Cincinnati Reds

Fresh off his dominating complete game against the Marlins, Homer Bailey takes the mound for the Reds in the series rubbermatch against the Phillies. Game time is 1:35 ET. The Reds face rookie right-hander Jonathan Pettibone. In the latest edition of irrational lineup construction, Dusty Baker has designated Cesar Izturis (.167/.286/.194) as today’s cooler, batting between Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto. Apparently how often one gets a hit, makes an out, or hits the ball far, is less important than not disrupting the delicate process of Xavier Paul (.261/.386/.406) getting used to that unique feeling of batting seventh. Or creating the horror of three left-handed hitters in a row. Better to confound late-inning relief pitching than to get hits, get on base and hit with power the first three trips through the line-up. Unless the score is 10-0 by then, or something. I’m sure there’s more to it. Izturis is probably great at sacrificing outs with the bunt play. Oh well, as Hunter Thompson said, buy the ticket, take the ride. Go Reds! 1. Shin-Soo Choo (L) CF 2. Cesar Izturis (S) SS 3. Joey Votto (L) 1B 4. Brandon Phillips (R) 2B 5. Jay Bruce (L) RF 6. Todd Frazier (R) 3B 7. Xavier Paul (L) LF 8. Ryan Hanigan (R) C 9. Homer Bailey (R) P

Next Game Cincinnati Reds @ Philadelphia Phillies Sunday, May 19, 2013, 1:35 PM EDT Citizens Bank Park Homer Bailey vs Jonathan Pettibone Cloudy. Winds blowing from right to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 65. Complete Coverage > To paraphrase W.C. Fields, on a whole, the Reds would rather not be in Philadelphia. Since Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004, the Reds have a record of 12-23 playing in the City of Brotherly Love. Regardless of this statistic, the Reds hope to take two games out of three against the Phillies as they wrap up regular season play against Philadelphia today. The confidence in the ability to beat the Phillies today is certainly reinforced by yesterday's outpouring of offense against Howie Kendrick and a not-very-good Phillies bullpen. I won't call Joey Votto's Saturday a career day simply because it's just a byproduct of what happens when teams are dumb enough to pitch to him, but reaching base six times and going 4-4 is certainly an impressive feat. Likewise, the ten runes plated by the Reds suggests that the other Reds, including Jay Bruce and Ryan Hanigan, are beginning to fire on all cylinders. Equally impressive against Philadelphia on Saturday was Bronson Arroyo's performance, which Homer Bailey hopes to mimic if not surpass. However, Homer's career performance against the Phillies on the road serves as a microcosm for the Reds' lack of success there: winless with an ERA of 5.92. Phillies starter and rookie Jonathan Pettibone has almost the exact inverse of this in 2013, with a 3-0 record and an ERA of 3.42. It would not be surprising to see this young lefty perform well against the Reds' left-handed dominated lineup. However, it would make me mad and want to break things. So, Reds, please don't make me mad and make me break things. I don't like replacing them. Wins above replacement is better than losses creating replacement. Thankfully, these aren't the 2010 Phillies and the Reds' lineup is not identical to 2010 either. However, that doesn't mean that beating teams like the Phillies on the road are expected, as they are still powerful and have enough Veteran Presents like Michael Young to keep the kids entertained. That being said, it'd be really cool if the Reds could string together a series win against the Phillies after their sweep against the Marlins. Why do I say this? Well, it's because I'm talking about the Reds, they're my favorite team! Bullpen Log Reliever 5/14 5/15 5/16 5/17 5/18 5 day totals Aroldis Chapman 1.0, 26p 0.2, 12p 1.2 IP, 38 pitches Jonathan Broxton 0.2, 11p 0.2 IP, 11 pitches Sam LeCure 1.0, 19p 1.0, 10p 2.0 IP, 29 pitches J.J. Hoover 1.0, 30p 1.0 IP, 30 pitches Logan Ondrusek 1.0, 9p 1.0 IP, 9 pitches Sean Marshall 0.1, 6p 0.1, 14p 0.2 IP, 20 pitches Alfredo Simon 1.1, 18p 1.1 IP, 18 pitches

Reds lineup vs. Phillies Choo 8 Cozart 6 Izturis 6 Votto 3 Phillips 4 Bruce 9 Frazier 5 Paul 7 Hanigan 2 Bailey 1 *Zack Cozart was scratched because he is sick today.

Shin-Soo Choo cf Zack Cozart ss Joey Votto 1b Brandon Phillips 2b Jay Bruce rf Todd Frazier 3b Xavier Paul lf Ryan Hanigan c Homer Baiely p

After yesterday’s spectacular day at the plate, I feel it is time we take a moment to admire how great he is… If you combine his last two seasons, which equates to one full season, this is what you get 7.9 WAR, which would be the 12th best season ever by a Reds position players. Assuming he continues to play this well, these would be his end-of-year numbers: 211 hits, 38 2B, 4 3B, 23 HR, 121 R, 75 RBI, 139 BB, .346/.473/.531 His current OBP of .473 would be the second best ever by a Red. Second to, his own .474 last year. He is currently on pace for 8.7 WAR. That would be the best year by a Red since George Foster in 1977 (the year he hit 52 homers). Joey Votto is currently on pace to reach base 350 times. Here are the last names of the other modern players to do that: Ruth, Williams, Bonds. Yes, that’s all. OPS+ is a fancy catch-all stat that’s basically OPS, but adjusted for park and era. Among players with 3000 plate appearances Joey Votto slots in between Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Joey Votto isn’t good. He’s great. Maybe all-time great. A few more years will tell which.

Minor League Player of the Day: 2011′s 30th round pick, Dayton’s Joe Terry, went 4-5 with 2 doubles while driving in 3 runs. Terry was recently sent back to Dayton from Bakersfield, where he was struggling. He played most of 2012 in Dayton, where he hit .255/.310/.383. AAA Louisville 6 – Gwinett 5 The Bats hung on for a 6-5 win as Gwinett scored 3 runs in the final two frames off of Jose Arredondo (.2 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 1 K) and Yohan Pino (1.1 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 2 K (S4)). Greg Reynolds went to 4-0 with 7 innings of 2 run baseball, allowing 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. The Bats collected 14 hits, led by 3 from Felix Perez and Denis Phipps (also stolen base). Henry Rodriguez had 2, with a homer (2); Billy Hamilton had 2, including a double and a walk; Ray Chang had 3 including a double; Kris Negron had two hits also. Billy Hamilton is starting to play better. In his last 10 games, he’s hitting .326/.367/.478. AA Mobile 4 – Pensacola 1 The Blue Wahoos had the bases loaded with no outs in the first, but could only get one run, on a SF by Joe Mather and that was it offensively for them on the night. Luis Durango and Mike Gilmartin both went 2-4. Ryan Dennick started and took the loss (2-3), going 5 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and a walk, while striking out 4. Chris Manno threw 2 scoreless innings, and Wilken De La Rosa threw a scoreless 9th. High A Bakersfield 5 – Stockton 2 11 innings The Blaze tied the game in the top of the 9th, then scored 3 times in the 11th off homers by Yorman Rodrigeuz (1-5 (HR#6)) and a two run shot by recently demoted Steve Selsky (1-5 (HR#2)). Juan Silva also hit a homer (2). Marquez Smith (double) and Yovan Gonzalez both had 2 hits. Very good start by James Allen, throwing 6 innings of 1 run baseball, allowing only 3 hits, while walking 3 and striking out 4. Wes Mugarian threw 2 hitless innings (walked 2) to pick up his first win of the season and for the second straight day, El’Hajj Muhammad closed for the Blaze picking up his 4th save, with a hitless inning, striking out 2. Low A Dayton 6 – South Bend 3 Game 1 Good day at the ballyard in South Bend continued as the Dragons won both ends of a DH. Joe Terry led the Dragons in the first game, going 4-5 with 2 doubles and driving in 3 runs; Seth Mejias-Brean went 2-5, Junior Arias went 2-4, as did Tanner Rahler. Sal Romano got his record over .500 (4-3) with 5 innings of 5 hit, 3 run baseball. He walked 2 and struck out 5. Ben Klimesh got the save, throwing 2 scoreless innings for his 4th save. Dayton 3 – South Bend 1 Game 2 Tanner Rahler was the offense for the Dragons, hitting a 3 run homer (4) in the 6th to overcome a 1-0 South Bend lead. Wandy Peralta threw a gem to pick up his first win of the season, going 6.1, allowing only 4 hits and a run, while walking 1 and striking out 5. Alejandro Chacin picked up his first save, with a hitless .2, striking out 1.

(Reuters) – The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners in a walk-off for the second successive day with a 5-4 victory on Saturday. Jason Kipnis, who belted the go ahead three-run homer in the 10th inning on Friday, was driven in from third by Mark Reynolds on a fielders choice grounder in the bottom of the ninth to keep the Indians at the top of the American League Central (24-17). In New York, Robinson Cano drove in four runs on two two-run homers as the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2. … View full post on Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Cincinnati Reds News

Shin-Soo Choo CF Zack Cozart SS Joey Votto 1B Brandon Phillips 2B Jay Bruce RF Todd Frazier 3B Xavier Paul LF Ryan Hanigan C Homer Bailey P

Tanner Rahier had a big double header that helped the Dayton Dragons sweep the set on Saturday evening.

Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle…. FINAL Cincinnati 10 Philadelphia 0 W: B. Arroyo (4-4) L: K. Kendrick (4-2) BOX SCORE POSITIVES –Joey Votto decided to remind everyone today why he is the greatest hitter on the planet. Votto reached base all six times he came to the plate, going 4-4 with two walks, a double, and a ninth-inning two-run homer. –Bronson Arroyo pitched 7.2 shutout innings. I like Good Bronson. –Jay Bruce’s hot hitting continued, with a 2-4 day, including a double and an RBI. Ryan Hanigan hit a three-run homer in the second that got the Reds going. (Yes, read that again: Ryan Hanigan hit a homer.) –Shin-Soo Choo reached base three times. Yawn. Donald Lutz went 2-5 with his first major league double, a run scored, and an RBI. Todd Frazier emerged from the worst slump of his young career, going 2-4 with a walk, two runs scored, and an RBI. –Alfredo Simon finished out the game with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. NEGATIVES –None whatsoever. NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS –After having their six-game winning streak snapped yesterday, the Reds got back on the horse in fine fashion this afternoon. –Votto is hitting .346/.473/.531. I hope every mouth-breather who panicked about Votto during the first month of the season is duly embarrassed. –Arroyo has won three straight starts against the Phillies in pretty dominating fashion, since last August. On the season, Arroyo is 4-4 with a 3.28 ERA. How’s that for a #4 starter? –Neftali Soto made his major league debut as a defensive replacement for Votto in the ninth. –Bruce has hit in nine straight games. Final: #Reds 10, Phillies 0. WP-Arroyo 4-4. Reds clinch a season series win against the Phils for the first time since 2003. @cincienquirer — John Fay (@johnfayman) May 18, 2013 Source: FanGraphs