Rus Livingood
June 1, 2013 – Reds @ Pirates – 7:15pm – Fox
Reds Record (34 – 21)
Away Record (14 – 14)
Pirates Record (34 – 21)
Home Record (20 – 10)
Starters: Leake (4 – 2) vs. Liriano (3 – 1)
The Setting: Watching the game on Fox (not Fox Sports Cincinnati) at home. That means we will have lots of live look-ins and updates, wonky graphics and gimmicks, and possibly some weird camera angles. It appears that Thom Brennaman and Sean Casey will be calling the game, so at least it will sound exactly like it did for yesterday’s game.
Edit—It almost sounded exactly like yesterday’s game. Due to reaching a national audience rather than just a regional one, Brennaman and Casey retold several of their anecdotes from the commentary from yesterday’s game. As they do every time the Reds play in Pittsburgh and the native Casey is guest commentating, someone mentioned that Casey hit the first home run in PNC Park. Then we got to hear the story about how he didn’t get the ball. Just like yesterday. I am a Sean Casey fan, but his commentating style is more talkative and energetic than my tastes. Hopefully he doesn’t read this and think I am mad at him.
The Game and Analysis:
•The Reds put together another tremendous pitching performance as they shut out the Pirates for the second time in as many games, picking up a 2 – 0 victory. Both clubs pitched well, but the Reds just happened to scrape up a couple of runs as they gained a game on the Pirates in the NL Central race.
•Mike Leake was outstanding, giving up only singles and not allowing a runner past second. Two of the base runners were erased via a double play and being thrown out on a steal attempt. Leake’s six shutout innings lowered his ERA to 2.75 on the year. In his last four games, he has given up one earned run in 27 innings (0.33 ERA) while going 3 – 0. As I stated in a recent blog, this is the Reds’ fifth starter, and just goes to show you what kind of depth they have in their rotation.
•Francisco Liriano was also dealing on the other side, as he struck out 11 in 6.0 innings and gave up one run. The run he gave up was questionable, as I will discuss later. Liriano only gave up four hits and a walk, and was fooling the Reds all evening. Had Leake and the Reds defense not taken care of the Pirates as they did, Liriano could have walked out with a win. He threw about as good of a game as could be expected. At one point, he struck out seven consecutive batters. He was nothing short of dominating.
•The Reds’ first run was controversial, as I mentioned. With one out, Zack Cozart singled on a chopper to Liriano, getting the team’s first hit and base runner. After going to second on a ground out by Joey Votto, Cozart scored from second on an infield hit from Brandon Phillips. Phillips checked his swing and sent a slow chopper to the hole between first and second. The first baseman fielded the ball and threw to Liriano who had swiveled around from his follow through and ran to cover first base. Phillips slid in head first and was called safe, though replays showed he was out by a matter of inches. Cozart was running on contact and never stopped, easily beating Liriano’s throw home. Without hitting a ball hard or out of the infield, the Reds were up 1 – 0.
•The second run was the type of small ball that the Reds should have been able to do all year, but have just recently employed. Shin-Soo Choo led off the eighth inning with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cozart. Votto then hit a single up the middle to score Choo. Earlier in the year, Choo was getting on base, but Cozart was making outs or they were walking Votto. As the season has progressed, Cozart has been bunting in these situations more often, as teams are walking Votto much less while Phillips has driven in run after run. Lately, though, Choo has not been reaching base at the ridiculous pace he was on early in the season. If things ever start firing on all cylinders for this offense, the Reds are going to be difficult to beat.
•After the second and final run of the game, Phillips was plunked on the arm. He would later leave the game and it was announced x-rays were negative, but they weren’t sure how much time he would have to miss. In my opinion, this was a clear retaliation by the Pirates, and could put tomorrow’s game on a brawl watch. I would almost bet there will be a retaliation from the Reds tomorrow, and possibly someone getting tossed.
•Sam LeCure, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman kept the shutout intact, and Chapman recorded his 14th save.
•I typically don’t comment on the special uniforms, but I loved the throwback unis honoring the Negro Leagues from both teams tonight. I would like to see those more often.
What Worked: The pitching was excellent from both clubs. The Reds played small ball to the letter for their runs, even if one of the runs was due to an error in judgment by the umpire.
What Didn’t Work: Not that this could have worked or not worked, but I have to mention the senseless beanings going back and forth right now. Phillips was thought to have possibly had his arm broken when he was hit, and that would be a huge blow to the Reds. Both clubs should get a warning and deal with ejections or fines rather than jeopardize a player’s health. I have no idea if Cueto was throwing at McCutcheon in game one of this series or not, but it is clear to me that at least one of the hit batters since then have been intentional. As I mentioned recently, the Reds have been involved in some beanball wars lately, and hopefully no one gets hurt from the goings on.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 35 – 21 and trail the Cardinals by 2.5 games in the NL Central. They now are 1.0 game ahead of the Pirates.
Overall Thoughts: Back to back shutouts against one of the best teams in MLB on their own turf? I will take it. What I won’t take (even though I have to) is the Reds playing on the Fox Network instead of trusty old Fox Sports Cincinnati. As I mentioned, a lot of the stories and clips were recycled from what I heard and saw on Friday, as there was a larger audience (theoretically) tonight. However, there were also technical difficulties, so I was treated to watching the Yankees battle the Red Sox for a while. I like watching the Reds on their own station, with the announcers outright rooting for them. Why wouldn’t I? They are my team.
Up Next: The two teams close out the series tomorrow, and they are back on their own channel.
