Joe Nuxhall Memorial Star of the Game
Aaron Harang. It seems like pitchers are often the JNMSotGs, but Harang is immensely deserving of the honor. He pitched a dandy today, going the full nine innings and showing us all that he still indeed has the stuff of his ought-to-have-won-a-Cy-Young campaigns from 2006 and 2007. He recorded 9 strikeouts and no walks.
Key Plays
- With Votto choosing not to hit his customary three-run homer, Phillips ably chipped in by hitting Ian Snell's first inning offering into the Souvenir Section. This slightly overshadowed Willy Taveras's leadoff double, and any extra base hit from Willy should be duly acknowledged.
- Nyjer Morgan continued to bedevil the Reds, hitting a leadoff double of his own, and getting hit by a pitch in the third inning. He was promptly erased though when Harang picked him off. He also got a single in the 9th to go 2-3. He's hitting .714 against the Reds this year.
- Harang struck out the side in the 6th.
- Havoc watch: The Reds hit into a triple play in the 8th inning. With Phillips on second (after a walk!) and Bruce on first (after not striking out!), Encarnacion hit a broken-bat bloop to the shortstop, and the 6-4-3 triple play was on. Encarnacion was also involved in a triple play on April 21, 2007.
Other Notes
- Harang's season ERA is 0.64. After using 114 pitches in 5 innings on Opening Day, he needed only 108 to pitch his gem today.
- Josh Johnson pipped Harang to the first complete game in MLB by a matter of minutes, but Harang recorded the first shutout of the season.
- Willy Taveras tacked up his first pair of batting gloves. He has been pretty decent in the leadoff role, going 2-3 today.
- Jay Bruce had 3 strikeouts. Is anyone else getting a little nervous?
- Ramon Hernandez and Alex Gonzalez combined to go 0-6, with a GIDP. Sea Bass is still waiting for his first hit of the year. But he played all nine innings!
- Check out the dominance in the FanGraph!
via FanGraphs