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BILL. Reds win 6-5

Down five runs, the Reds inched back on the ferocious bat of Billy Hamilton. Just like they draw it up.

By Cy Schourek
Joe Robbins

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Billy Hamilton went 2-4 with a triple, a walk, and the walk-off hit that would've been a double if he didn't get mobbed once Mike Leake (which, we're getting to that) crossed home. His enthusiastic "Let's Play Three!" in post-game even clinched the Billy love. They're going to rename the Cincinnati area "Hamilton County" at this rate.

Lots of enthusiastic fist-daps to the bottom of the bullpen, as Contreras, Hoover, and Ondrusek combined for 6.1 IP, 4H, 3BB, 8K. Hoover struck out 6 batters in 2 innings. Zack Cozart went 2-3 with a walk, Skip Schumaker went 1-3 with a walk, and Jay Bruce had the game-tying double in his second game playing first base. Good work all around. Besides you, Holmberg.

Key Plays

  • The Cubs had a two-run homer in the second thanks to Chris Coghlan (of course).
  • They got three more in the third thanks to Rizzo and Olt (isn't that a tv show?) homers. Carlos Contreras came into the game in the third and got out of it with the Cubs up only 5-0.
  • Only? Only. In the bottom of the 5th, the Reds led off with singles by Schumaker, Cozart, and Barnhart. That's good. But Heisey struck out as a pinch hitter, and then Hamilton lined out to CF. Something weird happened, though, and Schumaker was able to score. Barnart sadly got picked off of first to end the threat.
  • Todd Frazier doubled in the sixth, and productive grounders by BP and JB brought him in to make the score 5-2
  • The Cubs then Cubbed up the seventh, as two pitchers combined to walk Schumaker, Cozart, and Barnhart to load the bases with those particular three again with no outs. This time, Mesoraco productive double play-ed home Schumaker, and Billy Hamilton tripled home Cozart. 5-4.
  • Eighth inning was another run; BP singled and Jay Bruce brought him home with a double. Tie game.
  • Ninth inning? Yeah, you know the script at this point. Brayan Pena pinch-hit singled and was replaced with pinch-runner Mike Leake (Mike Leake!) Leake came to third on a Mesoraco single, and Billy Hamilton broken-bat-blooped a single into no-man's land to bring home Leake on the walk off.

Hamiltangraphs


Source: FanGraphs

Other Notes

  • This is, I believe, the third double header the Cubs have been swept in in 2014.
  • I'm exhausted. I can't imagine what it felt like watching this game.
  • I completely forgot that JJ Hoover was on the team.
  • Alfredo Simon will go for his 12th win at 7:10 ET tomorrow against Dallas Beeler, who is only in his second start up from the Iowa Cubs / a Thomas Pynchon novel.
  • All Bill Everything. Who's that? Bill. Why this Hamilton Billy?

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