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The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Anthony DeSclafani has done nothing but seize the opportunity presented to him after his acquisition from the Miami Marlins in the offseason trade of Mat Latos, and tonight he had every one of his skills on display. Disco spun an 8 inning gem, allowing just a pair of hits and a lone walk in the process. He struck out 5, needed just 91 pitches to get through his 8 IP, and never once looked like he was out of sync with catcher Brayan Pena in the process. The Milwaukee Brewers have struggled mightily in the early going of 2015, but its still a lineup full of potent offensive performers, and DeSclafani shut them down in dominant fashion.
Have a trophy, Anthony.
Honorable Mentions are due to: Zack Cozart, who mashed the 3-run dinger that broke things open; Joey Votto, who dingered again as part of another 2-hit day (that also featured a walk); Brayan Pena, who went 1 for 1 with a pair of walks, a sac fly, and a diving grab on a foul bunt that resulted in a double play; and Todd Frazier, who went 1 for 3 with a walk, a run scored, and his first stolen base of the season.
Key Plays
- Both Wily Peralta and DeSclafani cruised through the game's first five innings, but the Reds went to work in the Top of the 6th. Votto go things started with a leadoff single, and the bases ended up loaded when Todd Frazier followed with a walk and Jay Bruce singled. Marlon Byrd then grounded meekly to Aramis Ramirez at 3B, who threw home to force out Votto, but Brayan Pena followed with a sac fly to deep CF that scored Frazier and Cozart then blasted a 3-run dinger well over the wall down the LF line. Reds led, 4-0.
- The Top of the 7th also saw the Reds hit Peralta hard, beginning with a 1-out triple to the wall in right-center from Billy Hamilton. Votto then followed with his 5th dinger of the season, a no-doubter to left-center as vintage a Joey Votto dinger as there ever was. Reds led, 6-0.
- Ryan Braun* is an awful person, and he hit an equally awful meatball from Burke Badenhop over the wall in CF for a solo dinger in the Bottom of the 9th. Bork. Fortunately, Bork settled down and got the remaining Brewers to go meekly into the night, and that was that. Reds win, 6-1!
Source: FanGraphs
- DeSclafani also notched the first hit of his Reds career tonight, a single in the Top of the 2nd that at the time drove in Pena from 2B. The Brewers challenged the play, however, and replay showed that Pena's slide missed the plate before being tagged out by Jonathan Lucroy. Drat.
- Devin Mesoraco is apparently absent from the team with a personal issue not directly related to the hip ailment that has been bothering him. Before the game, Bryan Price went on a pretty profane tirade lamenting the way the local media has reported on that issue, among others, which is a decidedly awful look, in my opinion. I'm sure the weekend disappointment in St. Louis was weighing heavily on Price's mind at the time, but still, he has to be above something that petty.
- Don't worry about that basket just yet, baby.
- Jason Marquis will take the mound and inspire confidence for the Reds in Game 2 of the series tomorrow, where he'll be opposed by Mike Fiers.
- Tunes.