The Reds play baseball game and also lose baseball game, to everyone’s surprise. Pirates win, 14-3

Everything is, basically, awful.

I’m as optimistic as they come about this season, and I don’t even think I think the team is going to be “good” in any sense of the traditional meaning of that word. But my goodness this team is out of sorts right now.

I don’t know that there’s anyone particularly to blame for that, even though the vast lot of you are going to blame Bryan Price. And I guess that’s fine, especially considering when he turns to a Yovani Gallardo in a two run game instead of, well, anyone else?

On the other hand, the dude has to pitch sometime, and with all of the shit weather and off days the team has had, maybe that’s why Price felt he needed to get the guy in there? I don’t know. But it ended up in the predictable result, which isn’t going to win the manager any fans.

That said, it doesn’t really matter what the hell your pitchers do when your offense can only manage 2 runs in a game. Or one run in a game. Or five total runs in three games. At some point, this offense is going to have to do something. Blaming the pitching is easy, because it’s been a Shit Town for a long time. But the offense was supposed to be okay, and it’s left a lot to be desired to this point. That said...

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Was any Red particularly great tonight? Not really, but Billy Hamilton managed to get on thrice (while walking twice), and also scored a run. He allowed a couple of weird things to happen in the outfield, but both situations were hard plays, I think we’re just accustomed to him making them, rather than they actually being his fault. Really, it was the exact opposite of what you’d expect from a Billy Hamilton game.

Honorable mention to: Jesse Winker, who hit three times with a RBI but made a no-doubt bone-head play in the field, dropping a sure out; Joey Votto hit twice and had an RBI, hopefully a sign he’s starting to turn it around (though he had a bone-headed play on the basepaths early on).

Luis Castillo definitely did not have his best stuff, and doesn’t really deserve a lot of daps. But he did keep his team in the game despite not having his best stuff, and also singled and doubled at the plate. So, it’s worth mentioning. The rest of the pitching, eeeehhhh.

Key Plays

• The Pirates got the scoring started in the bottom of the 2nd. Corey Dickerson hit a lead-off double over Billy Hamilton’s head before Colin Moran smoked a one-out liner to RF to score him. Jordy Mercer then doubled, scoring Moran. Pirates up 2-0.
• The Reds evened it up in the 3rd, however, as Luis Castillo made up for giving up a lead-off double by lead-off doubling himself. Castillo moved to 3B on a wild pitch before Billy Hamilton walked, and then Jesse Winker hit his SECOND infield double of the night to score Castillo. Suarez struck out looking (he was NOT happy about, it btw), before Joey Votto smoked a single to center to score Hamilton. Tied after two and a half, 2-2.
• The Pirates added two more in the bottom of the frame. Castillo induced ground outs to both Polanco and Marte, but then sandwiched walks to Josh Bell and Francisco Cervelli between a Dickerson single to load the bases. Moran lined to center field that Hamilton couldn’t slide and come up with that scored the runs. Pirates back in the lead, 4-2.
• The nails were put in the the Reds coffin in the bottom of the 6th, though, when Yovani Gallardo came into the game, and well. I dunno. Things happened, but what you really need to know is that Gallardo managed an out (great!) while giving up 5 runs (not great, bob!). Austin Brice came in and gave up a liner to right, which scored the rest of the players Gallardo left on (with the help of some interesting defense from Winker in right field), but mercifully the inning came to a close thereafter. Pirates up, 10-2 and your author has begun to drink.
• The Reds, bad as they are right now, gave up 4 more in the 7th. 4 plus 10 equals 14. The Reds have 2.
• Thank you for reading, by the way.
• Hamilton walked, Winker and Suarez got out, but Phil Ervin singled to right, to score Hamilton. That was all, though.
• The Reds lost. 14-3.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• I’m recapping a baseball game. It’s the end of the first week of April. Baseball season is a week old. And I’m watching snow fly outside my window. This is not acceptable.
• Scott Schebler was still not in the Reds starting lineup for this one. In fact, we haven’t seen Scott Schebler schleb since he was hit on the elbow by a pitch all the way back on Sunday. The injury obviously isn’t progressing the way the Reds would hope, and that was relayed as much by Bryan Price before the game. Schebler has supposedly been available in each game, but hasn’t appeared.
• Wick, from the Red Reporter Twitter account, tweeted THIS last night. Never was it more on display than tonight in the 3rd, after he tried to take off his equipment and walk to base prematurely not once, but twice, on consecutive pitches. He and the home plate umpire jawed quite a bit, and if Castillo would’ve bee anywhere near the strike zone on the next pitch, there’s no doubt in my mind that Cervelli would’ve gotten “umpshow’d” but he would’ve kinda deserved it.
• That said, the home plate ump didn’t have a great night tonight.
• Eyewitness report from our very own Mitchell “ARF” Clark, weather reporter, Red Reporter: “Folks,,,,it’s cold”
• Baseball is on, which is good. I’ll never not like that.
• Tunes.