On a night when the Reds made tons of baserunning mistakes, hit into several double plays, and just played some ugly baseball, they still managed to win when all the breaks were going against them. The Cardinals lost, the division lead is six games, and just as our bullpen is turning into a dominant unit, Aroldis Chapman will join the team tomorrow. Life is good, Reds fans.
Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Jay Bruce. Hova has been Vottonian lately, and his strong surge continued tonight. He went 3-5 with a walk, a home run, and two RBI including the game winner. Honorable mentions go to Juan Francisco, Chris Valaika, and Nick Masset.
Key Plays
- Jay Bruce led off the game with a home run, his fifth in four games. Reds lead, 1-0.
- Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee hit back to back doubles lead off the second inning, and Fielder scored the tying run. Lorenzo Cain singled to put runners on the corners with no outs, but Alcides Escobar lined into a double play, and George Kottaras struck out. Game tied, 1-1.
- The Brewers improbably dinked and dunked their way to a lead in the third inning. Randy Wolf led off the inning with a single off Homer Bailey, and then stole second base. Rickie Weeks singled on a ground ball deflected by Bailey, and once again there were runners on the corners with no outs. Corey Hart grounded out, which was enough to score Wolf. Weeks moved to second, then stole third base. Ryan Braun singled, which scored Weeks, and then stole second base. The Brewers were rightfully feeling pretty good about their ability to run on Homer Bailey, but perhaps it caused Braun to get cocky, because Homer picked him off on a throw to second. But then he walked Prince Fielder, and Casey McGehee singled before Lorenzo Cain finally flew out to end the inning. Brewers lead, 3-1.
- With one out in the fourth inning, Ryan Hanigan doubled. Drew Stubbs walked. Paul Janish flew out, but Homer Bailey hit a single of his own. Hanigan scored, but Stubbs inexplicably slowed down going to third base and didn't slide, allowing Hart's quick throw to beat him to the bag. Inning over. Brewers lead, 3-2.
- Randy Wolf was hardly sharp, but he was handling the Reds before they started going at him like gangbusters in the fifth inning. Jay Bruce led off with a walk and Chris Valaika singled. Joey Votto then smacked a ground rule double. Only Bruce scored, even though it looked like Valaika could have as well if the ball had stayed in the park. Still, there were runners on second and third with no outs. Scott Rolen hit a smash to third base, but the Brewers were able to catch Valaika at the plate. Jonny Gomes was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, but Ryan Hanigan grounded into a double play. Game tied, 3-3.
- In the sixth inning, it looked like Homer Bailey was cruising. With two outs, it looked like he had struck out Lorenzo Cain looking on a full count. The entire infield started heading towards the dugout. But the umpire ruled that it was a ball, and Cain walked to first. Homer was a bit rattled by not getting the call, and by the fact that the Brewers continued to run on him. Cain stole second base, and then Alcides Escobar hit a triple. Brewers lead, 4-3.
- This see-saw battle continued in the bottom of the inning, as pinch hitter Juan Francisco hit a home run off of Mike McClendon. Game tied, 4-4.
- The game remained tied going into the tenth inning. Trevor Hoffman came in to pitch for the Brewers and walked Ryan Hanigan, the first batter he faced. Dusty decided to pull out all the stops, and put Brandon Phillips in as a pinch runner, leaving only an injured Laynce Nix and Ramon Hernandez who would have to replace Hanigan on his bench. Drew Stubbs popped up a bunt, and Paul Janish popped up, swinging on the first pitch. But Chris Heisey smashed a ball down the third base line for a hit, and Jay Bruce singled, scoring Phillips. Reds win, 5-4.
Other Notes
- The Reds have nine pinch hit home runs, most in the majors. It was Juan Francisco's first home run of the year, and second of his career. Both have been pinch hit homers.
- The Reds hit into four double plays, and three runners tagged out on the basepaths, and hit several balls only to the warning track, including one by Paul Janish that Lorenzo Cain caught while slamming into the wall.
- The Brewers stole four bases. Randy Wolf's stolen base was the first ever by a pitcher in Brewers history. "I wouldn't call tonight's game a clinic on base running -- either side," Brewers manager Ken Macha said.
- The crowd of 14,589 was the smallest for a Reds game since June 8.
- The Reds are 9-7 in extra inning games, have 37 come from behind victories, and 19 wins in their final at bat.
- It never gets old hearing about it. The Reds are 21 games over .500 for the first time all season (first time since 1999, really), they hold a six game lead in the division, the most they've led by since 1995, and their magic number is 27.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates are officially eliminated from winning the NL Central. Four more teams to go.