Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Edgar Renteria. In a rare display of power from a Cincinnati shortstop, Renteria hit his first home run of the year, and also got another hit and scored two runs. This was the kind of performance everybody was expecting when they said that at least he'd be an offensive upgrade over Paul Janish. Honorable mentions go to Chris Heisey (2-4 with his ninth homer of the season) and Miguel Cairo (2-3 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored).
Key Plays
- With a runner on third and only one out in the first, Mike Leake struck out Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana. Baller.
- Leake was not so fortunate in the second inning. New Indians wunderkind, the improbably named Lonnie Chisenhall, singled with one out, and then Shelley Duncan homered to left. She sounds hot. Indians lead, 2-0.
- That lead was short-lived though. In the bottom of the second, Chris Heisey hit a one out homer of his own. Then Edgar Renteria singled and moved to second on a wild pitch by Wild Mitch Talbot. They call it "scoring position" for a reason, so it was no surprise that Renteria scored on Miguel Cairo's single. Mike Leake bunted Cairo to second - or "scoring position" (hint, hint) - and Fred Lewis singled softly. Cairo was running on the pitch and made it home with the go-ahead run. Reds lead, 3-2.
- In the fourth inning, Miguel Cairo, Mike Leake, and Fred Lewis all had back-to-back-to-back singles up the middle, culminating in Cairo scoring his second run of the game. Brandon Phillips then broke the streak by singling to left and loading the bases. Joey Votto then went back to center, but sadly only to the warning track. Leake scored, but if the ball had been a little bit more to one side, three other runs might have scored too. The other runners had advanced on Votto's fly out, so Talbot intentionally walked Jay Bruce. Ramon Hernandez also hit a sacrifice fly. Lewis scored, but Phillips was out trying to take third base. Reds lead, 6-2.
- Josh Judy pitched the fifth inning for the Indians and gave up a home run to Edgar Renteria. Josh Judy should probably never pitch for Cleveland again. Reds lead, 7-2.
- Mike Leake had pitched a fine game, but in the sixth inning, he walked the first two batters he faced, Michael Brantley and MLS player-in-disguise Cord Phelps. Leake struck out Asdrubal Cabrera, but Carlos Santana's ground out advanced the runners, so that Grady Sizemore's single drove in two runs. Reds lead, 7-4.
- Nick Masset pitched the seventh inning, and gave up a leadoff single to Shelley Duncan. Lou Marson's productive groundout moved Duncan to second, and pinch hitter Travis Hafner hit a single to drive him in. Reds win, 7-5.
Other Notes
- Renteria's home run was the first by a Reds shortstop this season. Zack Cozart has 42 home runs in Louisville.
- Cincinnati finishes Interleague Play with a .333 record (6-12). Hey, that's the same as Renteria's OPS after this game!
- In eight appearances since returning from Louisville, Mike Leake is 5-2 with a 2.89 ERA. Ted Power should probably be promoted.
- Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, and Jay Bruce were all named to the All-Star team. Good job, guys! They went a combined 1-10 in this game, with one walk, two strikeouts, an RBI, and an out on the bases.