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After eating rubber chicken, wearing rubber rain boots, drinking booze out of Rubbermaid carafes, what better way to end a soggy 4th of July Weekend than watching the rubber-armed Bronson Arroyo take on the Seattle Mariners in the rubber game of the series? Hopefully, very few things since Joe Saunders, of the 0-2 and 6.04 ERA flavoring, will toe the rubber against the Reds this afternoon.
Bronson will try to go for two complete games in a row, if only for the opportunity to extend the asterisk from his rain-shortened previous start against the Giants. In his career, Arroyo has only faced 6 players on the Mariners, including pitcher Oliver Perez, Henry Blanco, Brendan Ryan, and Jason Bay, who will all begin the game on the bench. Of the players actually starting, the ageless Raul Ibanez has had significant success against Arroyo, going 6 for 14 with a home run and 3 RBI in his career. Alas, that was well-before Raul Ibanez discovered the Jesse Orosco Fountain of Youth.
Due to his previous stint as an Arizona Diamondback, Joe Saunders' career stats against the Reds are a bit more extensive. Jay Bruce is 3 for 9 lifetime with a home run and an OPS of 1.111, Joey Votto is 3 for 8 with 2 RBI, and Shin-Soo Choo is 3 for 6 with an OPS of 1.267. Save for Brandon Phillips and Cesar Izturis, no other Red has a hit off of him. Saunders will look to gain more momentum from his previous quality start against the Texas Rangers where his career success can only be matched by Homer Bailey's in PNC Park.
The book of the Reds and the Mariners is a short one, not even the length of three tweets if you use the "#SSS" hashtag for Small Sample Size. However, the Mariners still have a 9-2 record against the Reds, not including the Ken Griffey Jr. trade. That being said, the Reds will look to improve to a winning record against Seattle's Best at baseball at GABP and take the series against the club.
Since you need to sober up before work tomorrow, you should watch Bronson Arroyo dazzle against those who are virgin to his deceptive ways. You should get some iced tea going and take a (non-drowsy) Tylenol or five. If you can get it in, you should probably also mow the lawn if your front yard doesn't resemble a moat. More importantly, you should root for the Reds, they're my favorite team!