Reds Yield Sweep With Win Over 'Zona

Mike Leake earned the win, Thursday, helping the Reds pick up only their
2nd win in 8 games.

By:  Coop


The Cincinnati Reds had lost 5 of their last 6 games, and were trying to avoid being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks.  If they wanted to pick up a win, and go over the .500 mark, Mike Leake would have to pitch well.  He usually pitches well every time he takes the hill, but this time, he would have to play somewhat distracted.  Why was he distracted?  Because he was arrested earlier this week for stealing tee shirts from Macy's.  Well, despite the nasty signs some fans made, and some boos from the crowd, Leake pitched well, helping the Reds go to 10-9, as they win 7-4.  Here is how.


The Diamondbacks scored in the 1st inning off of a Steven RBI single, Roberts would score, 1-0.  The Reds pitchers have gave up tons of runs in the 1st inning so far this season, not sure how many exactly, but I know the amount leads the NL.


The Reds would answer back in their half of the 1st, where they scored 4 runs.  The 1st run was plated when the bases were loaded, and Jay Bruce walked, 1-1 the score.  The 2nd and 3rd runs came across when Miguel Cairo hit a 2 RBI single, Votto and Gomes scored, the Redlegs had a 3-1 lead.  The final run of the inning was scored when the bases were loaded and Paul Janish walked, 4-1 the score after the 1st.  Not a good 1st inning for the starter Daniel Hudson.


Mike Leake went to school in Arizona, and maybe was kinda hoping the D-Backs would do something, so he helped them out.  In the 2nd inning, Hudson laid down a sac bunt, Miranda would come across to score, 4-2.  Then in the 5th, Johnson hit a long ball to right field, the Reds lead was only by 1.


In the Cincinnati 5th inning, Joey Votto hit a 378 foot home run to right, his 3rd long ball of the year, and the Reds lead was back to 2.


In the 6th inning, the Reds would score twice.  The 1st run came off of Ramon Hernandez's bat, when he hit an RBI double, Miguel Cairo would score, 6-3.  Then the 2nd run scored when Paul Janish hit an RBI single to center, Ramon would score, 7-3.


Francisco Cordero would give up a run in the 9th when Drew went yard, 7-4 the score, and that's how she finished.


Mike Leake gets the win, as he went 7 innings, have up 3 earned runs off of 4 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Leake is now 3-0 on the season, and 0-1 when it comes to getting away from the cops, well as far as we know.


Tonight the Reds will hop on the plane and head to St. Louis to take on the filthy Red Birds for a 3 game series.  We all know what happened last year, the bench-clearing brawl.  We'll see if any kind of scuffle happens in this series.  Hopefully the Reds put the Cardinals in their place if there is.  Game time tomorrow is set for 8:15 PM ET, and will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio and MLB Network. 

Arroyo Helps Reds Get Back On Track

Brandon Phillips makes an impressive inning-ending play in
the Reds 6-1 win over the D-Backs, Saturday.

By:  Cooper Ledford


The Cincinnati Reds were coming off of their first losing streak of the season, and had a 5-2 record after starting 5-0.  Bronson Arroyo was trying to end that losing streak and give the Reds win #6, and that he did.  Bronson looked great through 6 innings, helping the Reds get the win 6-1.  Here is how.


In the 1st inning, Scott Rolen hit an RBI single to plate Phillips, 1-0 Cincy.  A few batters later, Jay Bruce hit a fly ball with Votto on 3rd and Rolen on 2nd.  Both runners would try and tag-up, Votto just touched home plate before Rolen was tagged out at 3rd, that was the 3rd out of the inning, but the run did indeed count, 2-0 the score.


Arizona would answer back in the 6th when Melvin Mora hit an RBI single to bring in Chris Young from 3rd, and the D-Backs were on the board.  But let's rewind--how did Young get to 3rd again?  Well he reached 1st then Bronson tried to pick him off, it was a throwing error that went into right field, Young would go all the way to 3rd, that's how he got there.  I guess Bronson's hair got in the way, ha ha.


The score would remain 2-1 going into the 9th inning.  The 9th inning was great for the Redlegs, as they scored 4 runs in the inning.  The first two run were scored when Jonny Gomes hit an RBI double down the 3rd base line, Votto and Rolen would come around to score, 4-1.  The 3rd run of the inning was scored when Ryan Hanigan hit an RBI single to plate Gomes from 3rd, 5-1.  And the final run of the inning, and game, was scored when Chris Heisey hit an RBI single to bring home Hanigan, 6-1 the score, and that's how she finished.


Bronson Arroyo got the win, as he went 6 innings, have up 8 hits (yes, that is a lot) 1 run (none earned--even though it should be earned since he was the one to commit the error) did not walk a batter, and fanned half-a-dozen.  


Arroyo couldn't have won this game without the help of his team's bullpen.  Bill Bray had a 1-2-3 7th inning, Aroldis Chapman had a scoreless 8th, and Francisco Cordero had a 3 up, 3 down, 9th inning.


This was an all-around team win for the Reds, everyone was important in this one.  


While the Reds are happy, Diamondbacks starting pitcher, Daniel Hudson is not.  He pitched a great game, going 7 innings, giving up 3 hits, and 2 earned runs, but gets the tough-luck loss.


The Reds go to 6-2 on the year, Bronson Arroyo goes to 2-0, and the Reds are 1.5 games ahead of the Pirates for 1st place in the NL Central.


Tomorrow the Reds and Snakes will play in the rubber game at 4:10 PM ET.  Mike Leake will battle with Joe Saunders.  The game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Series 3 Preview

By:  Cooper Ledford


The 5-1 Cincinnati Reds will begin their first road trip of the season.  Their first stop will be in Arizona as they will visit the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game series.  So with that, I am going to preview this series, game by game.


Game 1 (Friday, 9:40 PM ET, FS Ohio):  Travis Wood will be pitching for the Reds, while Ian Kennedy will be pitching for the D-Backs.  Wood had a great first start, as he only gave up 1 run and 3 hits through 7 innings.  Kennedy was decent when he started on Opening Day, as he gave up 3 earned runs through 6 innings.  Travis Wood is the better pitcher in this one, so the Reds should win.  The Reds offense was not very good in their last game against Houston, they need to improve a bit.


Game 2 (Saturday, 8:10 PM ET, FS Ohio):  In the 2nd game of the series, Bronson Arroyo will take the hill for the Reds, for the D-Backs, it will be Daniel Hudson.  Hudson lost in his previous start against the Rockies, while Arroyo won in his previous start against the Brewers.  This looks like it will be a great pitcher's duel, but then again, both pitchers have some issues.  As all Reds fans know, Bronson is still recovering from mono, but seems to be fine.  Hudson's issue is not an illness, as it is just the fact that his command is not that great, as he showed against Colorado.  


Game 3 (Sunday, 4:10 PM ET, FS Ohio):  In the final game of the series, Mike Leake will pitch for Cincinnati, his counterpart will be Joe Saunders.  Mike Leake pitched well in his first start against Houston, allowing only 2 runs in 6 innings.  Saunders looked good as well in his first start against the Cubs, as he allowed only 2 runs through 6 innings, yet was handed the loss.  Both pitchers are coming off strong outings, we'll see who does better though.


The game the Reds have the best chance of losing is either the 2nd or 3rd game.  The 2nd because Hudson is a great pitcher, the 3rd because Mike Leake might struggle a bit.  Dunno why I say that, I just have a feeling.  But, I say the Reds take at least 2 games from Arizona, and go to 7-2, or hopefully 8-1.