Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
It's hard to differentiate between the two home runs of Miguel Cairo (5 previous HR in 2011), and the two home runs of Ryan Hanigan (3 previous HR is 2011). But Miguel's came earlier in the game, and were therefore clutchier, so he gets the much coveted award. Homer Bailey and 2/3 of the rest of the offense get the HM. I don't actually have the official RR JNMHSOTG guidance document here, so feel free to yell at me.
Key Plays
- The first batter of the night, the venerable Will Venable, got on base with a single, and promptly got picked off by Homer Bailey during the next at bat, foretelling the wholesale destruction the Reds would rain on the Padres in the nine innings to come.
- The Reds scoring party got started in the first inning, and then, verily, as if it had jumped out of a Pringles can, just wouldn't stop. By the end of the night, 14 runs were scored between the two teams, all via 8 home runs. In addition to the 4 by Cairo and Hanigan, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Todd Frazier each contributed knocks, and Padres first baseman Kyle Blanks hit a solo homer that would be San Diego's only run for the night.
- Out of the Padres pitchers, starting right hander Tim Stauffer took the brunt of the attack, before coming out in the third, allowing as many runs as he got outs.
- Erik Hamren, who came in for the 6th and 7th inning, was the only Padres hurler who went unscathed, and in fact, struck out 4 in his two innings of work.
- Homer Bailey bit his thumb at the haters who want to condemn him to the bullpen, by throwing 7 innings and allowing only one run. (He didn't actually bite his thumb, as that would be a violation of official rule 8.02(a)(1).) He also walked one and struck out seven. Out of the six hits he allowed, one was a home run, and the other 5 were all singles.
- Arredondo took over for 1-2-3 eighth, followed by Travis Wood for his very first MLB relief appearance ever. Wood was a bit rough, allowing two base runners, on a hit by pitch and a single, before buckling down to get the last out. You can't really blame him, though, as this is his first appearance since his August 5 start for the Bats.
Other Notes:
- The Reds scored in each of the first three innings, and scored in 5 of the 8 innings they batted in, putting up crooked numbers in 4 of those.
- The Reds' 7 home runs are tied for third for most home runs per game franchise record. The Reds have hit seven home runs seven times before tonight. (The record is 9 home runs in a game, but I can't tell you when that was because
I don't have a subscription to bb-ref play indexif I told you, I'd have to kill you). - In addition to the home run club, Drew Stubbs and Dave Sappelt also had multi hit nights. Stubbs had a double, but Sappelt's were both singles. Li'l Davie is still waiting on that first MLB XBH.
- In addition to all the Reds hitters who were good tonight, Paul Janish showed why he was hitting second by going 0-5 and failing to reach base even once.
- Tonight's win stretches the Reds streak to 4, our longest since the five game winning streak that ended on May 18.
- Don't worry, your regularly scheduled Reds recaps should return shortly. Keep Calm and Carry On.