| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals (1-2) | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Reds (4-0) | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Hoover (2-0) L: Walden (0-1) S: Chapman (2) | |||
| FanGraphs Win Probability | Box Score | |||
The Good
–Joseph Daniel Votto, you have yourself a season. Mr. Votto had two homers today and drew his first walk of the season. Oh, and he had a canny little steal. It was great.
–Billy Hamilton had no hits, but he walked twice scored twice, and stole a base. That’ll do.
–Jason Marquis was not bad at all after a very, very shaky first two innings. Still, if he can give the Reds six innings and three runs every time out, they’ll take it.
–JJ Hoover sure does look right lately. That was nice bit of pitching tonight.
–Aroldis Chapman did Aroldis Chapman-y things. I like having him on the team, even if closers are way over-valued.
The Bad
–The first two innings for Marquis were the nightmare we all feared. he settled down, but still, that was scary.
–The offense, after Hamilton and Votto was pretty inept tonight. Yes. Frazier sac-flied in the winning run, but that had a whole lot more to do with Hamilton than Frazier. You aren’t going to win many games when you’re out-hit 10 to 4.
–I don’t know what happened with that Brandon Phillips play (you know the one). Very unlike BP.
–I never really needed to see Kevin Gregg pitch for the Reds. I still don’t. Yet, somehow, it keeps happening. Please stop it Bryan Price.
Not-So-Random Thoughts
–The Reds are now 4-0 against the teams that are supposed to be the primary movers in the Central. This is a good way to go about making yourselves look like a contender.
–Really, Kevin Gregg. I don’t know anything about him. I sure he loves his mother and all. I don’t want to see him pitch unless the Reds are either up or down by more than four runs. Let’s just not, okay.
–Billy Hamilton has walked four times in four games. That is a wonderful, wonderful thing. He has scored six runs and stolen seven bases. He is getting on-base at a .444 clip. Yes, yes, it’s early and who knows, really, but that’s nice to see. The more walks he can take, the more runs the Reds will score.
–I loved seeing how the eighth worked. Hamilton walk. Hamilton steal. Votto intentional walk. Hamilton to third on a wild pitch. Votto takes second (and eliminates the force). Frazier sac fly. It was all nice.
–I sincerely hope that, as this season progresses, Votto makes Marty Brennaman eat every available piece of crow.
–It did not rain! At all!
–Presumably, the Reds will have to eventually win a game in which Aroldis Chapman does not pitch. Probably should start tomorrow. Enough of this close stuff. Cueto is starting. Let’s see the Reds win going away. 5-0 to start the season sure would be nice. See you tomorrow, Reds fans.