It doesn't quite matter that the bullpen was that bad because the offense was drowned out again. They only got 7 hits and score 2 runs. Not one of their hits was for extra bases, either!
Let's run this down...
Zach McAllister was scary bad in the first inning. He gave up 3 runs and faced 7 batters. But after that, he didn't give up any more runs. He also had a 1-2-3 second inning, going on to strike out 6 and only walk 1. McAllister did end up facing a lot of batters and giving up 7 more hits, and by the middle of the 6th he was already over 100 pitches. His night was done. He could have been worse against this Cincy lineup but I think he did well, excepting the first inning. Once again I'm stunned by the success of the starters over that of the relievers and the batters. Stunned!
Oh, and if you're wondering, McAllister hit Phillips and Barnes hit Choo. Is that the end of that? Bummer!
Rich Hill came in for one batter in the 6th and walked him, which is exactly what he did Saturday against Boston. The hell?
With 2 on and 1 out, Cody Allen came in to finish that pesky 6th inning with 2 on and 1 out. He got a guy to almost bunt into a double play but it didn't happen. Luckily they did get one out and then Allen struck out Joey Votto, which was huge.
Then it was Bryan Shaw's turn, who - I swear - I was just thinking the other day how he was one of the few arms left that didn't suck yet. Damn me and my stupid positive thoughts! Shaw absolutely lost his shit, giving up 4 runs to on 5 hits from 6 batters. He only got one out. His ERA doubled. Holy smokes!!
Then Scott Barnes came in and I was all "oh crap!" and he let one of Shaw's guys score, but got the next 2 batters out.
Matt Albers finished the game and he gave up another run because why not? He did strike out 3. Yay.
Hey, you know who is super good? Michael Bourn is super good! Not only did he go 2 for 4 today, raising his average to .310, but he's also been tearing up center field lately with catches like this one tonight that ended in a slide and saved at least one run from scoring (well probably more because there were no outs!) Nice to see a little flair out there!
Swisher, Santana, Brantley and Stubbs all went 1 for 4 today. Even though it didn't amount to any more than 2 runs, it's still nice to see that guys are not being completely shut out of the hitting game, and are getting singles where home runs would mean the most.
Santana had a pickoff at 2nd, of the infamous Joey Votto.
Brantley had an outfield assist at the plate, one of my favorite plays in baseball (I love outfield assists, I love plays at the plate, so assists to the plate - boffo!)
Stubbs stole a base, allowing him to score on one of Bourn's single.
So good stuff did happen tonight, it was just far outweighed by the bad stuff, and by the stuff that didn't happen at all.
Tomorrow I'll be at the game, courtesy of my friend who won tickets because she is awesome at cornhole. She's in the Cleveland Cornhole League. If you're interested in competitive cornhole with CASH PRIZES, check 'em out! Actually, you probably already saw the piece on them on SportsTime Ohio, you STO slut!
It'll be Justin Masterson versus RHP 3.39. I get to see Masterson for the second time this year - hopefully he has a better outing than last time! What I would really like to see is one of those fancy high-scoring games. This'll be my 6th game of the year - the other games I've been to, other then when they scored 7 (and I missed half of it, chaperoning some kids in the Sandlot), they scored 3, 2, 1 and 0. Bah!
So, let's score some runs, let's get a win, and I'll see you there!!
Radio Chatter:
"Zambrano's either hitting the baseball or hitting teammates."
- Tom Hamilton
"This is one of those games you almost have to be here to believe it."
- Tom Hamilton
"I think Margaret taught him that one, not his dad."
- Tom Hamilton on the Reds' pitcher's slow pitch after commenting on his parents' marriage longevity
"As good as the Reds are, it's tough to fathom how they aren't in first place."
- Tom Hamilton
"The marketing director for LaRosa's pizza has since been fired. [...] The city of Cincinnati as a contingent has gained 10,000 pounds since the promotion began."
- Tom Hamilton on the 10-strikeout free pizza promo in Cincinnati
"With free pizza on the line, anything within a foot of home plate is a strike."
- Tom Hamilton
"Zambrano's either hitting the baseball or hitting teammates."
- Tom Hamilton
"This is one of those games you almost have to be here to believe it."
- Tom Hamilton
"I think Margaret taught him that one, not his dad."
- Tom Hamilton on the Reds' pitcher's slow pitch after commenting on his parents' marriage longevity
"As good as the Reds are, it's tough to fathom how they aren't in first place."
- Tom Hamilton
"The marketing director for LaRosa's pizza has since been fired. [...] The city of Cincinnati as a contingent has gained 10,000 pounds since the promotion began."
- Tom Hamilton on the 10-strikeout free pizza promo in Cincinnati
"With free pizza on the line, anything within a foot of home plate is a strike."
- Tom Hamilton
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