The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
As Thom Brennaman pointed out on the broadcast, the Reds' middle of the order struggled a bit tonight. Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, and Jay Bruce went a combined one for 13 with one walk and one run. Fortunately, Cincinnati received contributions from other spots in the lineup and scratched three runs across the plate. Chris Heisey looked more like his 2010 self, going one for three with a home run, an RBI sac fly, and a sac bunt. Devin Mesoraco notched his first three-hit game in the big leagues, tallying three singles in four at-bats and walking once as well. However, Shin-Soo Choo's performance stood out as he went two for six with the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning. He also swiped a bag off of Barry Zito in the fifth inning.
Honorable mentions are due to San Francisco's Tony Abreu who tied the game with a two-run shot in the top of the fifth. Sandy Rosario contributed two scoreless innings in relief for the Giants, one of which was a dicey ninth inning that saw Mesoraco reach third base for the Reds. Finally, Cincinnati's bullpen also deserves a mention as six relievers combined for five and a third shutout innings. J.J. Hoover was particularly impressive, striking out four Giants in two frames of work.
Key Plays
- Barry Zito hit Jay Bruce with a pitch to start the second inning. Bruce went first to third on a Todd Frazier single. Chris Heisey flied out to centerfielder Gregor Blanco to bring home Bruce. Reds led, 1-0.
- In the top of the fifth, Blanco drew a two-out walk. Tony Cingrani would pay for the walk as Tony Abreu lifted a pitch to the left field terrace for a two-run homer. Giants led, 2-1.
- In the bottom of the sixth, Heisey drove one to the bleachers in left field. Game tied, 2-2.
- In the bottom of the 11th, Frazier led off the frame with a walk. Heisey moved Frazier over to second base with a sac bunt. The Giants then intentionally walked Devin Mesoraco. Two batters later, Shin-Soo Choo hit a sharp single to right field to drive home Frazier. Reds won, 3-2.
A Rather Smooth and Steady Win Probability Graph
<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-07-03&team=Reds&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=2013-07-03&team=Reds&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>
Other Notes
- The Reds go for the sweep tomorrow at 1:10 ET. Mike Leake and his spiffy 2.52 ERA take the hill against San Francisco's Matt Cain.
- It's now the Fourth of July, so Happy Independence Day to everyone!
- I like a good march.
- I'm the only contributor with bad enough taste to link to a David Lee Roth song, so here it is. Leave it to Diamond Dave to turn the Statue of Liberty into an object of romantic desire.