REDiculous – Game 41 – May 16

May 16, 2013 – Reds @ Marlins – 7:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati

Reds Record (24 – 16)
Away Record (8 – 10)
Marlins Record (11 – 29)
Home Record (5 – 13)
Starters: Latos (4 – 0) vs. Fernandez (2 – 2)

The Setting: Watching the game at home on a relaxing Thursday evening with nothing to do. That is until I have to try and fix my bed, which just happens to coincide with the ninth inning.

The Game and Analysis:

•For dramatic purposes, I will unfold the events of the game chronologically. Why? Because it is my blog and I’ll throw a screwdriver if I want to.

•Mat Latos gave up a home run to Juan Pierre to lead off the bottom of the first inning. After that home run pitch, he retired nine batters in a row. He gave up a single to Adeiny Hechavarria, who was promptly thrown out trying to steal second. Latos then retired the next eight batters. His pitch counts each inning through the first six innings: 11, 11, 8, 8, 7, and 13 for a total of 58.

•For the Reds, they didn’t have much going against the young Jose Fernandez. Shin-Soo Choo got the Reds’ first hit of the night in the third inning when he dropped a beautiful bunt to third that died in the grass. He was then picked off first base, even though the replays showed him to be safe.

•The next inning, Joey Votto had an equally beautiful double down the opposite field line as he kept his hands back and easily lined the ball over the third baseman’s head. It looked even better in slow motion on the replay. He scored on Jay Bruce’s single two batters later to tie the game at 1 – 1.

•Brandon Phillips smacked a home run to left-centerfield in the sixth to give the Reds the lead 2 – 1. Earlier in the game, it appeared Phillips had hit a homer, but it was caught by Pierre at the wall. Phillips especially thought he had hit a round-tripper, as he spent an extra second watching the flight of the ball. This one went just a little further.

•This brings us to the seventh inning. For the Reds, Ryan Hanigan got a single and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Latos. Choo was intentionally walked, but Zack Cozart flied out to end the inning.

•The Marlins had a lot going on for them in the seventh. Hechavarria hit a grounder to Cozart at short to lead off the inning. Cozart booted the ball twice; once literally as he kicked the ball past the third base bag into foul territory after bobbling the ball. Hechavarria did not advance to second on the gaffe, which was ruled a single. Ooooooooookay. The next batter tried to bunt him over, but a pitch hit him in the foot. Derek Dietrich, the batter, was shown to be completely out of the batter’s box at the time of the bunt attempt. No matter, there were then runners on first and second with no outs. They both advanced on a sacrifice bunt, and then the Reds chose to load the bases with an intentional walk to Chris Coghlan. Jeff Mathis then hit a grounder to third. Todd Frazier threw home for the force out, and then Hanigan threw to first for the double play to get out of a hectic inning.

•Fast forwarding to the bottom of the ninth, the family went upstairs as I began working on our bed. We have a wooden frame that has a ledge that the slats are screwed into. Recently, one section of one of those ledges broke off, and the bed has been unsafe on that side. As we have overnight company coming tomorrow, I have to fix the bed so our guest bedroom will be free. It is decided that the bottom of the ninth inning is the optimal time to do this. Latos gets Pierre to fly out, as my wife and I slide the heavy king-size mattress far enough over to remove the one box spring. As I begin to drill holes in the slat in order to attach L brackets to the slat and frame to secure it in place, Hechavarria lines a ball to the huge void in the outfield for a triple. Latos is lifted for Aroldis Chapman, who comes on for the save attempt.

•I have the necessary holes drilled, but every time I get so far with the screws, they get stripped. Are these things made out of clay? Chapman strikes out pinch hitter Placido Polanco for out number two. Chapman has hit triple digits on nearly all of his fastballs, and seems to be throwing high from time to time. Could he be trying a little too hard in front of the southern Miami crowd? Seriously, I just stripped screw number six, and I can’t get this one to come back out of the wood. I’m just using a plain screwdriver, though these screws could probably stand a slightly different head. Alas, this seems to be the only one in the house that hasn’t been hidden to prevent my daughter from finding them. It worked, because we can’t find them either. Now rookie Marcel Ozuna rakes a ball to the deepest part of the outfield for another triple, tying the game and putting the winning run on third. Put the power tools down, Rus. Chapman strikes out the next batter to send the game to extra innings.

•Okay, I have decided that the stripped screw will remain in the one side of the slat until I can find some way to remove it this weekend. I know you are concerned. As I begin putting the finishing touches on this project (as finished as it is going to be for the night), the Reds start putting together a project of their own. They are trying to manufacture runs. Pinch hitter Donald Lutz singles; Choo walks; and Cozart bunts them over. Joey Votto is intentionally walked, and then Phillips hits a sacrifice fly just deep enough to left field to score Lutz and put the Reds up 3 – 2. Jay Bruce then doubles home Choo and Votto to make it 5 – 2 Reds. This is more like it.

•In the bottom of the tenth, J. J. Hoover gets two outs before walking Nick Green. He goes to second base on defensive indifference. Matt Diaz then singles him home to make it 5 – 3. With the tying run at the plate, Hoover gets Juan Pierre to ground out and end the game.

What Worked: Mat Latos threw a gem as he was dominant for most of the game. Jose Fernandez was also throwing well for Miami, so Latos’ performance was sorely needed. The Reds were able to manufacture runs in the tenth inning when they needed it. Brandon Phillips came up with a couple of big RBIs, just like he has all year.

What Didn’t Work: The Reds gave up the two triples in the ninth and couldn’t close it down. I can’t fault either pitcher, as both Marlins just had great hits. Chapman is usually lights out, and Latos definitely was this game. The point still stands, though, that the Reds were not able to put the Marlins away in the ninth to finish the game.

Where They Stand: The Reds are 25 – 16 and are now 1 ½ games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central. They remain 1 game ahead of the Pirates.

Overall Thoughts: A win is a win is a win, to say the old cliché. Even though the Reds couldn’t score much against Fernandez and the Marlins, they won the game and did so in memorable fashion. They swept the Marlins for their sixth win in a row and their third sweep in their last four series. The Cardinals finally lost a game, so the Reds were also able to make up ground. At the Livingood house, we slept in the bed with no disasters.

Up Next: The Reds move on to Philly tomorrow evening for a weekend series.