John Clay's Sidelines

Some Reds notes after 5-1 win over Astros last night:

- Old guy Edgar Renteria cracked a grand slam home run as part of the winning team’s five-run fifth inning.

- It was Homer Bailey’s best start of 2011. He was coming off his worst start, allowing nine runs in just four innings against the Mets last Thursday. Facing the NL’s worst team, however, Bailey allowed just five hits and one run over eight innings. He threw 99 pitches to pick up his sixth win of the year. In three starts this year against Houston, Bailey has allowed two earned runs in 21 innings pitched.

- Aroldis Chapman has not allowed a hit in his last 9.2 innings, the longest hitless streak by a Reds reliever since Chuck McElroy went 11.1 without giving up a hit in 1994. McElroy was 1-2 with a 2.34 ERA in 52 games for the Reds that season. He had been acquired from the Cubs in a deal for Mike Anderson, Darron Cox and Larry Luebbers. Surely you remember that blockbuster. McElroy was a lefty who wore rather large glasses. That ’94 season was his best year.

Continue reading ‘For Reds, at least Aroldis Chapman is showing his stuff’

(AP photo)

Can we now say the Reds’ season is officially over? It might as well be. Sad but true. That 4-3 loss in 10 innings to Houston last night dropped the Dreads 7.5 games back of red-hot Milwaukee in the NL Central. The Brewers are now 3.5 ahead of St. Louis and 5.5 ahead of a fading Pittsburgh. After losing three straight to Philadelphia, the Pirates lost last night to the visiting Cubs. Pittsburgh has lost six of its last seven.

Pitching has much to do with Milwaukee starting to show some separation. In their last 14 games, the Brewers have benefited from 13 quality starts. It would be a perfect 14-for-14 if Chris Narveson could have gone one more inning on July 26 in a 3-2 win over the Cubs. Instead, Narveson pitched five innings, giving up two runs. In their last four games, Milwaukee’s starters have allowed five earned runs in 26.2 innings.

Continue reading ‘Unable to get big hit, Reds facing a bigger deficit’

(H-L photo/Matt Goins)

Notes and links for a Sunday morning:

- Terrific story by John C. Cotey of the St. Petersburg Times on the late Desmond Allison.

An excerpt:

By now, everyone knows the tale, of how Desmond, a wonderfully gifted and silky-smooth sophomore starter on the Wildcats’ NCAA-bound basketball team, was pulled over on March 12, 2000, and arrested for DUI and drug possession.

He blew a 0.113, just over the legal limit of 0.10. He later pleaded guilty to the DUI, and the drug charge was dropped.

But his scholarship was gone, despite his pleas. He had begged coach Tubby Smith for a second chance. He cried, and Desmond never cried and may never have cried since.

Continue reading ‘UK policy and Desmond Allison, plus more Sunday notes’

(AP photo/Al Behrman)

Yes, Drew Stubbs hit the walk-off homer in the ninth that gave the Reds that 4-3 win over Atlanta on Sunday, his second career walk-off blast. But the most impressive part of Stubbs’ night was the fact he did not strike out, the second consecutive game in which the center fielder has not fanned. It had been July 6-7 since Stubbs had gone consecutive games without striking out.

The Reds are now three back of the three-way tie that is Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Milwaukee. Pittsburgh travels to Atlanta for a four-game set, which starts tonight. St. Louis could make some hay as the Cards play host to dreadful Houston for a four-game series. Milwaukee is off tonight, then welcomes the lowly Cubs to Miller Park for a three-game series. Cincinnati opens a four-game series with the New York Mets tonight at GABP.

Dontrelle Willis did not pitch badly, giving up six hits and three runs over 6.1 innings. He seemed to be bothered by a cracked fingernail. Willis may need to pitch well as Edinson Volquez pitched a complete game for Louisville his last start.

Continue reading ‘After Drew Stubbs’ walk-off, Reds look to get on a roll’

(AP photo)

Monday morning notes and links:

- Congrats to ex-UK golfer Russ Cochran on winning the Senior British Open.  The 52-year-old Cochran picked up a check for $310,000 for his third Senior Tour win. The Paducah native is the eighth American in the last nine years to win the Senior Open Championship.

- News that John Calipari is organizing an exhibition game for his Dominican Republic National Team against UK legends was the highlight of an otherwise quiet Sunday for UK sports. WKYT reports that Joe B. Hall has been contacted about coaching the Kentucky team.

- The Los Angeles Times climbs aboard the Shabazz Muhammad bandwagon, profiling the Las Vegas star. Some believe that UCLA is the leader for Shabazz’s services, but Muhammad says he will bring his trademark gold shoes to Lexington to visit UK’s facilities at some point.

- Gary Harris, the top Indiana prep player in the Class of 2012, put on a show at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, reports Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal. Kentucky appears to have some interest in the muscular guard, who also likes football. But Louisville and Indiana are both targeting Harris.

Continue reading ‘Russ Cochran, Shabazz, Joe B. and Monday morning notes’

(AP photo/Al Behrman)

In preparation for tonight’s 8 p.m. ESPN matchup with the Braves at GABP on Sunday Night Baseball, Cincinnati finally broke out the firepower on Saturday, whipping Atlanta 11-2. The scoring outburst marked the Reds’ best single-game run production since beating Pittsburgh 11-2 at GABP way back on April 16. It was just the eighth time all year that Dusty Baker’s club has scored double digits in a game, the last time being a 10-5 win at Baltimore back on June 25. The Reds are 8-0 in those double-digit games, by the way.

It was the second time the Reds have scored double-digits for a Homer Bailey start. The first time was a 10-4 win over visiting Houston May 5. Bailey needed a season-high 109 pitches to get through six innings. Bailey threw 53 pitches in the first two. But he gave up just two earned runs on the day. Since a dreadful six-inning, five-run start at Milwaukee on July 7, Bailey has allowed but three runs over 13.1 innings in his last two starts. His ERA sits at 3.67, which is second among Cincinnati starters behind Jonny Cueto’s 1.98. (Mike Leake is at 4.11; Bronson Arroyo is at 5.56; Dontrelle Willis at 3.37 but has made just two starts.)

Brandon Phillips broke out of his slump, stroking three hits on Saturday. Phillips’ average jumped from .278 to .282.

Maybe Edgar Renteria’s bat is heating up with the weather. The old-timer has five hits in 13 at-bats over his last four games. He drove in a season-high three runs on Saturday, his highest total since last year’s World Series when he played for the Giants.

Continue reading ‘As bats wake up, Reds ready for Sunday Night Baseball’

Reds lost to the Braves 6-4 last night during a night in which visiting Atlanta cranked out four home runs. Justin Heyward hit his 11th. Brian McCann hammered his 17th. Martin Prado belted his 10th. And pinch-hitter Dan Uggla smacked a two-run homer in the top of the ninth off reliever Nick Masset to ultimately give the Bravos the win.

The first three homers came off Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo.

The right-hander has now allowed 29 homers this season, matching his total from all of last year. If that didn’t tell you that Arroyo is having a sub-par season, then maybe his 5.56 ERA should be the tip-off. The 34-year-old Arroyo has now gone five straight games without a quality start. He’s given up 26 earned runs in 30 2/3 innings over that time. Plus, he’s allowed 12 homers during those five starts.

Continue reading ‘Bronson Arroyo and giving up the dreaded gopher ball’

(AP photo)

Some Reds notes heading into three-game series with Atlanta, which starts tonight at GABP, and opens a 10-game homestand:

- On this date last season, Scott Rolen was hitting .287 with 17 homers and 56 RBI. This year, Rolen is hitting .242 with five homers and 36 RBI.

- Chris Heisey has 33 RBI to go with his 12 home runs. The only NL player with as many homers and fewer RBI is Corey Hart of the Brewers. Hart, who played at Greenwood High School in Bowling Green, has 13 homers and 31 RBI.

- Tonight’s starting pitcher, Bronson Arroyo, has allowed 17 earned runs over 17 2/3 innings in his last three starts.

- Joey Votto managed just one hit in 11 at-bats at Pittsburgh.

- Jay Bruce drew four walks in three games at Pittsburgh.

Continue reading ‘Some Reds notes heading into 10-game homestand’

(AP photo)

Assorted Reds notes as Cincinnati begins into three-game series tonight at Pittsburgh:

- Reds are 1-5 vs. the surprising Pirates this season. All six games have come at Great American Ball Park. Reds have lost the last four to Pittsburgh. In those six games, Reds have managed just one quality start. Mike Leake went six innings, giving up two earned runs, in an 11-2 Cincinnati victory. The lone Reds win over Pittsburgh. The two teams have not played since May 19 when a win improved Pittsburgh to 20-23. Clint Hurdle’s club is 29-21 since. Reds are 22-29 since.

- Pittsburgh closer Joel Hanrahan blew his first save of the season Sunday at Houston. The Pirates won anyway. Hanrahan has 26 saves on the year. He’s a huge reason why Pittsburgh is a half game out of first place. The Pirates won 57 games last season. They have 49 wins already this year.

- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out that Pittsburgh is 20-7 versus Cincinnati, Chicago and Houston the season. Sounds a lot like the Reds of a year ago. Bernie also points out that of Pittsburgh’s 69 remaining games, 32 are against St. Louis, Milwaukee and Cincinnati.

Continue reading ‘Are amazing Pirates for real? Reds about to find out’

(AP photo)

Was Friday night the Reds’ Hal King moment?

Hal King was a backup catcher on the 1973 edition of the Cincinnati Reds. On July 1 of that season, the Reds trailed the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers by 10 games when the two teams hooked up for the first game of a doubleheader at Riverfront Stadium. Behind ace Don Sutton, the Dodgers led 3-1 going into the night. With two on and two out, Reds’ skipper Sparky Anderson sent up King as a pinch-hitter. King was hitting .180 at the time. He would hit all of 24 homers in his eight-year career. But none was bigger than the homer he hit that day, a three-run blast that gave Cincinnati a 4-3 win. And momentum. The Reds beat the Dodgers in the second game of the DH. They went on to win the division title.

Brandon Phillips is not Hal King. Phillips is an All-Star and potential Hall of Famer who hit his ninth homer of the year on Friday night. It was the 121st of his career. Yet few have been or will be bigger. With the sub-.500 Reds trailing St. Louis 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Phillips hit a two-run shot over the left-field fence to give the home team a one-run victory.

And hopefully momentum. Hal King-type momentum.

Click the continue line for a look at the Reds’ last 20 one-run games this season.

Continue reading ‘Was Brandon Phillips’ homer the Reds’ Hal King moment?’