Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL — 13 innings
Chicago Cubs 4
Cincinnati 5
W: A. Simon (2-1)
L: M. Bowden (0-1)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–The Reds didn’t play particularly well, but in the end, Cubs gonna Cub. After going down 4-2 in the top of the 13th, the Reds scored three in the bottom half, on a Jay Bruce 2-RBI double and a Cesar Izturis walkoff single. Life is good.
–We can only hope Jay Bruce is beginning to get hot. In addition to his double, Bruce hit his first homer of the season and drove in three runs.
–Devin Mesoraco was the only other Red with two hits.
–Mike Leake put together his second consecutive strong start: 7 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 5 K, 2 BB.
–The Reds got scoreless relief work from everyone — Broxton, Ondrusek, Chapman, LeCure, Hoover — except for the guy who got the win. Of course. JJ Hoover, in particular, was very good.
NEGATIVES
–Joey Votto, Zack Cozart, and Todd Frazier each committed an error.
–As noted above, Alfredo Simon gave up two runs (one earned), and put the Reds in a 4-2 hole in the 13th, thanks to a homer allowed…and he got the win. Yes, pitcher wins are the best way to evaluate pitchers, as MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds tells us constantly.
–In addition to that error, Frazier was 0-6 and struck out twice. Not the best day for the former Little League World Series MVP.
–Jonathan Broxton took a liner off his pitching hand and had to leave the game. X-rays were negative, which scares George Costanza to death. The thought of Broxton and Sean Marshall being injured at the same time scared me to death. Fortunately, Marshall is due back any day, and with any luck, Broxton will be fine.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–That’s six wins in seven games for the fightin’ Redlegs, who remain in first place in the NL Central. Everyone on the team is injured, but this is still a pretty good club, eh?
–This is already the third time this season that the Reds have played 13 innings. Crazy.
–Shin-Soo Choo was hit by another pitch, the tenth HBP of his season. That’s a Reds record for HBP in one month.
—Two notes from the AP recap: Choo has reached base safely in 14 of his 18 plate appearances over the last three games, and the Reds have fanned at least 10 batters in five straight games for the first time in modern franchise history. Cool.
–I guess the Reds made the right decision in refusing to put Aroldis Chapman in the starting rotation, because it’s clear that Dusty won’t pitch him more than one inning or 13 pitches, whichever comes first. Someone explain that one to me. Waste of an asset.
–LOL Cubs.
“At the end of the day, they are still the Chicago Cubs.”–Marty Brennaman
— JK (@JDKTheRed) April 23, 2013