The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

In a nutshell, tonight's start by Bronson Arroyo was a microcosm of his career as a Red. The bullpen had been taxed by a lack of deep starts by the other starting pitchers, his opponent on the mound was a former ace/future Hall of Famer, he was due to pitch in a park that promotes wangers...versus a lineup prone to honking wangers, and he gave the Reds a solid yet unspectacular effort. Arroyo made it through the first 7 innings having allowed only 1 run, and under normal bullpen circumstances he likely would have been lifted; however, he stuck around and got beat up a bit while saving the arms in the 'pen a bit. His final line: 7.2 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, BB, 4 K, 102 pitches.

Honorable mention goes to Chris Heisey, who went 1 for 3 with a walk, and to Zack Cozart, Joey Votto, and Jay Bruce, whose 8 combined strikeouts gave the fans a nice breeze on a muggy May evening in NYC.

Key Plays

• The closest the Reds came to threatening to threaten was in the first. Zack Cozart struck out, but reached on an error by catcher Chris Stewart. Cozart took 2nd on a passed ball by Stewart, and moved to third on a bunt by Drew Stubbs (!). The Reds then got a few multimillion dollar strikeouts from Votto and Phillips, and the rally was thwarted.
• The Yankees smawl bawled their way to the first run of the game in the 4th. Curtis Granderson led off with a single, and moved to third on a single by Robinson Cano. A-Roid* then hit a jammed grounder to Cozart, scoring Granderson.
  
• In the 8th, Bronson retired the first two batters before yielding a quacker to Cano. A-Roid* followed with a single, and Raul Ibanez farked a looger, scoring both. The Reds rally consisted of consistent out-making. Yankees win, 4-0.

via www.fangraphs.com

*FanGraphs had this listed as an "American League" game. I resent that.

Other Notes

• We (myself very much included) have all, for the most part, thought that Jay Bruce was having a great start to the season. After tonight, his OBP on the season is sitting at a ripe .322. That's not going to get it done for our second best hitter.
• Against a righty-heavy lineup featuring two lefties that hit LHP well, Andy Pettite turned back the clock to 2000, throwing 8 IP with 9 K, 1 BB, and just 4 hits to win his first game since July of 2010. I knew I should have picked him up in the RR Bourbon League!
• Ryan Hanigan on the season so far: .313/.368/.363. Seems like he should bat 9th, right?
• 2-Run Homer Bailey will face Ivan Drago Nova at 11:05 AM MDT tomorrow. I hope the Reds' bats don't fall asleep on the subway.