Rus Livingood
May 20, 2013 – Reds @ Mets – 7:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (26 – 18)
Away Record (10 – 12)
Mets Record (17 – 24)
Home Record (9 – 12)
Starters: Cueto (1 – 0) vs. Marcum (0 – 4)
Storylines:
Johnny Cueto returns to the club today and takes the mound for his first start since April 13. Cueto has been on the disabled list with a strained oblique, which is what put him out of the playoffs last year after eight pitches. He went on record in the last couple of days saying that he would totally revamp his mechanics if the twist in the middle of his delivery is causing the oblique issues. It will be interesting to watch this situation as it goes forward, as Cueto has had great success after adding the Luis Tiant-like rotation. Cueto has steadily grown as a pitcher rather than just a thrower, and some of that growth and success coincides with the change in his mechanics. I think he will make another change work, as he has the mental aspect of pitching under control. He is a gamer, and he made a conscience decision a few years back to move away from trying to strike everyone out and throw it as hard as he could and instead now takes a little off his fastball and focuses on location and keeping his pitch count low.
The Reds have several batters with hitting streaks, and no two guys are hotter than Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. Votto was names the Player of the Week for last week as he hit .583 and has been hitting the ball all over the place. Bruce has been launching homers and doubles, and the scary thing for the opposition is that he has shown he can get much hotter than this. If the Reds can get better production out of the second spot in their lineup, they will have an amazing 1 – 5 in the order. One can dream.
The Setting: Watching at home and not mowing the grass. Nope. Definitely not going to mow the grass.
The Game and Analysis:
•It was not pretty at all times, but Johnny Cueto made a triumphant return in leading the Reds to a 4 – 3 victory. The Reds got some key hits from the core of their lineup, which has been the backbone of the team’s offense the last couple of weeks.
•Cueto was only able to go five innings, and walked four batters. However, he got better as the game went on and kept the Reds in a position to win while clearly not having his best stuff or control. In the first inning, Cueto threw 28 pitches and gave up two walks and a single. In the second inning, he only threw 12 pitches but gave up another walk. The third inning saw the Mats score three runs to tie the game, as Cueto gave up a single and a walk to lead off the inning, and then Marlon Byrd belted a home run with one out. Cueto then retired his last eight batters, striking out six of them. Cueto struck out eight batters in the game.
•The Reds got on the board early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Shin-Soo Choo walked to lead off the game, and after Cesar Izturis flied out to left field, Joey Votto hit a hard ground ball down the line at first base that hit the bag. Choo went to third easily, but Votto was obstructed by first baseman Ike Davis. As he had to slow down considerably, Votto was thrown out easily at second base while going for the double. The umpire at first base had immediately signaled the interference call, though, so Votto was awarded second base. Brandon Phillips followed with a bloop single (breaking an 0 – 12 streak against pitcher Shaun Marcum) that scored Choo and Votto. IJay Bruce followed with a double to score Phillips, and it was 3 – 0 Reds.
•Bruce would later hit a home run in the sixth on a beautiful swing. It looked effortless, as a lot of his swings do when he is on one of his hot streaks. That put the Reds up 4 – 3, which would be the final score. Bruce went 2 – 4 on the day with the double and home run. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games, and hit his third home run in the last four games. Five of his six homers have come in the last 10 games, and he has racked up six multi-hit games during his streak.
•Phillips’ two RBI put him back atop the National League in that category with 38. He extended a streak of his own, now having hit safely in eight straight games. As he routinely does, Phillips also made a spectacular play in the field. One a ball that was hit to shallow centerfield, Phillips made an over the shoulder catch while looking toward the outfield. You come to expect things like that from Phillips now.
•Votto, the other Red with a hitting streak (nine games now), collected two more hits and has his average up to .353. Consider these staggering statistics: Since April 20th, right at one month’s time, Votto has gone 46 – 117 (.393). Since April 26th, he is 36 – 84 (.429). He is absolutely blistering the ball, and continues to draw walks, too. Though he didn’t have any extra base hits in this game, he has shown that his power is back and he is able to swing confidently to drive the ball. He looks like the MVP candidate that we have all known and loved. Well, us Reds fans anyway.
•The bullpen bounced back and combined for four shutout innings while only allowing two base runners. Five pitchers combined for this effort, and all threw a relatively high percentage of strikes. In particular, it was great to see Aroldis Chapman bounce back with a save while striking out two batters in his inning of work. I was half hoping that the game would stay tight and Chapman would get a save opportunity. Sometimes you need to get right back on the horse and get your confidence back.
•Cesar Izturis went 0 – 5 while filling in for the sick Zack Cozart for the second straight game.
What Worked: The Middle of the lineup produced, and there was some quality pitching that allowed the Reds to get the win. Cueto didn’t look great early, and gave up the three run home run, but in the end only gave up three hits and got the win. Aroldis and the bullpen looked strong.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds left nine on base and went 1 – 7 with runners in scoring position. It looked like they were going to blow the doors off a few times after getting three runs in the first, but the Mets held them in check for the most part. Cesar Izturis went 0 – 5 batting in the second slot in the lineup. Why did he bat there? Because he is a switch hitter and Dusty wanted to split up his lefthanders (Choo and Votto). The second spot in the order continues to not produce and is sandwiched between the top two one base percentage leaders in the Major Leagues. Imagine what this offense could do with better production from that slot.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 27 – 18 and are 1.5 games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central. They remain 0.5 games ahead of the Pirates.
Overall Thoughts: Cueto is back, and will hopefully work off a little rust. The Reds have some hitters that are on fire, and the club is playing some good baseball. This game was a good start to the series, and is hopefully a sign of things to come.
Up Next: The Reds take on the Mets in the second game of this series tomorrow night.
