It is amazing how good the Reds look when they get good starting pitching. Mike Leake did his part, on the mound and with the bat, the offense produced, and the Cubs kicked the ball around resulting in a much-needed win for Cincinnati in the opening game of a three game set with the Cubbies.
- Mike Leake was clearly the star of the show Monday night. Leake scattered 10 hits over eight innings, allowing only 2 runs and striking out three. The key to Leake's pitching performance was two-fold: 1) he did not allow a home run, and 2) he only walked one batter. He had several innings where the Cubs threatened, but he never gave up the big hit. Leake also helped himself with the bat, driving in a run with a bases-loaded single in the fourth.
- The Cubs make things so much more difficult for themselves by not playing sound fundamentally. This was evident in the field and the basepaths on Monday night. First, on the basepaths, in the third inning, with the game tied at one, the Cubs had runners on first and second with two outs when Carlos Pena laced a single to right field. Darwin Barney was held up at third base, given Jay Bruce's cannon of an arm. Pena, thinking Barney would be scoring on the play, took a wide turn at first, and the Reds caught him off the base for the final out of the inning.
- The Cubs defense, which looked so awful the last time they made the trip to GABP, did not look any better this time around. First, Blake DeWitt misplayed a Jay Bruce fly ball to left in the fifth inning which led to a Reds run. Then in the eighth inning, Aramis Ramirez booted what would have been an inning-ending double play grounder from Janish, allowing the final Reds run to score.
- Jay Bruce apparently hasn't noticed that the calendar has flipped to June, because the NL Player of the Month for May is still hot. Monday night, Bruce went 3 for 4 with two doubles and scored three runs. Perhaps the best sign that he is completely locked in is the double he hit to right in the second inning. It was a good pitch from Matt Garza, tailing down and away, and Bruce reached out and lined it down the right field line.
- The Reds pick up a half-game on the idle Cardinals (36-25) and are now 5 games behind the Redbirds. The Brewers (34-26) smacked the Marlins 7-2 and are only 1.5 games behind St. Louis.
The Reds (31-30) look to take the series from Chicago today. Edinson Volquez (3-2, 6.35 ERA) makes his return to the major league squad, and hopefully he has figured out his control issues down at AAA. He will be opposed by notorious Reds killer Doug Davis (0-4, 5.95 ERA).
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