Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Ryan Braun. The frontrunner for the National League's 2011 MVP continued his stellar season, going 2 for 4 with 2 HRs. He touched up a vintage Badroyo, but Braun didn't discriminate as he tallied another off of Jeremy Horst. Silver Slugger, MVP, face of the franchise...you name it, Braun's doing it. Don't worry, Yonder's going to take over his various thrones this time!
Key Plays
- The Reds got off to a quick start in the 1st. Dave Sappelt lined a double and was promptly driven in by the best first baseman in the stadium. Reds lead 1-0.
- Bronson threw a pitch in the top of the 2nd...the Brewers swung...Home Run! Game tied, 1-1.
- If you'd seen the first two innings, you might have thought Goodroyo was in the park tonight. Unfortunately, the third. Arroyo got the bottom of the order out with a George Kottaras flyout and a Randy Wolf liner, but then walked Nyjer Morgan before serving up a blast to Mark Kotsay. Guess what? Braun followed with a solo smash. Brewers lead 4-1.
- Arroyo settled in for the next few innings, allowing just a Mark Kotsay double and a walk. Being the comptetitor he is, Arroyo saw the recordbooks in sight and made a dash to the finish. Kottaras crushed one to deep right, giving the Brewers a 5-1 lead, and giving Arroyo the lovely honor of having yielded a team record 44 HRs on the season. I bet Adam Dunn wishes he got to face Badroyo!
- After Jeremy "jmh57" Horst relieved Arroyo, someone forgot to tell Braun that the token homer-blaster was no longer pitching. Brauny badger didn't care anyway, launching his 2nd HR of the night into the right field bleachers. Brew Crew leads 6-1.
- The Reds mounted a meager rally in the bottom of the 8th...well, sort of. A few Reds got hits and then Joey Votto did what he do, singling in 2 runs before Jay Bruce hit into (another) inning ending double play. Reds lose 6-3.
- With Braun's 2 homers, he becomes only the second Brewer to post a 30/30 season (joining Tommy Hunter and his fantastic 1970 campaign.)
- Official attendance was announced as 32,506. Divide that by 3 and it's what the stadium looked like. Remember how winning baseball filled the stadium last September? Notice how long ago that feels? Dang.
- This is my first Game Recap for RR (does that make me Sir Kevin Mitchell is Batman? Is that how this works?) I look forward to the opportunity to write for (and with) you guys and gals in the future!