The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Jay Bruce was the bright spot for the Reds on a night where few had performances worth remembering. Bruce, who had seen his season OPS drop by some 60 points from his season high just over a week ago, went 2 for 4 with a double and a single that PDOC'd the only run of the evening. Bruce entered the evening hitting .333/.389/.530 in 72 PA against LH starters, and since both of his hits came off of Scott Kazmir, those numbers will only improve. His .230/.277/.412 line against RH starters is rather alarming, but he's managed to master LHP in 2013 in a way he's never done before. Hopefully he'll heat up against righties as the season progresses, but at least he's improving on an area of his game that had previously been quite bad.
Honorable Mentions are due to the bullpen arms, as Alfredo Simon (2.1 IP), J.J. Hoover (1.0 IP), and Manny Parra (1.0 IP) combined to throw 4.1 IP of scoreless ball after Homer's early exit. Derrick Robinson deserves some dap, too, after his 2 for 3 evening.
Key Plays
- The game was scoreless through the first two innings, but the Reds mounted a threat in the Top of the 3rd. Robinson reached on an infield single, and after Ryan Hanigan flied out, Shin-Soo Choo and Cesar Izturis followed with back to back singles to load the bases for All-Star All-League All-State All-World 1B Joey Votto, meaning that good things were bound to happen, right? Sigh. Wrong. Votto was jammed on an inside fastball, and grounded into a double play that set the tone for the rest of the evening.
- The Bottom of the 4th proved to be the demise of the Reds this evening. Homer Bailey hit Asdrubal Cabrera to lead things off, but he got Nick Swisher to strike out and Mark Reynolds to strike out around a Carlos Santana single. Unfortunately, the third out. Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes both followed with singles that scored Cabrera and Santana, Brantley stole third, and Ryan Raburn and Michael Bourn both followed with doubles to clear the bases. Jason Kipnis then singled in Bourn, and Bailey's night was done. Simon came in and allowed a Cabrera double (that scored Kipnis), and then mercifully got Swisher to fly out. Reds trailed, 7-0.
- In the Top of the 6th, Brandon Phillips doubled to deep left-center, and Bruce followed with a single for the Reds only run. That's all she wrote, folks. Reds lose, 7-1.
Super Awesome FanGraph Section:
<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-05-30&team=Indians&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-05-30&team=Indians&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>
Other Notes
- When the Reds wake up in the morning, it will be the first morning they've woken up on a 2 game losing streak in 30 days. Bring back that winning feeling!
- The Reds will head North to spend their weekend in Pittsburgh. Aren't you happy for them? For some reason, saying that out loud reminds me of this kind of enthusiasm.
- Tonight's loss puts the Reds under .500 on the road this season (13-14), and while the 3 game set against the Pirates will give them a chance to get back on the smiling side of the road standings, it's also the site of the worst road series performance of the season. They'll face Wandy Rodriguez tomorrow night, and it'll be quite interesting to see if Dusty trusts Bruce's 2013 numbers vs. LHP, or if he'll give the everyday RF the day off against the foe who has dominated him like no other. Bruce vs. Wandy: 2 for 32, 16 K, .063/.063/.063, .125 OPS.
- I don't know why, but I really wanted to listen to this tonight. Now you can, too.