Reds bats catch fire in 10-3 victory over Cardinals

The Cincinnati Reds needed a little bit of a bounce back game after their tough loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, and boy did they ever get one. The Reds jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st and never looked back, defeating the Cardinals 10-3 on Wednesday night. Virtually everybody showed up tonight and had a solid performance, so it’s difficult to pick out just one person who helped swing the game. Because of that, I’m giving tonight’s Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game to everyone. Because everyone played a part in this massacre.

Let’s talk about the offense, first. 8 of the 9 starters had a base hit, and 7 of those 8 had multiple hits. Spencer Steer had 4 hits and drove in a pair. Kevin Newman went 2 for 4 with a double and drove in 3 while making a couple nifty defensive plays at shortstop. Matt McLain followed up his first Major League home run last night by hitting another tonight and adding a double and a couple RBI. Nick Senzel and Jonathan India also each had 2 hits. Whew.

On the mound, enough can’t be said about what Ben Lively has done since his call up. He delivered yet again with a very solid 6 inning performance, allowing only 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 8. He now has a 2.65 ERA in his 17 innings of work this season. Hopefully he can continue this performance as the younger guys on the staff are still trying to find their way and learn on the fly at the big league level.

The Reds now have a huge opportunity tomorrow. After a tough, close series where they were swept by the Yankees, they now have a chance to take 3 of 4 from the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon before heading off to Wrigley Field for another big series against the Cubs. Luke Weaver (1-2, 6.54 ERA) will take the mound for the Reds in the series finale. He’ll face off against Miles Mikolas (2-1, 4.77 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 12:35 PM EDT. Go Reds.

Tony Graphanino

[Link to interactive WPA chart and box score, via FanGraphs]