Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Houston
Cincinnati 8
WP: Leake (1-0)
LP: Happ (0-1)
BOXSCORE
POSITIVES
–A solid start by Mike Leake, who gave up two runs on three hits in six innings. Leake struck out four and walked two. Really nice outing.
–Chris Heisey went 1-2 with a walk, an HBP, and three RBI.
Mike Leake (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
–Outstanding bullpen work by Jordan Smith and Matt Maloney, who combined to toss three innings of scoreless ball.
NEGATIVES
–None!
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–The last time the Reds started 4-0 was 1990. Yep, the Wire to Wire championship year. At this point, it’s clear that the Reds are going win the World Series this year. It’s pretty much a guarantee.
–Attendance was a bit disappointing tonight: just over 11,000. Cool night, Monday, I understand. Still, I’d like to see GAB rocking as often as possible.
–Brandon Phillips slid hard and headfirst into home in the fourth, and he was removed from the game an inning later. It has been reported that he just had the wind knocked out of him and had trouble catching his breath, so Phillips came out of the game as a precaution.
–Jonny Gomes walked twice. That makes 7 bases on balls that Gomes has drawn in the first four games. He walked just 39 times all of last season. Me like.
–I was already pretty excited about the Reds, but this 4-0 start has me going through the roof. What a fun team.