Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cleveland 5
Cincinnati 12
W: J. Arredondo (4-1)
L: J. Tomlin (3-4)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–The Reds swept the Indians in dominant fashion. That’s always a positive.
–Do you think Brandon Phillips holds a grudge against the Indians for trading him away? BP had three hits today with a homer, a run scored, and four RBI.
–As you might imagine, a lot of guys had nice days at the plate. Chris Heisey had two hits and two runs. Zack Cozart was 3-5 with a run scored. Ryan Ludwick was 3-5 with a double, a homer, and two RBI. Todd Frazier was 2-5 with a double and a run scored.
–Joey Votto had a classic Joey Votto day: 1-3 with two walks and a 3-run homer. The homer came in the bottom of the first, after Cleveland had jumped out to a two-run lead in the top half of the inning. The Indians never led again after that swing of the bat.
–Devin Mesoraco made a pretty smart play. Meso got into a rundown between third and home. After the Cleveland catcher (Marson) tossed it to third, Mesoraco turned to go home and collided with Marson. Interference was called, and Mesoraco was allowed to score.
The replay made it appear that Mesoraco, well, didn’t really try to avoid colliding with him.
–Kris Negron got his first major league hit, and he scored two runs. Good for the kid. Plus, he plays a mean air guitar.
–Jose Arredondo pitched a dominant two-thirds. JJ Hoover and Sam LeCure were effective.
NEGATIVES
–Mike Leake couldn’t finish five innings: 4.1 IP, three runs allowed on seven hits and two walks. Disappointing outing.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Can the Reds play the Indians every day, please?
–After losing two straight series to begin this homestand, the Reds finish up the stretch with a winning record. That’s hard to do. The good guys are now back to eight games over .500, and the Nation is smilin’.
–Chris Heisey left the game early with a mild groin strain. Today, Drew Stubbs missed yet another game (why didn’t they put him on the disabled list, again?), and who knows when he’ll be back. If Heisey is going to be out for a while, Chris has a suggestion.
–With a bench as crappy as it already is, the Reds aren’t going to play this weekend series with only 23 players available, are they? Please tell me they won’t do that, even though they’ve done it a hundred times over the last few years. Please, for all that is good and pure, tell me this isn’t going to happen.
–I tend to overreact sometimes.
–Attendance was 34,193. Nice crowd for a mid-week day game. Attendance has generally been pretty good this year, it seems.
–Cincinnati will now head to the road, assured of at least a two-game lead in the NL Central. Me like.
Source: FanGraphs