Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Jay Bruce. Against one of the best pitchers in the game, Jay went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI. Oh yeah, the home run was the game winner too. Honorable mention: Joey Votto, Ramon Hernandez, Aaron Harang, and Dane Sardinha.
Key Plays
- Despite each team putting runners on base in each of the first three innings minus one 1-2-3 inning for the Phillies, there were no runs on the board after 18 outs were recorded. However, Aaron Harang had a few issues in the fourth after Jayson Werth and Wilson Valdez singled and with two out, Dane Sardinha hit a home run to left that may not have been out of most parks on most days, but made it out of GABP. The disappointing part of that home run, besides the fact that it was to Dane Sardinha, was that pitcher Roy Halladay was on deck and he grounded out to end the inning. Phillies lead, 3-0.
- The Reds put a threat together in the bottom of the fourth when Jonny Gomes hit a one-out double and Jay Bruce followed with a single, but Drew Stubbs struck out and Ramon Hernandez popped out to end the inning. Phillies lead, 3-0.
- Harang gave up a couple of singles in the sixth inning, but nothing came of it. Joey Votto led off the bottom of the inning with his NL leading 18th home run of the year. Scott Rolen followed with a single, but Gomes, Bruce, and Stubbs all struck out, the last two on questionable strike three calls. Phillies lead, 3-1.
- The Reds tacked on another run in the seventh when Ramon Hernandez led off with a single and one out later, Brandon Phillips hit his 22nd double of the year, driving Hernandez to third. Orlando Cabrera singled to drive in Hernandez, but then Votto was called out on a third strike that was further out of the zone than some pitches that were called balls today and Scott Rolen grounded out to end the inning. Phillies lead, 3-2.
- After a perfect 8th inning from Arthur Rhodes - the streak stands at one inning - Gomes led off the bottom of the inning with a single. Bruce followed with today's Big Boy Big Play of the Game, a 2-run jack on the first pitch he saw from Halladay that was way out in right field. Reds lead, 4-3.
- Francisco Cordero was brought on for the save, and outside of a Greg Dobbs one-out single, the Phillies didn't muster much of a threat. Reds win, 4-3.
Other Notes
- This was Aaron Harang's 9th quality start this year, he has a loss or no decision in 4 of those games. He shouldn't whine though. Mike Leake has 11 quality starts with no decisions in 7 of them.
- Joey Votto has reached base in 38 straight games, only Frank Robinson (43 straight in 1961) and Pete Rose (48 straight in 1978) stand in front of him for the Reds. By the way, the MLB record is 84 straight games by Ted Williams in 1949.
- Brandon Phillips is tied for 5th in the NL with 22 doubles. His career high in a season is 30, which he hit in 2008. If BP had always hit more doubles and posted a .370+ OBP, he'd probably be my favorite player. Alas...
- Drew Stubbs struck out three times today. It was the 9th time this season that he has struck out at least 3 times in a game. Only Mark Reynolds has done that more this season.