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Homer Bailey is making his 2009 debut against the team he faced in his Major League debut back in 2007. On that day, he pitched 5 innings and allowed 2 runs, but the Reds hitters put 4 runs up on Cliff Lee, giving Bailey his first Major League win. He's gone 3-8 with a 6.93 ERA in the big leagues since then.
Bailey has pitched well in the Minors this year outside of his first start where he surrendered 8 earned runs on 9 hits in 5.1 innings. Since that start, he's gone 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA, striking out 38 in 40 innings pitched. The only downside - as tends to be the case with Bailey - is that he has walked 16 in those 40 innings as well. After pitching so well in Spring Training, it'll be interesting to see how Bailey pitches tonight now that he's given a chance to prove himself in the Majors again.
David Huff is a 24-year old lefty who has put up some pretty good numbers in his minor league career. He's averaged over 8 K/9 and under 2.5 BB/9, posting a minor league ERA of 2.96 over 48 career starts. He got rocked in his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays last Sunday, but don't assume that means he's a push-over. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Reds struggle against this guy, but then again, they finally have another right-handed batter that mashes lefties on the team in Jonny Gomes. I'd like to see Gomes continue to prove that he belongs here by bashing away on the rookie.
Looks like it's another beautiful night for baseball! Game time is 7:10. If you aren't out enjoying the long weekend, you probably can't go wrong with checking out this game. It could be a fun one to watch! Go Reds!