Reds set season high in runs with 15-2 thumping of Cardinals

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Steve Selsky!  Steve "Freakin'" Selsky!

The Cincinnati Reds saw their offense ignite against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, and while the entire team got in on the drubbing, it was Selsky who shined brightest.  The rookie OF had a 5 for 5, 4 ribbie evening for the good guys, and never once looked overmatched in his fantastic evening.

Who knows where Selsky fits in with the Reds with Jesse Winker on the way and numerous 40-man roster decisions in the fold, but there's no denying that the kid has hit like a champ since his latest call-up, and he's shown quite the repertoire in the process.  Congrats, Steve, and have yourself a trophy.

Honorable Mentions are due to:  Adam Duvall, who posted a cartoonish 4 for 5, 2 dinger, 4 run scored, 5 ribbie night; Joey Votto, who dingered as part of a 2 for 3, 3 run scored night (that featured a walk, of course); Brandon Phillips, who also had a 4 for 5 night (that included a pair of runs scored, a pair driven in, and a pair of stolen bases); Jose Peraza, who singled, scored, drove in a run, and stole a bag; Tucker Barnhart, who had a 3 for 5 day that included a run scored and a ribbie; and Tim Adleman,who fired 7 innings of impressive 2 ER ball, striking out 4 against just 4 hits and nary a walk.

Key Plays

• Peraza led off the Top of the 1st with a single into LF, and promptly stole both 2B and 3B off Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (with an assist from some Jaime Garcia completely ignoring him).  Unfortunately, replay showed that Peraza overslid 3B while he was being tagged, and he was ruled out.  That stung a bit when Votto followed with a laser of a dinger over the LF fence, though Duvall eased that pain by following Votto with a dinger of his own.  Reds led, 2-0.
• Selsky joined the dinger parade in the Top of the 2nd, blasting a Garcia meatball into the bushes above the right-center wall to put the Reds ahead, 3-0.
• Michael Wacha had taken over on the mound for St. Louis by the time the Reds and their whoopin' sticks came to the plate in the Top of the 4th, at which point he served up meatballs at such a rate that it made some of you double check to see what Nick Travieso was up to all season.  Cincinnati batted around in that half-inning - hell, Selsky singled on two separate occasions in the 4th alone - and even another change to pitcher Luke Weaver didn't help as he promptly plunked Scott Schebler before allowing another RBI single.  When the smoke had settled, the Reds had logged 8 hits in the inning, doinked a sac fly after dinking a sac bunt, watched as a runner moved up via wild pitch, turned this particular bullet point into one that'll take up most of your screen while reading, and scored 7 gawdang runs.  Reds led, 10-0.
• The Cardinals first hit of the game was a Stephen Piscotty triple in the Bottom of the 5th, but whatever.  He scored on a sac fly later that inning, but whatever whatever.  Reds led, 10-1.
• Adam Duvall has two middle fingers.  After having thrown the first one up in the Top of the 1st, he followed by flipping the second in the Top of the 5th, belting a moonball of a 3-run dinger into the LF seats after Peraza had been hit by a pitch and Votto had walked.  Brandon Phillips then doubled, which put him in the Selsky zone - and that worked out quite well when Selsky singled to drive him in.  Reds led, 14-1.
• St. Louis plated a run in the Bottom of the Whatever when Jedd Gyorko singled in Jhonny Peralta, but it was a measly run in the face of touchdowns worth of runs on the Cincinnati ledger.  Jhedd Ghyorko...Jhonnyy Pyeralta.  I'm going to miss baseball in a week.  Reds led, 14-2.
• Selsky struck again in the Top of the 7th, as he stroked a 2-out single into CF to score Duvall - who had singled earlier, moved to 2B on a productive grounder, and moved to 3B on a Schebler single. Reds extended their lead to 15-2.
• That, finally, was the end of the scoring, as the Reds laid a thorough thumpin' on the Cardinals with a 15-2 win.

Tony Graphanino

Source: FanGraphs

Other Notes

• Steve Selsky looks like a young Dean Martin, and I've found it hard to ignore that.  Old school Dean, new school Dean.
• Adam Duvall reached the 100 RBI mark with his fantastic outing on Monday, in case you're into that sort of thing.
• Joey Votto, in case you're into that "Adam Duvall had 100 RBI in 2016" sort of thing.
• Robert Stephenson will look to bounce-back with a solid start on Tuesday against the Filthy Cards, as he gets the start opposite Adam Wainwright.  First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 PM ET, at which point Votto will recommence hitting the living snot out of the ball.
• What debate?
• Tunes.