Reds/Beer Makers Recap

The Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers completed a two game series in which each team earned a victory.  Game one might have been the worst display of baseball I have ever seen in the 15-3 Brewers throttling of the Reds.  Thankfully, game two turned out to be a different story.  Here is what this series taught us about our Reds squad.

Positives:  Not many positives in game one.  The only bright spot in the Reds offense on this night was that Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips  did a little yard work.  It was the fifth homer of the year for Phillips and the seventh for Bruce.  However, in typical Reds fashion, they were both solo shots. 

Another positive from this series is the continued pitching of the bullpen. Reds bullpen pitchers did not give up an earned run over the two game span.  Six different pitchers were used over 10 innings, and they all pitched extremely well.   

Another positive that I saw in the series was the performance of Micha Owings in game two.  He was able to put together a decent start for the second time this year, and set his team up in position to win.  When he did stumble and the Brewers came back to tie the game, Mr. Owings did some work with the bat.  He drove in the go-ahead run with a triple, and later scored.  On the mound, Micha threw six solid innings, giving up seven hits, and five runs (four earned).  He upped his record to 2-3.

Game two also saw some life out of the Reds offense.  Jay Bruce continued his hot hitting by sending a souvenir into the moon deck for the second straight day.  Willy Taveras even showed his bat has a little pop as he visited souvenir city for the first time this season.  Five different Reds collected RBI’s in game two, which is big considering how much everyone has struggled. 

Negatives: BRONSON ARROYO!!!!  For most pitchers, the performance that Arroyo put on in game one would be the worst of their careers.  Not for Bronson.  He is the first pitcher since 1900 to have two outings of one inning or less, and give up at least nine earned runs.  He did it last year in Toronto when he pitched one frame and gave up 10 earned.  Against the Brew Crew on Wednesday night, Arroyo’s final line read: 1 IP, 7 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO. This is the Bronson that Reds fans have to get used to.  He can go out and throw a shutout one day, and come back in his next outing and pitch like a little leaguer.  All that’s left to do is forget about it and move on.  They are going to need him to pitch well in order to contend in the Central.

How about something from the “you don’t see that everyday” category.  The Reds were struggling so mightily against the Brew Crew that Dusty wanted to save some bullpen guys.  So what does he do?  He puts in Reds shortstop Paul Janish to pitch the ninth.  That’s right, Paul Janish.  Janish actually did much better than Arroyo.  Janish gave up only five earned runs on five hits, and he struck out two.  It was pretty comical watching this all take place, but it’s sad that it had to get to this point.  Your team is being beaten so badly that position players are called in to pitch.  One word can describe this: Disgrace.

Final Thoughts: Other than the abysmal performance by Mr. Arroyo, the Reds actually had a pretty good series.  The offense performed well, the bullpen was lights out, and the defense was solid for the most part.  It’s just when a team falls behind 9-0 after one inning, it’s hard to comeback.  Credit goes out to the Milwaukee hitters.  As I said before the series started, if a Reds pitcher makes a mistake, the Brewers offense will make you pay.  That’s exactly what happened.  The Brewers are playing their best baseball of the year right now, and a series split with them is not a bad thing.  I think the Reds are playing well right now, and they need to string some wins together.  Not a better time than now against first place  St. Louis as the Reds and Cards hook up for a three game set at GABP.  This is a time for Cincy to make a statement and prove they belong in the NL Central title discussions.  First pitch is tonight at 7:10.