I missed the game last night, but when I checked the score I wasn't exactly surprised. Brandon Webb is having a ridiculous year, plus he's exactly the sort of pitcher the Reds have trouble with anyway, what with all the groundballs he coaxes out of hitters.
Quick thoughts:
- Eric Milton's line was impressive, and I'm hopeful that he's feeling healthy now at least. Since I didn't see the game if anyone could let me know how he looked I'd appreciate it.
- If you'd asked me before last night's game which Reds hitters was likely to get three hits against Webb I'm pretty sure Dunn would have been one of the last hitters I would have named. I'm a big Dunn booster, but I'm still surprised by his performance last night, especially since none of those hits went over the fence. Kudos to him.
- Why in the world did Quinton McCrappen hit for Eric Milton last night if all he was going to do was sacrifice bunt? Shouldn't the pitcher be capable of doing that? I'm really at a loss on this one because Milton had only thrown 89 pitches, and there's no reason to pinch hit for him if all that's needed is a sacrifice bunt anyway. Not a good decision.
- I'm hoping Jerry Narron's pitching matchup strategy works out. Aaron Harang now has a better chance to win since he's facing Juan Cruz, and since Webb threw a shutout it's not like any Reds pitcher could have beat him. So regardless of what happens tonight I guess it wasn't a bad move. Brandon Webb just keeps getting tougher and tougher.