The Reds were down to their final four outs on Saturday night, trailing 3-0. Then, all of a sudden, Brandon Phillips doubled to left center. Jonny Gomes singled him home, and the Reds rattled off five straight hits with two outs in the eighth to tie the game at 3. Francisco Cordero held down the fort, and Edgar Renteria singled in the game winning running with 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th. This felt like the Reds of last year, and hopefully it creates some momentum, as the Cardinals have started playing really good ball.
- Edinson Volquez's struggles in the first inning continue. Volquez opened the game with a walk to Chris Coghlan, who stole second and scored on a single by Omar Infante, and it was 1-0 before Volquez had even retired a batter. He did induce a double play to get out of the first inning without any further damage, and then did not surrender any more runs, but he walked 5 batters, and his pitch count was over 100 by the end of the 5th inning, leading to an early exit.
- Aroldis Chapman struggled for the first time this season. Chapman came on for the 8th inning, and while he had good velocity (fastball was reaching 101), he struggled with his control. After retiring the first hitter on a strike out, he walked the next three to load the bases, and then gave up a 2 run double to pinch hitter Wes Helms. Those were the first earned runs scored against Chapman all season. Chapman's line : 1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
- Josh Johnson showed Reds fans what it means to have a true top-of-the-rotation ace. On a night when he did not have his best stuff, he battled and used what was working for him to keep the Reds at bay. The Reds got more hits than any other team off of Johnson this season (5), but failed to score against him, while striking out 6 times.
- The Reds need to get more from Jonny Gomes. Had they not come back to win this game, he would have been a big reason. Gomes came up in the first and the third with two runners on and 2 outs and failed to get the big hit the team needed. Gomes needs to be more productive than that if the Reds are going to be successful, especially in the absence of Scott Rolen. If he isn't, Dusty should consider playing Chris Heisey every day in left.
The win moves the Reds (14-13) ahead of Milwaukee (13-13), but they still trail St. Louis (16-11), who also won in come-from-behind fashion against Atlanta, by 2 games in the Central. Cincinnati looks for a series win today against the Marlins (16-9). Bronson Arroyo (3-2, 3.64 ERA) will try to put together his third good start in a row, against Florida's Ricky Nolasco (2-0, 3.24 ERA).
No comments:
Post a Comment