Titanic Struggle Recap: The Miguel Cairo/Wilson Valdez Show

Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….

FINAL — 10 innings
Detroit 5
Cincinnati 6
W: S. LeCure (2-1)
L: P. Coke (1-2)
BOX SCORE

POSITIVES
–Miguel Cairo. You heard me: Miguel Cairo. Cairo had two hits and two runs. In the bottom of the tenth, Cairo led off the inning with a stand-up triple. Two batters later, Wilson Valdez laid down a safety squeeze bunt, and Cairo broke for home, executing a beautiful slide to score the game-winning run.

–Joey Votto is not human. Three more hits tonight, including a double and a 3-run homer. The homer was a mammoth shot to center field, hitting halfway up the batter’s eye. Votto is now hitting .360/.480/.640 on the season. Just an amazing baseball player.

–Fantastic outing by Sam LeCure. LeCure pitched the ninth and tenth, didn’t give up a hit or a run, and struck out three. His best outing of the season, by far.

–Zack Cozart and Chris Heisey each had two hits. Cozart scored two runs.

–Cairo was playing because Todd Frazier was a late scratch. Frazier is a superhero, though: he came in to pinch-hit and promptly doubled.

NEGATIVES
–Mat Latos couldn’t hang on to a four-run lead. Overall, he went 6.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks. He was pretty good for the first five innings. This isn’t the first time this has happened.

–Jose Arredondo gave up the lead in the eighth.

NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Hey, I’ll take it! Strange game, but a nice win. With Justin Verlander throwing for Detroit tomorrow, Cincinnati needed this one.

I love it when Miguel Cairo and Wilson Valdez combine to win the game for the Reds.

— Chad Dotson (@dotsonc) June 9, 2012

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–Is there anything Todd Frazier can’t do?

Whoa. RT @Jamieblog: Frazier is now 6-for-7 with 3 RBI this season as a pinch hitter.#VoteReds

— Redleg Nation (@redlegnation) June 9, 2012

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Frazier and Cabrera getting into it. Frazier broke home during the meeting on the mound. Cabrera yelled at him. Umps cooling it down. #reds

— John Fay (@johnfayman) June 9, 2012

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–Joey Votto’s hitting streak is now up to 14 games. That’s the longest of his career. I fully expect Votto to get a hit in every single game for the rest of his career.

–Reds hang on to their two-game lead in the NL Central. Go Redlegs.