5/7 Game Review
Louisville lost 4-2. Box Score
- Chris Valaika went 1-4 with a run.
- Denis Phipps went 1-4 with a HR (4) and 2 RBI.
- Bill Rhinehart went 3-3.
- Corky Miller went 1-3.
- Scott Carroll threw a perfect inning of relief with a strikeout.
- Travis Webb threw a perfect inning of relief with a strikeout.
Game notes
The offense continues to struggle. Corky Miller pushed his average up to .300 on the season in the loss. Bill Rhinehart with a good night, reaching base with a single each time he went to the plate.
Pensacola loses 3-2 in 12 innings. Box Score
- Ryan LaMarre went 1-5 with a walk and a steal (7).
- Didi Gregorius went 0-4 with 2 walks and a run.
- Joel Guzman went 2-6 with a solo HR (4).
- Brodie Greene went 4-5 with a steal (5).
- Josh Fellhauer went 1-1 as pinch hitter.
- Mark Serrano threw 5 shutout innings with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts.
- Donnie Joseph threw 2 shutout innings of relief with a walk and 4 strikeouts.
- Justin Freeman threw a hitless inning of relief.
Game notes
In the top of the 12th Didi Gregorius walked with two outs and Henry Rodriguez laced one down the line. Didi Gregorius looked like he had a chance to score only to see the ball bounce over the wall for a ground rule double. Joel Guzman struck out to end the inning. Chris Manno struggled with his control in his first game back since coming off of the DL. He walked two hitters and with two outs he threw a wild pitch that let in the game winning run. Brodie Greene is warming up again, hitting .473 over his last 5 games. The extra innings double by Henry Rodriguez made him 1-6 and extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
Bakersfield won 9-7. Box Score
- Devin Lohman went 2-4 with a HR (3), HBP and 3 runs.
- Bryson Smith went 2-5 with a double, 2 RBI and a run.
- Donald Lutz went 3-5 with a double, RBI and a run.
- David Vidal went 1-3 with a 3-run HR (6).
- Juan Duran went 1-4 with a triple and a run.
- Tucker Barnhart went 2-4 with 2 doubles and a run.
- Tony Cingrani allowed 1 earned (5 total) in 6 innings with 3 walks and 8 strikeouts.
- Curtis Partch allowed a run in 3 innings with 3 strikeouts.
Game notes
The Blaze jumped out to a 9-0 lead after four innings, but were shut down by the Lancaster bullpen. Tony Cingrani proved to be human. While he only allowed 1 earned run in the game, he did give up 4 unearned runs including an unearned home run that followed what was originally ruled an inside the park home run that was later changed to an error that should have ended the inning. Bryson Smith is on fire, hitting .366 over his last 10 games and he has 3 multi-hit games in a row. Donald Lutz raised his average to .316 on the season. David Vidal hit his 6th home run of the year, but was thrown out of the game after arguing balls and strikes after what he thought was his second strikeout on a questionable pitch. Tucker Barnhart is 7 for his last 15. Billy Hamilton returned to the line up and went 1-5 with a run. Devin Lohman extended his hitting streak to 6 games.
Dayton was rained out. Double header today starting at 6pm.
Game preview
| Team | 1st half | 2nd half | Time | Probable | Box Score | Listen Live | Watch Live |
| Louisville | 10-22 | N/A | 6:35pm |
Gallagher |
Here | Here |
Here |
| Pensacola | 15-17 |
N/A | 8:00pm |
Lotzkar |
Here |
Here |
Here |
| Bakersfield | 17-13 | N/A | 10:00pm |
TBA |
Here |
Here |
N/A |
| Dayton | 12-18 | N/A |
6:00pm |
Jensen/TBA |
Here | Here |
N/A |
Cingrani allowed a run? better cut that bum!
That Lutz/Vidal combo is getting me more and more excited every day
Good to see Hamilton back
DonnieJ having an Ondrusek like resurgent season after a poor one the year before. Speaking of, did anyone watch Logan in last night’s game? Dude was filthy and made Braun look silly
Catchers in our minor leagues have to be looking up wondering what the future holds for them. Hanigan & Mesoraco have been really good so far.
That Bruce bomb last night reminded me of the one Dunn hit there a few years ago … I think Adam’s was still longer … but wow … I came out of my seat when that left Jay’s bat.
Hanigan is in his 30′s now, so it’s not like he’ll be around the next 10 years. He may also get more money somewhere else after 2013 when his contract is up.
Do we think there is potential for Ondrusek to be the closer at some point down the road and Marshall moved back to his traditional 8th inning role (not that Marshall has been bad it just appears to me that Ondrusek has better stuff and may actually be the better closer in the long run).
Marshall has been the best reliever in the NL over the last 2 seasons. He should be closing on just about any team.
IMO pitchers are hot and cold just like hitters. Not to be cynical, but Ondrusek is hot right now. That said, success breeds confidence whic breeds more success.
Cingrani finally has his come back down to Earth start, but that was an incredible run to start the year. I am a bit surprised by the 3 walks, but he did counter that with 8 K’s.
Barnhart is warming up after an abysmal start with the bat. The D is there already, but he needs to show he can hit a little bit if he is going to make the show.
Why aren’t we getting Lutz more reps in LF. Pretty sure we have 1B locked down for a while.
I’d love to see Vidal go on a tear and start putting up some gaudy Cal league numbers to force the organizational hand by June and get him up to AA, especially considering HRod is showing his bat may be ready for AAA around the same time.
Bryson Smith is playing himself up into the future OF equation. It may be as a Chris Heisey like reserve, but those guys have value too. Possibly more if he shows in AA whenever he gets there thay his numbers aren’t a Cal league product. He is having a nice first full season and while skipping Low A.
So is Serrano back to starting, or is he either getting work in or just spot starting out of necessity?
Jospeh seems intent on another 13+ IP before he gives up another run, and i’ll keep saying it, it’d be nice if he were ready for the show by the all star break when Chapman should be moving to the rotation.
The General still a little cold with the bat, but you have to like the walks.
Fellhauer has just been raking lately. He seems intent on picking up the Dave Sappelt late resurgence role.
Duke that (moving Lutz to LF) poses an interesting question I have and it pertains to Hamilton as well possibly (although it may hold different answers for both guys). How long does a minor leaguer need to play at a new position before his defense could be ready for the bigs? Obviously, it depends on the position switch going from what spot to what spot, but here we are talking about infielders moving to the outfield. Is one full season enough for that type of move? More? Less?
Duke: the Reds are better and will be for the rest of this season, with Chapman in the bullpen. As he hasn’t begun to throw yet the idea of Masset pitching in 2012 is becoing less realistic. Groin injuries are tricky so I do not believe they will put all their eggs in the Bray basket nor in an unproven rookie (Joseph).
The season is nearly 20% in the books It would take a month, at this point, to get Chapman’s pitch count up to the point it needs to be to a starter. Does he get sent to Louisville to do that? That aint going to happen.
This is about the big league team now, not about what might be in the future. For 2012 Chapman is in the pen.
Why can’t they stretch him out in the bigs in July? Have him scheduled to start and throw 3 IP and then have Leake come in inning 4 and go as long as he can? Then when Chapman is up to regular starting send Leake down to AAA, or use him as the long reliever.
Even if Masset doesn’t get back, I think a bullpen of:
LR: Lecure or Leake
MR: Joseph (LOOGY)
MR: Hoover
MR: Arredondo
MR: Bray
SU: Ondrusek
CL: Marshall
Can stilll be extremely effective. We need Chapman to start game 2 or 3 of a playoff series and throw 6 innings of 1 run ball and maybe do that twice, not throw 2-3 innings over an entire series.
Not sure with Serrano. Time will tell.
Lutz is splitting time about 50-50 between left and first.
Duke the reds are going to have quite a decision to make when Bray and Massett are ready to come off the DL. If Chapman is going in the rotation in June who comes out? All 5 seem to be pitching well. I’m not disagreeing with you about putting Chapman in the rotation but it will be a difficult decision unless some one tanks or a injury occurrs. Wow the pen has been lights out. Could some of this surplus pitching be used to get a middle of the order LF’er at the deadline?
Jim, I agree in your thoughts that some of our surplus pitching is going to have to be dealt for a hitter(either LF or bench). Preferably,
a left handed hitter. The problem is who might be available. On the other hand, our surplus in pitching could easily evaporate with injuries. Also, we may have to deal a pitcher we would rather keep in order to get what we need.
If somebody is moved out of the rotation (barring a trade) then the answer is that it will be Leake. Cueto will remain because he has put up the best results for more than a year now by far. Latos will remain because he is probably the second most talented (after Chapman) and Walt traded a lot to get him. Arroyo will stay because he has pitched very well this year and his contract is huge and Castillini loves him. The decision comes down to Bailey or Leake. Bailey has outpitched Leake this year. Leake has actually pitched horribly this year with a 5.97 ERA in 5 starts. Bailey has no options. Leake does have options. Simple answer.
I do agree that if Walt wants the Reds to make a deep run that their biggest need is a right handed bat to plug into the #4 spot. Obviously, if Dusty were willing to put Bruce in cleanup it would not be such an issue, but as long as Dusty is manager it is mandatory to split up Votto and Bruce (even though both handle left handed pitchers better than most of our other players).
Votto has hit .305/.392/.505 vs lefties in his career with 30 HR and 134 RBI (in 740 at bats) and .315/.413/.567 vs righties in his career with 91 HR, and 284 RBI (in 1581 at bats).
Bruce has hit .235/.311/.432 vs lefties in his career with 29 HR and 88 RBI (in 597 at bats) and .269/.340/.505 vs righties in his career with 80 HR and 210 RBI (in 1359 at bats).
Thus, the message to Dusty should be: who cares if you put the two lefties together? IT HAS ZERO AFFECT ON VOTTO! So Votto is basically a switch hitter for all practical purposes. Just convince Dusty of this and he can then avoid the mental block of having two lefties together and avoid the “nightmare” of an opposing manager bringing in a lefty to get “automatic” outs against lefties Votto and Bruce (of which neither are automatic outs and Bruce is only marginally worse vs lefties than vs righties).
Beard the simple answer is for BP to heat up,leave Stubbs and Cozart at 1 and 2. (hopefully they continue to produce) Then Bruce can continue to bat 5th which is the ideal situation. Yes, Votto hits lefties well. Bruce is average at best against leftie and the more he sees them the worse his numbers will be.JMHO. If I can make the opposing manager have to burn two players or allow him to face Bruce with a righty I’ll take that all day. Of course BP has to hit and jay must continue the approach he has now and that is using the whole field. Switching Bruce and BP is not what is wrong with this offense. LF and 3rd base have to supply some punch. right now that ain’t happening on a regular basis.
Amen on the last two sentences. Those are two positions that should be providing punch.
Reading thoughts about the Reds bench and the discussion of needing or not needing a lefty off the bench, here are the current aggregate bench stats according to Baseball Reference.
For pinch hitters, the club’s line is .344/.400/.563 (.963 OPS).
For “subs”, the club’s line is .327/.357/.519 (.876 OPS).
Willie Harris is in those totals with a .220 OPS as a sub and .258 OPS as a pinch hitter, further showing how good in total everyone else is doing coming off the bench during a game. Now they just need these bench players to produce when they get a chance to start.
It might be too early, but who are some of the right-handed bats (3B/RF) that might be available come the trade deadline – assuming the Reds are still in the hunt, and Rolen and or/ the LF platoon is not hitting, who might the Reds target? Also need a LH for the bench…..
There won’t be much out there as too many teams will think they are in it with the extra wild card team now. I will go out on a limb and hazard some guesses on available players though. Boston will not keep up and Cody Ross will be available at some point. Pittsburgh’s Garret Jones, SD’s Mark Kotsay are others that come to mind, though not game changers, they could fill a bench role.
Usually the biggest obstacle is who you have to give up to get better. In this case, I believe the best options are blocked by Dusty. Frazier can be the best option to make this line up better. He just needs to pley regularly to see whether it can hold up.
I agree on Frazier. If he produces, LF is the only hole. There is the possibility that Heisey/Ludwick pick things up with the bat. Another possible solution would be to put Frazier in LF and pursue a 3B. Whether it is LF or 3B, what
we need is going to be expensive, if it’s even available.
Imo Leake would be the best trade canidate to get that 3rd big bat. The slow start might have hurt his value but he should turn that around sooner rather than later. Trading away talented, young, cost-controlled pitchers is risky and if not done properly flat out stupid. But we have the depth to make it happen. This is assuming everyone else stays healthy and producing well. Chapman should be an upgrade in the near future, and the SP depth is better than OF depth top to bottom imo. The player we get would have to play LF, have strong batting skills, and be under contract for at least 2 years.
I would not trade Leake as he is the heir to Arroyo’s spot next year. We do not have the starting pitching depth you think we have. Their is a gap where the next good arms aren’t due until 2014.
Bray and/or Masset are tradeable and the market for reliever’s will be hot with all the injuries.
Foxred, I think Arroyo is still under contract next year.
Who would trade for Bray and Masset. One can’t walk and one can’t throw. Not a lot of people lining up there.
Arroyo is here next year as well. So Leake can’t really be his heir apparent to next year
Arroyo is still under contract for next year. Next year is his last one under contract I believe. The exact same situation will play out next year only then, Leake may be out of options as well. (This is his 3rd year w/ the club).
While I like Leake, and I believe he is better than he has pitched so far, he’s not going to be more than a 4th or 5th SP in the rotation. Villareal was just called up to AAA. Sulbaron, Corcino, and Lotzkar are all in AA and the first two could move up before the end of the year. We should have some pitching depth for the back of the rotation/swing starters for next year. Then hopefully Corcino is ready to go fulltime by 2015.
If a bat for LF/3B could be obtained for Leake w/o giving up too much else, and that bat is controlled for a couple of years, you would have to look into it. Because the other option is to waste Chapman in the pen, or send Leake there to be the long-man.
Agreed. The SP depth isn’t what you think when you consider most teams use 8 or 9 different guys each season. We only have 6. OK, 7 if you count Francis (judging by his hits/inning, I don’t).
Hello everyone , long time I want to say thankyou to the Gods above for MILB TV I travel like crazy , I have been in Indiana, for business and Ihave my trusty PC and what do I have my reds AA on MY PC Now trust me when traveling and you have the same nonsense on hotel cable and you know what I mean, I need my fix of some minor league ball
I am back in NYC now but heading out friday to Arizona, need my PC
I watched the Pensacola game last night and the camera was OK from Mississippi . i just want to catch up. Before I watched the game I looked at the stats and felt pretty good about my Wahoos . Serrano to me looked good , he only had 52 pitches after 5 inning thought he should of pitched another inning. For a spot starter, he should be very proud of his performance. A couple of things and again i am excited to watch this stuff . Didi’s swing looks long, and I really like Lamar and Green and Josh. Swings look good short and sweet. Tanner looked tired and Manno’s lack of control was a surprise. Now I looked at the stats and I see Tanner has pitched 3 games in a row along with Freeman and hayes. I have to ask why. Then I see Manno has not pitched since april26, was he hurt. He looked like he has not pitched in a while. Finally guys minor league ball is difficult but minor league ball extra innings two games in a row is difficult on the pitching staff especially. so I understand. one more word the end of the game Manno had some control issue but a live fastball , he was 0-2 on the batter with a man on third and threw a slider in the dirt that should of been handled easily by the catcher, but guys as I said that guy was sitting behind the plate for 13, Manno should know better. and let me say again thank you God’s for the MILB TV
Manno had just come off of the DL. That was his first game in 10 or 11 days.
The truth of the matter is this. Two of Frzier,Ludwig,Heisey,Rolen ned to step up for this team to score runs consistently. I’m not concerned with rather Bruce bats 4th ot 5th. the starting pitching is performing and the pen has been lights out. Add some run production from 2 of those 4 and we will win this division.
Frazier has been stepping up, Dusty just refuses to play him consistently.