Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Miguel Cairo. As something of a cumulative award for his past two starts in relief of Joey Votto, and just to prove that every dog has his day. The Purple Rose went 3-5 with two runs. Honorable mentions go to Johnny Cueto, Jeff Clement and Scott Rolen.
Key Plays
- The Pirates came into this game with a -114 run differential, and Charlie Morton's 8.71 ERA didn't seem like a good indicator that it would get better tonight. True to form, Morton walked Orlando Cabrera and allowed a single to Miguel Cairo, then advanced them both a base with a balk. After Brandon Phillips grounded out to the pitcher, Scott Rolen of Scott Rolen's Reds hit his team-leading eleventh home run of the year. Jay Bruce immediately followed with his fifth home run of the year. Singles by Jonny Gomes and Ramon Hernandez allowed the Reds to bat around, but they couldn't score any more runs. Reds lead, 4-0.
- It was the same story for Morton in the second inning. Cabrera and Cairo singled to start the inning. Brandon Phillips hit a ball to Andy LaRoche, whose wild throw allowed Cabrera to score and Phillips to reach safely. BP then stole second base. It seems a little remarkable whenever Phillips successfully steals a base these days, but he's now tied for second on the team in steals -- with Orlando Cabrera. Whoa. Anyway, Rolen popped out and Bruce struck out, and Morton walked Jonny Gomes. But then Drew Stubbs hit a bases loaded single and Cairo and Phillips scored. Reds lead, 7-0.
- The run-producing section of the lineup produced runs in the fourth inning. Rolen walked to begin things and went to third on Bruce's double. Gomes hit a long fly that was caught, but it was deep enough to score Rolen. Reds lead, 8-0.
- Johnny Cueto had an excellent day against the Pirates (again). He pitched another six shutout innings and struck out nine. Enerio del Rosario relieved him in the seventh and finally got some innings pitched credited to his name. Unfortunately, with innings pitched also comes an ERA, and del Rosario increased his when he let in a run on singles by Andy LaRoche and Akinori Iwamura. Reds lead, 8-1.
- Mike Lincoln had trouble the last time he pitched in the ninth inning with a big lead, but Dusty likes to get his players back up on the horse. While not exactly sharp, Lincoln did come through, but not without allowing doubles to Jeff Clement and the newest Bill Hall All-Star, Ronny Cedeno. Reds win, 8-2.
Other Notes
- Enerio del Rosario is allowing a run an inning, and maybe that's a small sample size but his ERA of 9.00 is still lower than Charlie Morton's 9.35.
- The Reds batted around in each of the first two innings.
- Brandon Phillips left the game with a strained hamstring. His availability going forward is unknown, but it did lead to Drew Sutton's season debut.
- The Reds are 21-9 in the last 30 games.
- A Red has hit a home run in each of the last 16 games, the longest such streak in the majors this year. It's the fourth longest streak in Reds history. The 1956 team homered in 21 straight games.
- Johnny Cueto is 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA in his last four starts.
- Charlie Morton's nine losses lead the majors