The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Star of the Game
Paul Maholm. 7 IP, 3H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Had a perfect game going through 3.2 innings, and generally made the Reds offense look foolish. Not tremendously difficult, but a tip of the cap to a fine pitching performance.
Honorable mention goes to Ryan Doumit, who went 3-5 with a grand slam.
Key Plays
- The Pirates team bus arrives at Great American Ball Park.
- Extra base hits were the order of the day. Cueto gave up three doubles, a triple, and a home run, and Mike Lincoln continued his terrible spring by giving up two more home runs to back to back batters.
- Nyjer Morgan stole two bases to put himself in scoring position, and also got chippy by crashing into Hernandez when he didn't have the ball, and taking out Gonzalez to break up a double play ball.
- Votto was thrown out at home trying to score from second on a single by Encarnacion. Red Reporters questioned why Mark Berry sent him home when he was thrown out easily.
Other Notes
- Cueto was hit hard, but did strike out 9 while only walking 1 in six innings. His 6 IP ties Bronson Arroyo for the longest outing by a starter this season.
- Micah Owings was going to be used in the bullpen, but then came in as a pinch hitter and smashed a ball off the wall for a double. It was a foot away from being a home run.
- Ramon Hernandez had a rough day, going 0-4 and hitting into an inning ending double play (though that's partially the fault of Bruce, who was picked off first when Hernandez flied out). He had nothing to do with the one baserunner that was caught stealing.
- Brandon Phillips continued to hit well, getting two hits, two runs, a walk, and a stolen base. He's been one of the few bright spots this season.
- Darnell McDonald got a hit! He's actually hitting .375 this year.
- Mike Lincoln and Danny Ray Herrera continued to struggle, though Herrera did record strikeouts for all of his outs. His ERA is 10.80, and Lincoln's is an eye-popping 34.71.