Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 10
San Francisco 2
W: M. Leake (6-2)
L: T. Lincecum (5-5)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Mike Leake pitched eight brilliant shutout innings in one of the best starts of his young career. Leake surrendered only four hits and one walk, and he struck out eight. Leake is 6-2 on the season with a 4.06 ERA.
–Joey Votto was 3-5 with a double, a run, and an RBI…but the damage was largely done by the bottom of the order. Ryan Hanigan (2 walks, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Paul Janish (double, 1 RBI), and Mike Leake (double, run scored) all had two hits.
–Fred Lewis and Drew Stubbs each had three walks. Stubbs threw in a double, an RBI, and two runs scored, as well. Brandon Phillips had a two-run double and scored twice.
–The Reds beat up on a pretty darn good pitcher today. The good guys scored seven runs off Tim Lincecum in four innings, on seven hits and four walks.
NEGATIVES
–Carlos Fisher gave up two runs in the ninth, the only blemish on an otherwise brilliant day.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Funny what good pitching will do for you, huh? The Reds were 2-8 on their last road trip, but they’ve won two of the first three on the current trip.
–After a miserable start to the season — which included a criminal charge and a demotion to the minors — I doubt anyone expected Leake to be sitting at 6-2 with an ERA a shade over four. Since returning from that stint in the minor leagues, Leake is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in four starts. Awesome. And if that isn’t enough for you, he’s also hitting .280.
–Ryan Hanigan’s OBP is .368. I’ll take that every day from my catcher.
–This team has actually hit the ball well against some pretty good pitchers this year: Roy Halladay, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum. If the pitching ever comes around, the Reds are going to be tough to beat.
–I’ve been at my son’s baseball tournament all day long, practically. Being a parent is exhausting often. A long, hot day combined with a big Reds win against a great pitcher = Chad is going sleep well tonight.
–Reds can take three of four in this series against the defending World Champs tomorrow. That would be so very nice.
*Headline courtesy of one of our twitter friends.