| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (51-57) |
5 | 10 | 0 |
| Atlanta Braves (65-46) |
2 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Wood (1-0) L: Gausman (3-7) S: Iglesias (21) | |||
| FanGraphs Win Probability | Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Reds got going early with a 2-run homer from Joseph Daniel Votto in the 1st inning. And they didn’t look back from there, playing add on at the plate and getting strong pitching from Alex Wood and the bullpen.
The Offense
Joey Votto crushed a 2-run home run in the first inning to get the Reds rolling. Votto kept things going, too. He went 2-3 with a walk, a stolen base because he’s got wheels, scored two runs, and he drove in three. One of those runs scored by Votto came in the 3rd inning when Josh VanMeter grounded out but got the RBI to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead. The Reds would add on two more runs in the 4th inning when Jose Peraza raced home on a ground ball to second base by Jesse Winker. The initial call on the field was that Peraza was out, but it was very clear to anyone watching that he was safe. Cincinnati challenged the play and it was overturned. Joey Votto would follow with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0. The offense stalled out from there, not scoring again.
Eugenio Suarez had a strong night, going 2-2 and walking three times. Kyle Farmer went 2-4 and he scored a run.
The Pitching
Making just his second start of the year, Alex Wood put together a quality start and then some. The left-hander allowed 2 solo home runs – the one hit by Ronald Acuna Jr landed on Mars, Statcast confirmed it – in his 6.2 innings pitched. He believed he had gotten a strikeout for the 2nd out of the 7th inning, but the umpires disagreed. He would induce a ground out on the next pitch and then see the bullpen take over. For Wood he would allow four hits, walk one batter, and he struck out five on 93 pitches.
Michael Lorenzen came on for the final out of the 7th, getting Austin Riley to fly out on a full count. He returned for the 8th inning and kept that going by getting a ground out, a strikeout, and a foul ball that Joey Votto caught by reaching into the dugout to end the inning and hold onto a 5-2 lead.
Raisel Iglesias came on for the final inning of work. He went to a full count against Ozzie Albies before getting him to fly out to right fielder Michael Lorenzen – because that’s a sentence we get to type in 2019. Iglesias went to another full count, this time with Freddie Freeman, before striking him out on a 90 MPH change up. The game would end with another strikeout, this time on a 98 MPH fastball blown by Josh Donaldson.
Notes Worth Noting
Eugenio Saurez walked three times in the game. That ties his career high for walks in a game.
Joey Votto’s home run was his first homer at SunTrust Park. This is his 27th Major League park that he’s homered in over his career.
Down in Triple-A, catcher Chadwick Tromp homered for the 5th straight game. He’s now hit SEVEN home runs in 10 games since returning from shoulder surgery late last year.
5 STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A ? FOR CHADWICK TROMP! pic.twitter.com/AmPhclMZGM
— Louisville Bats (@LouisvilleBats) August 2, 2019
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta Braves
Saturday August 3rd, 7:20pm ET
Trevor Bauer (9-8, 3.79 ERA) vs Dallas Keuchel (3-4, 3.86)
I was at the game and it was a good night to be a Reds fan. Alex Wood was solid, except for the 6th when he gave up a 987 foot home run to Acuna and three other line drives – all caught. I think his gas gage was running low. Lorenzen had a cool night with a nice outing and solid defense. That groundout that Doug mentioned was an impressive athletic play racing off the mound, corralling a high hopper, and carrying it across the first base bag for the out. Votto and Senzel (twice) also made nice defensive plays. Suarez was an on base machine, Farmer had a good night and Iglesias was good though he went deep into all three counts. Then there was Votto – three rockets including the home run, single and sac fly, a walk, a stolen base, a nice first-to-third on a single, and he was fist bumping kids through the netting from the on deck circle during the game. Great fun!
For me personally the Braves fans around me couldn’t have been nicer (though they got more excited about Name That Tune than the game). And as a bonus Phil Niekro sat down with his family across the aisle from me to watch a few innings in the middle of the game. He still looks good! Great night for a Reds win. I’ll do my best to bring home another tomorrow night. I’m excited to see Trevor Bauer, and maybe a 988 foot first home rn from Aquino. Go Reds!
He makes all the routine plays and throws to the right place. And the he makes some of the tougher ones too – two last night. One diving liner and an early grab against the fence that could have been trouble. He fills a need there and is already solid. I agree he could be very good.
Quick thought first… Wood was why I was excited about the LA trade, need a quality lefty in the rotation. Extension, get it done now!
Longer thought next… the fact that Aquino is over matched at this level aside… it’s not the biggest issue I have with him… i’m a 50+fan who’s fav player between Bench and Larkin was a guy that was both a feared hitter and a joy to watch in the field. In a down period he was the guy who brought fans to the park. Yes, Eric the Red, and his number 44 should already be retired by the Reds! No way it should be available for Aquino to choose to wear!
‘;,
Yes. Agree 100 percent
Plus, Kyle Farmer is awesome- what a great ball player. He did an interview after his first few starts as catcher, where he said shifting perspective from behind the plate as a catcher, to the batters box as a hitter, was a huge change for him. He did good! As a bonus, the Wood/Farmer room mate/friend narrative is really great too.
*Challenge, not change
I agree on trying to sign Wood. Really enjoy watching him pitch. Winker’s base-running gaff aside, I thought Reds played one of their better games of the season last night. Fantastic run and hit from Senzel & Farmer. Time to make a run though. Been playing .500 ball since starting 1 & 8.
Seems like a good discussion article for this site… whether or not Eric Davis’ number 44 should be retired…
Initially I thought the same thing BUT then I got to thinking more on it. Davis is still very involved in the organization and honestly, I’d be a little surprised if he wasn’t already consulted on this.
That said the Reds retire very few numbers. One could say that Brandon Phillips is one of the top 3 2B in Reds modern history and his number was worn by Scooter upon his arrival in Cincy not a full year from BP’s departure.
Joey Votto is coming around just in time for a late post season run. Not going opposite field as much, but making pitchers pay for all those high fastballs they’ve been throwing him this season. Have Bauer on the hill tomorrow, followed by Gray on Sunday. No reason Reds can’t take 3 of 4 with adequate hitting.
Not sure about that one. Ervin deserves more playing time. It must have been a matchup decision or something.
They have a good shot every night if the offense shows up! They need to run the bases like they did tonite….except for Winker. He needs to wake up! Joey actually helped win a game with his baserunning! They had a nice hit-n-run w/Farmer at the plate. You can’t alway sit around and wait on HRs….especially on the road. They have some speed so use it! The other slower guys can still read the ball off the bat and take some calculated risks at times. Do your homework on outfielders throwing arms. Not to mention its just more fun to watch! That play where Puig roared around 3rd to beat Milw was a great example! The baserunning has been lacking with this team for years, but its fixable!
Excellent comment. Going back to that “small ball” that really good teams seem to thrive for. In this era of Hrs and BB/Ks plus GABP, the Reds have become big hackers swinging hard at everything and anything. No running game (except with BHam), no hit and run. Lacking baserunning fundamentals.
In GABP that approach kind of works but not in big parks or against good pitching. Heck, how many bad pitchers make them look bad?.
It’s time for better defense, hitting approach (situational hitting!) and baserunning to go with this very good rotation and then the Reds will definitely become a formidable contender.
The Reds are seeing who they have player wise within the organization. Maybe they haven’t raised the white flag on this season but they are at the flagpole.
I guess the OF is set for years to come with Ervin, Senzel & Winker – GO REDS
I agree with both you and Klugo. I’m hoping Aquino gets at least 4 starts a week, but I wouldn’t mind if Ervin started once or twice a week in RF and once or twice a week in LF. I would think they could manage to her Winker, Ervin, and Aquino at least 4 starts per week by mixing and matching to keep them all getting regular abs.
When you play young players it can be very gratifying and humbling but also so exciting.Couldn’t draw it up any better then this for the next 55 or so games and who knows what will happen.I expect for it to be just what we have seen in the first 100 games but if we hit some and get out early we could run off a few.I liked last night in terms of small ball and just putting in play twice in the 4th pushed across two runs.Sure we could have busted it open with a big hit but two very productive running scoring outs was good to see.It will be baby steps but how can we not get excited and be sure that the rest of the teams in front of us don’t want to see out rotation now.Bauer makes it big time stronger.I really thought Wood getting two outs in the 7th was huge last night.It meant Lorenzen and Iggy only had to get 7 between them and I really had no doubt they would do it.With our pitching and the lineup last night we will win more then we lose the rest of the way.
RE: Alex Wood. I assume the amount of the QO is determined by formula. Does his time on IL affect the dollar amount? Thanks, anyone.
Actually time on the DL doesn’t factor at all. How the figure is determined is out there if you search for it but the figure is the same for all eligible free-agent. Las year it was $17.9-million. This year it figures to be $18.5-million or there about. Wood would most certainly take a QO but with his injury history there is no way I’d offer him one if I was the GM.
I don’t know but he has definitely seemed favored over Ervin, even last night.