What a lovely night for a ball game. There is nothing quite like sitting in Busch Stadium as the tornado sirens are blaring in downtown St. Louis. After Miguel Batista threw 6 pitches, the umpires pulled the teams off the field for what amounted to about a 2 hour and 20 minute rain delay. Unfortunately the Reds bats did not have the same thunder that was booming in the skies above the Gateway Arch and they dropped the series opener 4-2.
- Tony LaRussa appears to have pulled off some high level gamesmanship before last night's game. Up until the first pitch, the decision to start the game is up to the home team. Knowing what was coming, LaRussa warmed up Miguel Batista instead of scheduled starter Kyle McClellan. Batista threw 6 pitches, the storms, came, and then McClellan came out as scheduled after the delay. Dusty Baker, according to reports on the blog on the Cincinnati Enquirer, was led to believe that the storms were 45 minutes away, so he warmed up Edinson Volquez as scheduled. The delay lasted too long for Volquez to be ready to go.
- Despite the pitching change, the bullpen filled in admirably. Matt Maloney started, and he was followed by Jordan Smith, Nick Massett, and Bill Bray. Of that group, Massett was most impressive, going 2 innings, giving up no hits, and striking out 1. Hopefully this signals a return to the Massett who led the Reds bullpen down the stretch last season.
- The key to this game is easy to see with just a quick glance at the box score: Cardinals with runners in scoring position 4 for 10; Reds 1 for 13. The Reds threatened in 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th and just could not muster that one big hit they needed to break through. Very frustrating to watch.
- Of course Brandon Phillips was booed mercilessly by the Cardinal fans. After he blasted his home run to left, while Joey Votto was at bat, a fan heaved the ball back in to the outfield about 30 feet in front of Matt Holliday. Despite this obvious distraction, the home plate umpire still called the pitch a strike. Votto pled his case, pointing to the ball in the outfield, but it fell on deaf ears.
- Yours truly was not immune from the wrath of Cardinal Nation. As I walked to meet some friends in my Reds jacket and cap, a gentleman (and I use that term loosely) who appeared to have eaten a few too many toasted ravioli approached with his hand out for what I hoped would be a pleasant hand shake of "Good Luck". The hand shake was accompanied by the following comment, "I want you to know I respect you, but you can go straight to hell." I replied with, "That is not very respectful." As he bowed his chest in a display of dominance, his girlfriend grabbed his arm and told him to behave. STAY CLASSY SAINT LOUIS!!
The Reds (10-10) look to rebound today and even the series with the Cardinals (11-9). It will be no easy task as St. Louis sends ace Chris Carpenter (0-2, 4.13 ERA) to the mound. The Reds counter with Travis Wood (1-2, 5.73 ERA).
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