Rus Livingood
July 7, 2013 – Mariners @ Reds – 1:10pm – Fox Sports Ohio
Reds Record (50 – 37)
Home Record (30 – 15)
Mariners Record (38 – 49)
Away Record (17– 27)
Starters: Saunders (6 – 8) vs. Arroyo (7 – 6)
The Setting: I am watching the game at home. Today is such a bittersweet day for me. I said goodbye to two friends of mine today as they move with their four children across the country to Texas. Later today, my best friend is going to stop by and visit, and due to military obligations, we have only seen each other for a few hours in the last couple of years. I’m going to fit the Reds game in there somewhere as a bridge.
The Game and Analysis:
•The Mariners had a formula for this series, and it was to hit a first inning home run and jump out to an early lead. In the first game, it proved to be enough of a lead to win. In the second game, the Reds came back and opened up the flood gates with runs to even the series. In this game, the Reds offense disappeared again, and the Mariners walked away with the 3 – 1 win.
•In the first, Nick Franklin hit a one out solo homer off Bronson Arroyo. As mentioned, it was the third home run in as many games for the Mariners in the top of the first inning. Arroyo would give up back to back singles following the home run before working his way out of the inning while throwing an astounding 32 pitches. It was not a good start to the game.
•The Reds got three hits in their half of the first, and had nothing to show for it. Shin-Soo Choo singled, but Zack Cozart hit into a double play. Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips followed with singles of their own before Jay Bruce hit into a force out at second to end the inning. The Reds would not get much more offense on the day.
•Justin Smoak extended the lead to 3 – 0 with a two run shot off Arroyo in the third inning. The opposite field blast came after a nine-pitch walk to Kyle Seager earlier in the inning. It was the only walk issued by Arroyo, but it proved costly. Kudos to Seager for fouling off four pitches during the at bat and working the count until he drew the walk. Extending innings puts pressure on the pitcher, runs up pitch counts, and gives your teammates opportunities to drive you in. These young Mariners have done that several times in this series.
•Arroyo would go on to a quality start after the rough first inning. He threw 6.0 innings and gave up three runs while striking out six. He threw 53 of his 96 pitches in the innings where the Mariners scored. In the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, his pitch counts were 10, 10, 13, and 10 respectively.
•Joe Saunders pitched a terrific game for the Mariners. After giving up the three hits in the first inning, he retired 11 in a row. He would end up going 7.0 innings and giving up only one run on six hits. Saunders was rarely in trouble during the game, and put the Mariners in a good position for the victory after their offense fell flat as the game went on.
•The Reds scored their only run in the seventh inning on back to back doubles by Todd Frazier and Chris Heisey. It was the second double of the day by Heisey, who was hitting the ball well today. The Reds need him in the second half of the season, as they have lacked a right-handed bat in the outfield or in pinch-hitting situations.
•The bullpens for both clubs were stellar, as neither team gave up any runs. For the Mariners, Charlie Furbush and Tom Wilhelmsen threw two perfect innings on 16 pitches. Wilhelmsen got his 18th save of the season. The Reds had three shutout innings by Alfredo Simon, Manny Parra, and Aroldis Chapman. A single given up by Simon was the only bas runner allowed by the Reds bullpen, as they struck out five batters. The bullpen is on some kind of a roll right now. I missed what the commentators said about consecutive scoreless innings by the bullpen, but it was a lot.
•Choo went 1 – 4 in the game to extend his hitting streak to five games. He had that huge cold spell after an amazing start, and is now showing signs of coming out of it. He can definitely be a spark at the top of this Reds offense, so hopefully he can regain the magic he had early this season.
What Worked: Heisey provided a little pop for the Reds. Arroyo looked good with the exception of the two home runs. The bullpens for both clubs were clutch.
What Didn’t Work: The Reds offense was shut down by Saunders. The Reds had a couple of innings where they could have come across with a run but failed to execute.
Where They Stand: The Reds are 50 – 38 and trail the Pirates and Cardinals by 3.5 games each in the NL Central.
Overall Thoughts: This club is like Jekyll and Hyde on offense. One game they barely show up, and the next they are amassing hits and runs. Admittedly, the games where the offense has been on point have been fewer lately, which is so frustrating. It is almost as if there is no direction for the offensive plan once someone gets on base. It is either a strategy problem or an execution problem. Either way, it is frustrating.
Up Next: The Reds travel to Milwaukee for a three game series.
