Rus Livingood
May 11, 2013 – Brewers @ Reds – 4:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (20 – 16)
Home Record (14 – 6)
Brewers Record (15 – 18)
Away Record (5 – 7)
Starters: Burgos (1 – 0) vs. Latos (3 – 0)
The Setting: I will be watching this game at home, but on delay via DVR. I am heading to a cookout for some crawfish, kabobs, and all sorts of side dishes. If I could combine that with watching the game live, that would be great, but it starts at 5pm and the game is at 4:10pm. I’ll settle for eating 30 pounds of crawfish (most likely an exaggeration) and then watching the game with the ability to fast forward through commercials.
The Game and Analysis:
•The second batter of the game is Jean Segura, and he hits an opposite field home run just like yesterday. Replays and a side by side still frame of bother homers show that the pitches looked to be in the exact same spot: up in the zone and out over the plate. Ryan Braun followed with a walked and scored on Aramis Ramirez’s double off the wall in left. The Brewers are already up 2 – 0. This is not what I envisioned when I was destroying buckets of crawfish earlier. Mat Latos gets the next two batters out to end the inning.
•Joey Votto singled in the bottom of the first for the only base runner for the Reds. It remains 2 – 0 Brewers after one inning.
•Latos has a 1 – 2 – 3 inning on nine pitches in the top of the second. That is more like it.
•Jay Bruce leads off the bottom of the second with a towering home run toward the smoke stacks in centerfield. That was a rocket. Todd Frazier surprises everyone on the next pitch by dropping a perfect bunt to the third baseman. Ryan Braun takes his eye off a fly ball by Xaiver Paul at the last second, and the ball lands about a foot behind him without ever touching his glove. Frazier went to third and Paul just beat the throw to second. There are runners on second and third with no one out. Both of these runs need to score. Devin Mesoraco walks to load the bases to bring up Latos. Latos helps his own cause with a single that gets through the hole between short and third. Frazier scores to make it 2 – 2 and the bases are still loaded with no one out and the top of the order coming up. This is shaping up to be a huge inning. Shin-Soo Choo walks to force in Paul, and it is now 3 – 2 Reds. Zack Cozart flies out to Braun in left field, and Braun throws a rainbow to home plate, allowing every base runner to advance. That is not technically an error, but they should definitely give him an error of judgement at the least. It’s 4 – 2 Reds with one out. Votto grounds out to score Latos and it is 5 – 2 Reds. Brandon Phillips flies out to end the inning, and what an inning it was! Latos has to be happy to get back the runs he gave up and then some.
•The third inning doesn’t start off well as Votto boots a grounder to allow Norichika Aoki to reach base. Jean Segura grounds into a fielder’s choice which would have been a double play if not for his hustle, but the Reds get the lead runner at second. Braun follows with a double to score Segura, and it is 5 – 3 Reds. Ramirez singles in Braun, and it is now 5 – 4. The next batter hits a slow grounder to Frazier, who cuts it off and tries to turn two; they got the lead runner again, but could not get the out at first so the inning continues. Carlos Gomez doubles in the next at bat, but Jonathan Lucroy does not score. Rickie Weeks Grounds out to end the inning. This is shaping up to be a long game for these pitchers.
•The Reds answer immediately in the bottom of the third, as Bruce doubles and then scores on Frazier’s double in the following at bat. It is now 6 – 4 Reds. Paul walks and then Mesoraco doubles in Frazier for a 7 – 4 lead. It didn’t take long to get those runs back. Latos is able to dribble a single into centerfield to score Paul and it is 8 – 4 Reds. There are still no outs and there are runners on the corners. Hiram Burgos is stuck on the mound with the early exit of Yovani Gallardo yesterday leaving the Brewers bullpen worse for the wear. Choo doubles to score Mesoraco, and this just keeps getting better and better. . .unless you are the Brewers. It is now 9 – 4 Reds and no outs. Zack Cozart makes the first out of the inning on a sacrifice fly to centerfield, and Gomez airmails the throw over home plate. Latos scored easily to make it 10 – 4 Reds, and the throw allows Choo to move to third. That is the second horrible throwing decision of the game for this Brewers outfield. Votto follows with a single that deflects of Burgos’ glove past a diving Weeks. Nothing is going right for the Brewers. Choo scores, making it 11 – 4 Reds. After a Phillips fly out for the second out, Bruce gets his second double of the inning to score Votto and make it 12 – 4 Reds. In two and two-thirds innings, Burgos has given up 12 runs, 10 earned. Frazier grounds out to end the inning.
•The Brewers are retired in order in the fourth, including Burgos. Are they leaving him out there? They may ruin this kid’s confidence and mental stability.
•No, Burgos is replaced by Burke Badenhop, as I guess they just didn’t want to do a double switch or burn a pinch hitter. Paul gets a single to lead off the inning, but the next three are retired in order. We move on to the fifth inning, still 12 – 4 Reds.
•Segura singles to start the fifth inning. This guy looks like a great hitter. Braun flies out next, but then Ramirez walks. And so does Lucroy after former Red Alex Gonzalez runs for Ramirez. Bases loaded with one out. Gomez scores Segura and Gonzalez with a single to center, and it is 12 – 6 Reds. The Brewers could be making a comeback of sorts here. This game has been wild. Nope, Rickie Weeks grounds into a much-needed double play to end the threat.
•The Reds get nothing going in the bottom half of the fifth inning, so the score remains 12 – 6 Reds.
•From here on out, I am just going to give a few highlights as this typing as I watch has been tiresome after all that crawfish. I’ve typed nearly as many words as the Reds have runs. Hiiiyyyyyyooooo!
•Aoki homered in the 6th to make the score 12 – 7.
•Mesoraco singled to score Frazier in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 13 – 7.
•The bullpens were able to keep that as the final score, with a hit or walk sprinkled in every now and then. That was definitely an offensive display from both teams.
What Worked: Pretty much everything from the Reds at the plate. They amassed 14 hits and five walks as they piled up the runs. They should just do that every game. I bet their record would be better. Bruce was hammering the ball early, and hopefully that can lead to one of his famous hot streaks.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds had trouble containing the Brewers, though they had plenty of cushion to work with after they got going. Phillips had a bad day hitting, going 0 – 5 with three strikeouts. Poor Hiram Burgos may never recover from this outing. Talk about a confidence crusher.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 21 – 16 and trail the Cardinals by three games in the NL Central. They also remain ½ game ahead of the Pirates.
Overall Thoughts: Earlier at the cookout, I ate a habanero pepper and it lit my mouth on fire. That was nothing compared to the fire the Reds had in their bats today. Just a huge offensive display, and a great game to watch for a Reds fan. The Brewers have a good offensive team, but their defense was questionable a few times in this game, and that doesn’t help put out a fire when one is burning like today.
Up Next: The Reds host the Brewers tomorrow for the conclusion of this series.
