3 of 4 in San Francisco, baby. Shake it.
The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Mike Leake didn't have his best stuff on the mound tonight, but it was plenty damn good, and couple that with a 3 for 4 night at the plate and you get your fresh and shiny JNMHSotG. Leake scattered 12 hits over his 6+ innings, but managed to limit the damage to just a single run scored by the Giants. I'd mentioned earlier that Leake's runners stranded had reached a career high of over 80%, and that continued tonight, further helping his career best ERA. I don't care what kind of smoke and mirrors he uses, however, as long as he gets those results.
Honorable Mentions are due to: Joey Votto, who went 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 paychecks earned; Jay Bruce, who went 2 for 4 but struck out so oh my god he sucks why he was supposed to be great; and Devin Mesoraco, who continued his tear with a 2 for 5 night.
Key Plays
- Shin-Soo Choo got the boot-scootin' started promptly this evening with a leadoff double in the Top of the 1st. Xavier Paul grounded out to second to move Choo to 3B, and Joey Votto finally earned a paycheck with a sac fly RBI. In the Top of the 3rd, Votto started a two-out rally with a single to left center, and Brandon Phillips followed with a single that was misplayed by the combined efforts of Hunter Pence and Gregor Blanco, and that allowed Votto to come around to score. Phillips ended up on 2B, and Jay Bruce followed with a double to score another Reds' run. Todd Frazier then walked, and Devin Mesoraco hit a soft single to score Bruce. Reds led, 4-0.
- A Marco Scutaro single in the Bottom of the 3rd spurred a brief rally from the Giants, as he came around to score after a Pablo Sandoval groundout and a single by Hunter Pence. Reds led, 4-1.
- Mike Leake led off the Top of the 4th with a single, and after Choo and Paul followed with walks, Joey Votto hit a check-swing that allowed Leake to score as Votto beat out a would-be double play. Brandon Phillips then hit a sac fly to score Choo. Reds led, 6-1.
- Votto led off the Top of the 6th with a triple, and he scored when Phillips flared a single the opposite way. Bruce followed with a single to move Phillips to 2B, and Beeper came around to score a few batters later when Devin Mesoraco singled him in. Reds led, 8-1.
- Things went just swimmingly until the Bottom of the 8th. Logan Ondrusek was brought on for the bulk of it, and after an infield single and an error, Sandoval hit an opposite field floater that was misplayed by Xavier Paul (and scored as a double) that allowed two Giants to score. Ondrusek, however, came back to shut things down in the 9th, and that was that. Reds win, 8-3!
FanGraph Section That Does Nothing to Explain How Ridiculously Long This Game Lasted
<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-07-24&team=Giants&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-07-24&team=Giants&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>
Other Notes
- I go camping because there's a chance I might get straight up mauled by a cougar. Awesome!
- Why else? Because I can open up my eyes to see a land of sunny rocks and funny trees.
- Only, like, 34 more late night West coast games, y'all. Sleepy yet?
- OH WAIT, I'M CAMPING AND FISHING HERE THIS WEEKEND HAVE FUN IN YOUR BEDS AND CUBICLES MUA HA HA HA HA!