The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game(s)
Chris Heisey continued his torrid Spring by chugging two Ecto-Coolers, and for that, we thank him. Heisey muddled through this offseason in more anonymity than at any point since his breakout minor league season in 2009, and in many ways, his position as a potential contributor in 2014 had been written off. It's rather obvious that this organization is both physically and monetarily committed to having Ryan Ludwick play a large role this season, but Heisey is doing everything he can to cement his status as not just a 4th OF, but one who warrants more than just the occasional spot-start. It's a good luxury to have on an otherwise flaccid bench, and props to Hi-C for coming into camp with a bone to pick.
Honorable Mentions are due to: Brandon Phillips, who ground his first chuckroast of the Spring in addition to swatting a 2-RBI single; Jay Bruce, who also Pac-Man'd his first Blinky of the pre-season; Roger Bernadina, who doubled and scored (again) in his quest to win a spot on the 25 man roster; and Lee Hyde, for tossing a pair of scoreless innings in relief; Billy Hamilton, for picking up a walk, 2 steals, & run; and Michael Lorenzen, who tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless ball in his first good performance of March.
Key Plays
- For two games? On a Friday? Nooooooooo. How about a graph & some other notes?
- Daniel Corcino got rocked. Again. His Spring ERA is up to a ripe 58.50. Still a prospect, though.
- Brett Marshall tossed 3 IP of scoreless ball against the Mariners, but it took some serious escaping to make that possible. He allowed 4 hits and walked 3, but he did managed to strike out 4.
- The Reds held an early 8-0 lead on the Mariners following the boomsticks wielded by Heisey and Phillips, but they let the Mariners come all the way back to tie before finishing them off 10-9. Rossmel Perez had a throwing error that led to the 9th run in the Bottom of the 8th, and then he and Carlos Contreras got mixed up on a missed 3rd strike & two wild pitches in the Bottom of the 9th that nearly let the M's tie things up again.
- Adam Dunn had a sharply-hit RBI single off Mike Leake in the Sox game, Leake's first start of the Spring.
- Tunes? Tunes!