top of the first on a two run single by Brandon Phillips. He has been driving in the runs all month, which is the charge of the cleanup hitter. Dusty was right to move him back to that slot when Ryan Ludwick was injured. He has come through time after time. As part of the inning, Zach Cozart singled, Joey Votto doubled, and Jay Bruce singled after Phillips had knocked them in. Shin-Soo Choo, Todd Frazier, and Xavier Paul all struck out in the inning. It seems the Reds have been doing a lot of that this year, though I will take four hits and two runs with a three strikeout inning all day long.

•The Reds had a big second inning going as well, though the only had one run to show for it. Tony Cingrani singled, Choo reached by an error, and Zack Cozart walked to load the bases with one out. Joey Votto singled home Cingrani to make it 3 – 0, but the inning ended when Brandon Phillips hit a sharp line drive that Adam LaRoche caught and double off Cozart at second base. That could have been a much bigger inning, but beggars cannot be choosers after how this series has played out so far.

•Cozart singled in another run in the fourth inning, making it 4 – 0 Reds. He had a good day at the plate, going 2 – 3 with two RBIs as he also had a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. The walk earlier in the game had him reaching base 3 – 4 times this game, bumping his on base percentage all the way up to .240. Needless to say, he hasn’t had many games like this one as he has struggled all season.

•Cingrani pitched a tremendous game, striking out 11 batters in six innings. He gave up two hits and walked one while not allowing a run. He ran his pitch count up (110 in six innings), and will need to work on that to be able to pitch longer in the games. So far, though, he has been very impressive. He racks up the strikeouts and does it by location and movement. The Reds will have a fun problem when Johnny Cueto comes back from injury. Who leaves the rotation? At this point, it is either Mike Leake or Cingrani.

•The bullpen could have been better (i.e. perfect) as Sam LeCure and Jonathon Broxton each gave up a run, but Sean Marshall and Aroldis Chapman looked great again. Chapman hit 100 on the gun during his last batter, and is not trying to hit triple digits on every pitch like when he first came up. Marshall threw 12 pitches, with nine going for strikes. In his two outings since coming back from the disabled list, he has thrown 18 strikes in 23 pitches.

•Shin-Soo Choo walked, but went hitless at the plate. He was 1 – 14 in the series, though his lone hit was a home run. His average/OBP/slugging line went from .392/.534.608 to .344/.492/.559.

What Worked: The bats were going, the pitching was effective, and the defense was okay (just an error by Paul that was meaningless due to a great relay to get the runner at home). Every Reds in the starting lineup reached base, and everyone but Choo got a hit (including the pitcher).

What Didn’t Work: LeCure was a little shaky in relief, as was Broxton, but the damage was minimal.

Where they Stand: The Reds are 14 – 12 and trail the Pirates and Cardinals in the NL Central.

Overall Thoughts: This was a complete effort by the team and sorely needed. They are capable of hitting and pitching like this every game, and that is what has been so frustrating about the bats going cold or the team not being able to perform to their abilities. It is good to leave town on a win!

Up Next: The Reds travel to St. Louis for an opportunity to make up some ground in the standings.