| | |
It seemed to me that Felipe Paulino owned the Reds, but I think I'm just remembering his consecutive starts against the them last April when he pitched a combined 11.2 innings and gave up 9 hits and 2 runs while striking out 9. Otherwise, the Reds have pounded him in his other three starts, scoring 18 runs in 16 innings. His 5.94 ERA this season is actually the lowest of his career and has bettered his career ERA to 6.35. Basically, he has not been a very good pitcher. But he's a 26-year old who throws the ball extremely hard - his average fastball is up over 95 MPH - so the Astros will continue to give him a shot. If the Reds can stay patient at the plate, they should be able to do some damage against Paulino. That can be a big if sometimes.
Mike Leake has pitched into the the 7th inning in each of his first three career starts. The last Reds rookie to accomplish that feat was Tom Browning in September of 1984, who went on to pitch into the 7th in the first 6 starts of his career, a team record. I'd love to see Leake break that record this year.
Similar lineup to last night except that Ramon Hernandez is in for Ryan Hanigan and Laynce Nix starts in place of Jonny Gomes. The Reds need to take the series tonight and play for the sweep tomorrow. Go Reds! They're my favorite team!