Rus Livingood
June 2, 2013 – Reds @ Pirates – 1:35pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (35 – 21)
Away Record (15 – 14)
Pirates Record (34 – 22)
Home Record (20 – 11)
Starters: Latos (5 – 0) vs. Gomez (2 – 0)
Storylines: Brandon Phillips is out of today’s game due to the hit by pitch yesterday. Phillips is struggling to fully close his hand and might be out for several games. Will the Reds throw at any of the Pirates batters today? Could the benches empty?
The Setting: Watching at home on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
The Game and Analysis:
•Ugh. Instead of writing a snippet about the Reds blowing the lead and losing the game 5 – 4, I’ll post an analogy instead. Rus’ feelings after the first inning : The Godfather Part II : : Rus’ feelings at the end of the game : getting caught in the gears of a combine. Yeah, I know that doesn’t really fit, but it sums it up perfectly to me and such is life.
•The Reds jumped out to a big lead in the first inning, and here is how it happened:
1. Shin-Soo Choo was hit by a pitch. Basically, the Pirates knew they were going to get hit today, so they decided to hit someone first. It’s kind of smart, because maybe the ump would warn the teams and then if the Reds retaliate, the pitcher and manager are tossed. Smart, but I don’t like it.
2. Zack Cozart tripled to the gap to score Choo. (1 – 0)
3. Joey Votto walked.
4. Jay Bruce singled in Cozart, moving Votto to second. (2 – 0)
5. Todd Frazier singled to load the bases.
6. Xavier Paul singles in Votto. (3 – 0)
7. Devin Mesoraco hit a sacrifice fly to score Bruce. (4 – 0)
8. Cesar Izturis grounded into a double play to end the inning.
•Mat Latos retired the first two batters he faced and then drilled Neil Walker with a fastball to the posterior. The ump warned both benches and Latos, so that most likely put an end to the beanball war this series. Unless, of course, someone doesn’t mind being thrown out of the game.
•Latos put together a pretty good game, but gave up a solo home run to Pedro Alavarez in the second, and then got into some trouble in the sixth inning when the defense failed for the Reds. Joey Votto let a throw to first go through his glove to let the leadoff runner on. Latos gave up a walk, and then struck out Walker before Andrew McCutcheon singled in a run to make it 4 – 2. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, but Latos recovered to get a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning. I though he might be getting the hook in the middle of the inning, but Dusty Baker left him in to finish the inning. Latos’ final line: 6.0 innings pitched, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs (one unearned) and seven strikeouts on 94 pitches.
•In the seventh inning, Manny Parra struck out the first batter he faced, then a batter reached due to another missed catch error on Votto. J. J. Hoover then struck out both batters he faced.
•Jonathan Broxton came in for the eighth inning and let the Pirates tie the game. After hitting Starling Marte (without an ejection as it wasn’t deemed intentional), there was a double play. With two outs, McCutcheon hit an infield single and then Garret Jones hit a ball to the river—yes, the river—after clearing the stadium in right field.
•It would remain 4 – 4 until the 11th inning, when the Pirates walked off on a Travis Snider single. A throwing error by Cozart let the winning run reach base, and a walk put him in scoring position.
•It was a rough day for the Reds in the field, as they had three errors and made some mental mistakes that didn’t show up on the scoreboard. Votto seemed to be having a worse day than the rest. In addition to his errors, he also had Devin Mesoraco make a diving catch in foul territory with the ball moving away from him rather than call the ball and make the easy catch. I have no idea what was going on with him today, but sometimes these days just happen. I don’t know how he is feeling physically, but a day off might do him wonders. Then again, Phillips being out might prevent the Reds from giving him that day off.
•The Pirates bullpen ended up throwing ten innings of shutout ball after starter Jeanmar Gomez left after the first inning. The Pirates came into this series with the number one bullpen in baseball in every category, and this game no doubt helped get them get back in their groove after the Reds scored several runs on them the first two games.
•After both benches were warned, Shin-Soo Choo was hit a second time, and Starling Marte was hit twice. As mentioned, none of these seemed intentional by the ump and there were no ejections.
•Todd Frazier had his second two hit game in a row, and is breaking out of a slump for the second time in a couple of weeks. He raised his average twelve points over the past three games, and it would be great to get him back to producing in the middle of the lineup.
What Worked: The Reds jumped out to an early lead and Latos pitched well, but that is about it.
What Didn’t Work: Broxton had another rough outing in Pittsburgh and let the Pirates tie it up. The defense botched several plays, which is uncharacteristic of the Reds. The offense kind of died after the start of the game.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 35 – 22 and trail the Cardinals by 2.5 games in the NL Central. They are tied with the Pirates.
Overall Thoughts: I guess I can take solace in the fact that it took three errors, the bats going cold, and the bullpen blowing a lead to have one of the best teams in the game beat the Reds in extra innings on the road. This was a rough game to watch.
Up Next: The Reds return home to take on the Colorado Rockies.
