Rus Livingood
May 7, 2013 – Braves @ Reds – 7:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (18 – 15)
Home Record (12 – 5)
Braves Record (19 – 12)
Away Record (10 – 7)
Starters: Medlen (1 – 4) vs. Bailey (1 – 3)
The Setting: My house, and I will be running a little late due to dinner with friends. I have the game recording to my DVR so I can catch up when I get home.
The Game and Analysis:
•There is no better place to start than at the end of this game! My wife took the baby upstairs around the sixth inning as she had fallen asleep. She had come back downstairs to grab something out of the kitchen, and saw that it was the ninth inning. “Still 4 – 2?” No, it’s 4 – 3 now. (Brandon) Phillips his a sac fly to score (Zack) Cozart a few minutes ago. The Braves are batting, and I’m going to go upstairs before the bottom of the ninth.” “Okay, I’ll turn the game on upstairs.” When I went upstairs for the last half inning, it looked like Atlanta was going to get the win. The first two batters struck out wuickly, and then pinch-hitter Devin Mesoraco came to the plate. On a full count and two outs, Mesoraco swung at a fastball from fireballer Craig Kimbrel and made great contact to the opposite field. It kept carrying, and went for a home run that tied the game at 4 – 4! I had to contain myself so as not to wake the baby. The Next batter was Shin-Soo Choo, and he swung for the fences on the first pitch he saw, but missed. After two balls, Choo swung for the fences again and hit a walk off home run to win the game 5 – 4!
•Choo had hit a homer earlier in the game as well. With those two, he now has seven on the year, leading the Reds in that category. He has been the MVP of the club by far and away so far.
•Mesoraco’s pinch-hit home run to tie the game came after his 3 – 23 slide that I wrote about yesterday. It was his first home run of the year.
•My Twitter feed and Facebook timeline blew up with praise for Choo and the Reds. I immediately contributed to the cause and reminded a friend who cheers on the braves that “Craig Kimbrel is lights out and the best closer in the game.” I’m sure he would do the same if the Braves were to treat Aroldis Chapman the same way.
•Joey Votto went 2 – 4 with a double. It was the fourth straight game that he hit at least one double, and he now has a 10 game hitting streak. His average is up to .325, and his slugging percentage is now at .500. Look out, MLB, Votto is getting back to form.
•Huntington native Brian McCann picked up his first two RBIs on the year with a single in the first inning. I have never met Brian, but several of my friends know him. He is a great guy according to everyone I know that knows him.
•Homer Bailey fell behind 3 – 0 in the first inning, as he gave up a leadoff double to Andrelton Simmons and walks to Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman. McCan singled the first two in, and then Dan Uggla singled Freeman in. Bailey threw 41 pitches to the 8 batters he faced. In the next four innings, he would only throw 52 and give up only two additional hits.
•Sam LeCure, Sean Marshall, and Jonathan Broxton pitched four perfect innings in relief, which allowed the Reds the opportunity to come from behind.
•Donald Lutz picked up a hit in his third consecutive game. His pinch-hit single for Arroyo in the bottom of the fifth helped close the gap to 4 – 2. He has been productive after starting off slow. He showed a lot of power in the minors, and has a great opportunity with injuries to regulars Ryan Ludwick and Chris Heisey.
What Worked: Obviously, it was a good call by Dusty Baker to have Mesoraco and Choo hit those back to back homers. He should have his players do that more often. All joking aside, the Reds battled back and brought more than a smile to my face. The bullpen was absolutely lights out, and cannot be praised enough.
What Didn’t Work: Bailey’s rough first inning was a lot of pitches and a tough hole to climb out from.
Where They Stand: The Reds are now 19 – 15 and trail the Cardinals (2.0) and Pirates (percentage points) in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: This was such a terrific game. I cannot recall a game tying home run followed by a walk off home run on consecutive batters with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. My emotions sure jumped up a bunch of notches over that five minute time span.
Up Next: The Reds finish the series with the Braves at home tomorrow day. I have several friends going to the game and I’ll be. . .at work. Harrumph!
