| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
|  Cincinnati Reds  (23-28) | 3 | 8 | 0 |
|   Los Angeles Dodgers  (29-25) | 2 | 5 | 0 |
|  W:  Bailey (5-3)    L: Kershaw (3-2) | |||
|  Box Score |   Play-by-Play  |   Photos  |    Depth Chart  |  FanGraphs Win Probability | |||
Relentlessness
Provided a “why they play the game” lesson with gritty performance.ÂÂ
Positives
In the first inning, Brandon Phillips drilled a 94 mph Kershaw fastball on a 1-2 count into the left field bleachers, scoring Todd Frazier who had doubled. Nice recovery in the AB for Phillips who earlier in the count had swung at a pitch that almost hit his feet. Phillips also saved a run with a superb defensive play in the first inning, fielding a ground ball deep in the first base hole.
Todd Frazier led off the sixth inning with his second double of the game. He moved to third with aggressive base running on a Phillips’ ground ball to the shortstop. Frazier scored on a Kershaw wild pitch.
Brayan Peña had three hits in four at bats.
Homer Bailey pitched a strong game, giving up just five hits and one walk in seven innings. Bailey struck out six Dodgers. This was one of Bailey’s best fastball games, dialing it up to 97-98 in the seventh inning. He was pulled after 96 pitches. If you’re one of those people who pays attention to whether a pitcher gives up four runs or more in a start, Homer has had five quality starts out of six in the month of May. Those five games were against the Brewers, Rockies, Red Sox, Dodgers and Cardinals.
Jonathan Broxton continued his outstanding 2014 by retiring the dangerous Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez with Dee Gordon in scoring position. Broxton has given up only 6 hits in 14 2/3 inning and given up only one run in 15 appearances. As John Fay tweeted:
If the #Reds win this game, Broxton should get the save. Nice job there.
— John Fay (@johnfayman) May 29, 2014
Negatives
Manny Parra walked Dee Gordon on four pitches to lead off the eighth inning. Parra’s walk rate (11.3% before tonight) is completely unacceptable. Hard to keep using him in high leverage situations.
Not so random thoughts
Brandon Phillips came into this game hitting .410/.465 after a day off, including two of his four home runs. That’s based on a quick by-hand calculation, so don’t take it to the bank. It’s also not as small of a sample size (43 at bats) as you would think. Phillips had yesterday’s game off.
The Reds scored three runs in each game in this series. Pitching (Tuesday) and defense (Monday) cost them the other two games. They played a complete game tonight against the best pitcher in baseball and won a one-run game.