Rus Livingood
June 7, 2013 – Cardinals @ Reds – 7:10pm – Fox Sports Cincinnati
Reds Record (36 – 24)
Home Record (21 – 9)
Cardinals Record (39 – 21)
Away Record (20– 9)
Starters: Wainwright (8 – 3) vs. Leake (5 – 2)
Storylines: The Cardinals come to town! The Reds are three games back from the Cardinals in the NL Central, and they finally have the direct opportunity to make up some ground on them. If they sweep the Cards, they will be tied; win two out of three, they will be two games back; lose two out of three, they will drop to four games back; and get swept, they will be six games back. This is a huge series for both clubs, and features two of the best teams in baseball.
The Setting: I am watching the game at Casa de Livingood before packing for my first trip to Cincinnati on the season.
The Game and Analysis:
•The Cardinals pounded out hit after hit and went on to rout the Reds in a 9 – 2 victory. Losing the first game of the series dropped the Reds to four games back, and puts them in the hole for the rest of this series. The best they can do is get to two games back by winning the next two games. To find out how the game went down, keep reading.
•The game was scoreless through the first three innings, though the Cardinals quickly changed that with a big inning. After a couple of hits and two outs, they ripped off three straight hits up the box to score three times. They had five hits in the inning and the score was now 3 – 0.
•In the sixth inning, the Cardinals would strike again. They racked up four runs on three doubles, a walk, and a single. They just pounded the baseball against Logan Ondrusek, who had replaced starter Mike Leake to start the inning. The score was now 7 – 0, and my Friday night was ruined.
•Leake had looked pretty good until that fateful fourth inning. He was throwing a lot of pitches, but had only allowed one hit in the first three innings. He ended up throwing 97 pitches in five innings and gave up the three runs. When he left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning for pinch hitter Jack Hannahan, it was not looking promising for the Reds as they would need to have four strong innings from the bullpen and make up the three run deficit. To make matters worse, Adam Wainwright was dealing for the Cardinals.
•Through those five innings, Wainwright had thrown 77 pitches and was shutting out the Reds on two hits and a walk. When he got the four runs of additional cushion in the top of the sixth, Wainwright looked to be able to cruise to the victory. The Reds actually began to knock him around a little, but it was too little, too late. Wainwright finished with 7.0 innings, 7 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs on 107 pitches while picking up his ninth win of the year.
•The Reds put a run on the board in the sixth inning as they sent six batters to the plate. With two outs, Brandon Phillips singled up the middle to put Zack Cozart on second. Cozart had singled earlier in the inning, and would come around to score on Jay Bruce’s single to make the score 7 – 1. Phillips would go to third on the play, but both runners would be stranded when Todd Frazier lined out to second base.
•In the seventh, the Cardinals got their run back on two doubles. Matt Holiday doubled off J.J. Hoover to lead off the inning, and came around to score on David Freese’s double with two outs. Freese narrowly missed a homer, as he drove the ball off the top third of the wall deep in the gap in left-centerfield. The score was now 8 – 1.
•The Reds brought the deficit back to six with a run in their half of the seventh inning on two doubles of their own. Devin Mesoraco hit the first, and Shin-Soo Choo picked up the RBI with two outs. The score was 8 – 2, but that was all the Reds would get. The Cardinals would later tack on another run in the top of the eight to notch the final score of 9 – 2.
•The Cardinals amassed 16 hits on the evening as every position player got a hit. Two of their three pinch hitters even got hits in their only at bats. Four Cardinals extended their hitting streaks to eight or more games. To say that this team is impressive right now offensively is an understatement.
What Worked: Well, the defense looked okay.
What Didn’t Work: The pitching could not get the outs they needed when they needed them the worst. The Reds’ bats couldn’t get much going when they were needed, either.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 36 – 25 and are 4.0 games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central. They are tied with the Pirates.
Overall Thoughts: A beat down by the Cardinals to start this series was not what I had hoped for my Friday evening. I’ll be headed to Cincinnati in the morning with the family, and even though it doesn’t look likely, I am hoping to be at tomorrow’s game. Having a babysitter or being brave enough to try to take my daughter to the game by myself is the only way I can be there, but man am I excited at the thought of being able to take in my first game of the year. We’ll see!
Up Next: The Reds host the Cards for the second game of the series tomorrow night.
