Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Drew Stubbs. Flashing some of his patented Light Tower Power, Drew Stubbs ended the game with a walkoff home run in the ninth, but supplemented that with another hit, another run, a walk, reached on an error, and a stolen base besides. Honorable mentions go to Aroldis Chapman (1.2 innings of perfect relief) and Brandon Phillips (a two run homer to get the game started).
Key Plays
- Defense can win you a great many things, and conversely, bad defense can lose those things for you. Martin Prado, then, deserves a stern "tsk, tsk" for misplaying Drew Stubbs's grounder in the first inning. Stubbs reached safely on the error and later stole second base. It didn't really matter, though, because Brandon Phillips hit a two out, two run homer off of Brandon Beachy. Reds lead, 2-0.
- Miguel Cairo showed some surprising power by hitting a solo home run in the second inning. The Reds were off to the races! Reds lead, 3-0.
- Dontrelle Willis was pitching very well for the Reds, but ran into trouble in the fourth inning. Brian McCann led off that frame with a home run, and Freddie Freeman hit a one out double. Alex Gonzalez followed with a single, putting runners on the corners. Wilkin Ramirez hit a grounder to short. Renteria was able to force Gonzalez at second, but Freeman scored. Willis then neatly picked off Ramirez to end the inning. Reds lead, 3-2.
- The game cruised along until the seventh inning. With one out, Nate McLouth singled to right field and then Dontrelle Willis allowed him to go to second with a wild pitch. Pinch hitter Julio Lugo singled, and McLouth came around to score. That was it for Willis, and Nick Masset replaced him but promptly surrendered a single to Martin Prado. Aroldis Chapman came in to face Jason Heyward, a classic battle of talented young players. Chapman emerged the victor when he got Heyward to ground into a double play. Game tied, 3-3.
- Drew Stubbs homered on the first pitch Scott Linebrink threw him in the ninth. Reds win, 4-3.
Other Notes
- The Reds finally won consecutive games for the first time since June 14-15, when they finished sweeping the Dodgers. That was over five weeks ago.
- Aroldis Chapman recorded five outs using only nine pitches. For someone who had issues with wildness earlier in the season, that's a very encouraging sign.
- Stubbs now has 13 home runs and 25 stolen bases on the season.