Longoria hits walk off homer in Reds loss

By: Coop

Today the Reds were trying to win their 1st series vs. an AL team this year. Today's game promised to be a great pitching match up as Johnny Cueto was on the hill for Cincinnati, while David Price was pitching for Tampa Bay.

Cueto pitched well, really only made one mistake, that was when Johnny Damon went yard on him. He actually had a chance to win, as the Reds had a 2-1 lead in the 8th. But in that 8th their was this little blooper that Heisey couldn't catch, which there is really no way he cold have, 2 runs scored, and the Rays had the 3-2 lead.

In the top of the 9th, Jay Bruce hit a home run to strait away center, his 1st long ball since June 1st, and the game was tied at 3.

But then, the man who lost his cap, Evan Longoria, hit a walk off home run to left to give the Rays the 4-3 win.

Tomorrow the Reds will try and win the series and they will send Edinson Volquez to the hill. Game time is set for 12:10 PM ET, the game will be teleivised on FS Ohio.

Reds Win Series, Cordero Picks Up #300

By:  Coop


The Cincinnati Reds were trying to win their first series since mid-May.  In order to do so they would need to beat Marcum the Milwaukee Brewers.  Well they were down early, but fought back and won the game, 4-3.  Jay Bruce and Joey Votto both played a big role in this game, but Francisco Cordero's 9th inning stands out because he picked up career save #300. Here is how the action took place.


In the 1st inning, the very first batter, Rickie Weeks, went yard.  That was the 2nd time this year Weeks has leadoff the game with a home run against the Reds.  Later on in the inning, Braun hit an RBI ground out, the score was 2-0.


That would remain the score until the 4th when the Brewers added a run thanks to a Betancourt RBI single to plate Hart, 3-0 Milwaukee.


So it looked as if the Reds were gonna lose the game, and series.  But the Reds did not give up. 


In the 7th inning, the best player in the MLB right now, Jay Bruce, went yard for the 17th time this year.  It was a 2-run jack to right, and it was a 1-run game.


Next inning, with a man on, Joey Votto hit one deep to center, it was gone and the Reds took a 4-3 lead.  


In the 9th inning, Dusty Baker sent in the closer, Francisco Cordero, in attempts to seal the deal and give the Reds the win.  To lead off the inning, he fanned Lucroy.  Next batter was Betancourt, he got him to ground out for a 1-3 put out.  Then came Counsell.  He struck him out!  The Reds win it, and Francisco Cordero gets his 300th career save.  Congratulations to him.


The Reds will get a much needed off day tomorrow, and will host the Dodgers on Friday.  Game time is set for 7:10 PM ET and it will be televised on FS Ohio.

6th Inning Rally Lifts Reds Past Cubs

Jonny Gomes celebrates with teammate, Brandon Phillips, after hitting a
home run in the Reds 7-4 win over Chicago. 

By:  Coop


The Cincinnati Reds were coming off of a 3 game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.  Now, another foe was in town.  The Chicago Cubs hopped on a plane and headed towards the Queen City to take on the Reds for a 2 game series.  In the 1st game of the series Homer Bailey was on the hill for Cincy, while Carlos Zambrano was pitching for the team from the south side of the Windy City.  Bailey got roughed up early on, and his team was down 0-4, but a 6th inning rally by the Reds allowed them to win 7-4, here is how.


The 1st run of the game came in the 5th inning when Zambrano hit one to 3rd, Rolen came plateward with it, the throw went under Hanigan's legs, Pena was able to come in and score a run, 1-0 Chi-Town.  Same inning, Barney hit an RBI single, Zambrano scored, it was 2-0.


Then in the Cubbies 6th inning Carlos Pena hit a 2-run homer to right field, and the score was 4-0.  That was Pena's 4th homer of the year, 2nd against the Reds.


Many Reds fans, including myself, we saying to themselves "Oh boy, 4 runs, I dunno if we can do it.  Looks like this winning streak will come to and end."  But then we all remembered something.  We are the Reds, we never give up.  Some maybe, just maybe, we can get a rally at some point, take the lead, and win the game.


Well it happened. 


The Reds had a 7 run 6th inning.  The first 3 runs were scored by RBI singles by Votto, Phillips, and Bruce.  Then a Scott Rolen RBI double, and just like that the game was tied at 4.  Then a wild pitch allowed Bruce to come home from 3rd to give the Reds the lead. Then, with a man on and 1 out, Jonny Gomes came up to bat. Gomes had not hit a home run since mid-April.  But on May 16th, he went yard to right center field for a 2-run home run, his 7th long ball of the year.  You wanna talk about a guy that really needed a home run, well then talk about Jonny Gomes.  Hopefully that will end his terrible slump, and will get him back into the groove of things.


7-4 was the score after the 6th inning, and the best part about it, Homer Bailey was now eligible to get the win, well as long as his bullpen could keep the Cubs from scoring 3 runs.  Well, LeCure, Bray, and Cordero were able to do so.  


Homer Bailey needs to go buy everyone involved in that 6th inning rally a nice dinner for saving him from getting the loss.  Or he could simply just say thanks, either one.  Homer is now 3-0.  Coco Cordero picked up the save, his 8th of the year in 9 attempts.


The Reds will look for the sweep in game 2 at 7:10 PM ET.  Edinson Volquez will pitch for Cincinnati, while Matt Garza will climb the hill for Chicago.  The game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Reds Take Game 1 From Cubs

Jay Bruce (32), Drew Stubbs (6), and Chris Heisey (28) celebrate after beating
the Cubs, 5-4, Friday

By:  Coop


The Reds were coming off of a mediocre home stand, and were looking to look better on the road.  Today, they were opening up a 3 game series with the Chicago Cubs.  This was the first time this season the North Siders and the Reds met up.  The Reds absolutly dominated Chicago last year, and were looking to continue that domination.  Well, they did not really dominate them in this game, but they beat them, 5-4, here is how.


The Cubbies scored first when Matt Garza came across to score thanks to a passed ball by Ramon Hernandez, that was in the 3rd inning.


The Cubs' 1-0 lead was soon demolished.  In the 4th inning, Jay Bruce hit a long one to right field, it was a 3-run jack, 3-1 the score.  That was Bruce's 7th homer of the year, a team high, and his 75th home run of his career.


Chicago would answer back in their side of the 4th when Giovanni Soto grounded into a double play, a run scored, and we were back to a 1-run game.


Cincinnati would have a good 5th inning, as they scored 2 runs thanks to two RBI singles.  One by Joey Votto, and the other by Brandon Phillips.  Both players are having great seasons so far, and coming up big.  Joey Votto has now reached base in all of the Reds games this season, and is just 3 game shy of the club record.  Just sayin'.


So after the top of the 5th inning, the score was 5-2, but the Cubs answered back in their 5th inning when Ramirez hit an RBI single, Barney scored, 5-3.


Then in the 6th inning, Soto hit an RBI single to plate the former All-Star, Byrd, 5-4 the score, and that is how she finished. 


Edinson Volquez did not look to great in this game, but did do good enough to get the win.  He went 5 innings, gave up 4 earned runs, on 6 base hits, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts.  Usually not good when you have more walks than strikeouts.  Edinson is now 3-1.  


Francisco Cordero gets save #5 in as many chances, as he continues to look very good thus far, hopefully he can keep it up.


Tomorrow the Reds and Baby Bears go at it at 2:20 PM ET, another day game, since we are in Chicago.  The game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Homer Bailey Shines In Return Fromm DL, Reds Win 10-4

Homer Bailey looked great in his first start since
coming off the DL.

By:  Coop


Homer Bailey was making his first start since 2010, as he was coming off the DL.  Bailey was looking to have a good first game of 2011, and help the Reds win the series vs. Houston.  That he did, he looked great, and the Reds got him enough run support as well, Cincy wins 10-4, here is how.


The Reds scored first, as in the 2nd inning, Ryan Hanigan hit an RBI single, Bruce would score, it was 1-0.


In the bottom of the 4th, Ryan Hanigan would be back at it when he hit a 2 RBI single to left, Votto and Bruce scored, 3-0.


An inning later, Edgar Renteria hit an RBI single to right, Chris Heisey would come around to score, it was 4-0.


The Astros would get on the board in the 6th when Hunter Pence hit an RBI single to plat Bourgeois, 4-1 the score. 


The Reds would answer back in their half of the 6th when hit a sac fly, Gomes scored, Reds back up by 4.  Same inning, Fred Lewis was welcomed to Cincinnati with a solo home run to right center, his first as a Red, it was 6-1 with those good ole Reds on top.


If you tune into a game where the score is 6-1, you would think it is a laugher, well it was, until the Astros 7th inning.  Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch, and suddenly the bases were loaded with 2 outs.  Jason Bourgeois walked, a run scored, 6-2.  Okay, not a bad score, 4 is still a good lead, let's just get out of this inning and then get the bats out.  But that did not happen, Hunter Pence hit a 2 RBI single, Downs and Bourn scored, 6-4 the score, and now it was a game.  But not for too long.


In the Reds 8th inning, yesterday's hero, Jay Bruce, hit a home run to right center, his 6th of the year, and the lead was  3.  The Redlegs would get more runs in the 8th.  One run was scored thanks to a Drew Stubbs RBI double, another was thanks to a Chris Heisey sac fly, and the final run was scored thanks to an Edgar Renteria RBI single. 


So the Reds win it 10-4, a lot of players looked good today, like Bruce, Hanigan, Lewis, Stubbs Renteria etc. But that is not the story of the game.  The story of the game was that Homer Bailey made his first start this year, and went 6 innings, gave up 4 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and fanned 7, earning the win.  Good job by #34.


Later today the Reds will hope on the plane and travel to the Windy City for a 3 game series with the Cubs.  Tomorrow they will play at 2:20 PM ET, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Reds Score All 3 Runs in 9th For Walk-Off Win

Jay Bruce (32) celebrates his walk-off single with his teammates

By:  Coop


In a game that looked like the Houston Astros were just dominating the Reds, somehow those boys from Cincinnati came back and won the game.  Lemme tell ya about it.  Just sit right there, and I'll tell ya all about it.  Travis Wood was on the hill for the Reds, and pitched a solid 6, giving up 2 runs.  The Astros pitchers were great, Rodriguez, the starter, went 5 innings, giving up just one hit.  The Reds did not even have another hit until the 9th.


In the 9th, the Reds had 4 hits.  The pitcher was Brandon Lyon.  The Reds entered the 9th inning trailing 2-0, Lyon struggles started with the 1st batter, as he walked Drew Stubbs.  That was followed by a Chris Heisey single to advance Stubbs to 3rd.  Then came a Joey Votto single that plated Stubbs, and put Chris Heisey on 2nd.  Brandon Phillips then hit one between the 1st baseman and the 2nd baseman, just getting past them for a single.  Heisey was waved around, and scored, 2-2 now.  Had the ball been fielded, it more than likely would have been a double play.  The next batter was Jay Bruce.  His last walk-off hit came on September 28th, 2010 against...The Houston Astros.  That of course was the game in which the Reds clinched the NL Central.  All he had on his mind was a hit good enough to bring the winning run across.  Well, he got it.  He hit a double down the right field line, Votto scored easily, "And this one belonnnnnngsss to the Reds!".  It was pretty exciting.


Oh yeah, and those two runs the 'Stros scored thanks to two RBI singles by Bourgeois and Pence, both in the 3rd inning.


Let's talk about Travis Wood.  He went 6 innings, gave up 5 hits, 2 earned runs, walked 4, and fanned 7.  A pretty decent outing by Wood.  He looked like he would be a tough-luck loser, but he was lucky enough to get the no-decision.  The Reds bullpen looked good, as Bill Bray and Logan Ondrusek both had 1-2-3 innings.  Francisco Cordero was the man who got the win, as he pitched in the 9th, gave up a hit, but that's it. Coco is now 2-0, and is quietly having a great season thus far.


Today was a 12:35 game, and tomorrow it will be the same time.  The only difference is that tomorrow's game will be televised, it will be on Fox Sports Ohio, as always.  The reason why tomorrow's game is on TV, well, Joey Votto said it should be because he says "We'll probably win."  Let's hope so.


The Reds will enter tomorrow's game with a 15-15 record, and either 1.5 games back, or 2.5, it all depends on what St. Louis does tonight.  Let's root for them Fish tonight.

Arroyo And Bruce Help Reds Drink Brew

By:  Coop


Dusty Baker put together a different lineup, it had Jay Bruce batting 2nd, and Brandon Phillips batting 4th.  This was the first time this season Bruce has batted higher than 5th, and the also the first time Brandon Phillips has not batted 2nd, but B-Phil does have some experience batting cleanup, as that was his primary batting spot back when Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn were in Cincinnati.  Anyways, both players did well, both played a good role in this game, as did Bronson Arroyo.  They helped the Reds beat the Brewers in game 1, 9-5, here is how.

Scoring Summary

			CIN	MIL
	2nd	R Hanigan grounded out to third, B Phillips scored, M Cairo to second.	1	0
	3rd	J Bruce homered to right (391 feet), D Stubbs scored.	3	0
	3rd	B Phillips singled to center, J Votto scored, B Phillips to second advancing on throw.	4	0
	3rd	J Gomes singled to left, B Phillips scored.	5	0
	3rd	R Hanigan doubled to left, J Gomes scored.	6	0
	3rd	B Arroyo singled to center, R Hanigan scored.	7	0
	5th	E Almonte safe at second on throwing error by shortstop P Janish, J Lucroy scored.	7	1
	7th	C Gomez hit sacrifice fly to center, C Counsell scored, R Weeks to third.	7	2
	8th	J Lucroy singled to center, C McGehee scored, M Kotsay to second.	7	3
	9th	B Phillips singled to center, D Stubbs and J Bruce scored.	9	3
	9th	R Braun homered to center (425 feet), R Weeks scored.	9	5
View complete Play-By-Play

Bronson Arroyo got the win as he went 6.1 innings, gave up 6 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned, walked 2, and fanned 4.

The Reds are now 12-11, and sit 1 game behind the Cardinals for 1st place in the NL Central.  

Next, the Reds will send Mike Leake out to the hill to battle Marco Estrada.  Game time is set for 8:10 PM, and will be televised on FS Ohio.