Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
The pitching staff. Johnny Cueto, Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers, and Francisco Cordero combined for nine scoreless innings, only two hits allowed, and eleven strikeouts. There was the ugly matter of six walks, but hey, a two-hit shutout!
Key Plays
- Cueto walked three men in the second inning, but was not haunted by them. Gerardo Parra was caught stealing, and Cueto struck out Chris Young and Jon Garland to escape the danger.
- In the third inning, Danny Richar led off with a single, then Chris Dickerson hit a double. It would have been ambitious to have Richar try to score from first, but Mark Berry waved him around anyway, and he was out.
- The only offense of note came in the sixth inning. Chris Dickerson singled to lead off, went to second on a ground out by Hairston, then was off and running on a single by Votto and beat the throw home. You can't spell "Canada Day" without "R-B-I" (if you're Quebecois).
- The Diamondbacks threatened in the seventh inning when Arthur Rhodes came in. Gerardo Parra bunted his way on to lead off the inning, and Chris Young walked. Miguel Montero sac bunted them over, so there were runners on second and third with one out. Then Rhodes went to work. He struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Roberts, walked Tony Clark to load the bases, then got Felipe Lopez to fly out to right, ending the threat.
via FanGraphs
Other Notes
- Johnny Cueto has no losses against the Diamondbacks.
- This shutout was the Reds seventh of the year. Only San Francisco and their rotation of Cy Young winners has more in the NL.
- The Reds have not won a game 1-0 since August 8, 2007, but there were three other games tonight that ended with that score.
- The Diamondbacks have lost 9 of 11. Never forget.
- The Reds are .500 again (38-38). They're .500 at home (18-18) and .500 on the road (20-20). Still only three games out of first place though. One senses that one NL Central team will get hot for a ten day stretch, and at the end of the year it will have been the difference maker.