 |
| Mike Leake was brilliant after a rough first inning. |
Just a couple of days ago, Reds followers were joining in
with the rest of baseball in poking fun at the Dodgers’ inability to muster any
offense. The past two nights, however, the Reds did their best Dodger Blue
impersonation as the offense went missing in action. On Wednesday, the Fourth
of July ended up being one to forget for the Redlegs with a 4-1 loss at Dodger
Stadium.
The Good
-After a rough first inning, Mike Leake (3-6) settled down
and was excellent the rest of the way. Leake started out like a train wreck,
giving up a double and three singles to begin the game as the Dodgers started
with a 3-0 lead. After that though, he was unblemished, working seven innings
of three-run ball. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.
-Devin Mesoraco tallied all of the Reds offense on the night
with a solo home run in the fifth. He now has five home runs on the year, or
two more than Yasmani Grandal has in the past week. Not saying anything, just saying.
-Joey Votto clubbed his 34th double of the season
and appeared to look fine running on the play.
The Bad
-The offense was just abysmal again. Former Red Aaron Harang
(6-5) tossed seven innings of three hit, one run ball. The Redlegs could muster
only three hits on the night against Dodger pitching.
-Bill Bray continued to struggle with his control since his
return from the DL. He walked two and did not record an out and was charged
with an earned run.
-Drew Stubbs continue to appear totally lost at the plate.
He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is now 0-for his last 28. This team is
completely different when Stubbs clicks offensively. When he doesn’t, the rest
of the lineup doesn’t seem to go either.
The Notables
-The Reds have certainly squandered opportunities to make
this western swing much better than it has been thus far. They now are looking
up at another team in the Central for the first time in nearly a month as with
the Pirates victory over Houston, Pittsburgh holds a one game edge in the
division. St. Louis also knocked off Colorado to gain a game on Cincinnati.
-Cincinnati stays out West with a three-game series against
the Reds West, aka the Padres to lead into the All-Star Break. Thursday brings
a very interesting pitching matchup as Mat Latos (7-2, 4.42) returns to Petco
Park against one of the men he was traded for, Edinson Volquez (5-7, 3.68) in a
10:05 p.m. Eastern start.
No comments:
Post a Comment