Titanic Struggle Recap: Reds begin a new winning streak
Let's recap tonight's titanic struggle….
W: S. Marshall (4-3)
L: J. Marquis (4-6)
S: A. Chapman (22)
–Here's a positive for you: Your Cincinnati Reds have the best record in all of baseball. Life is good.
–Ryan Ludwick continued his hot hitting, going 2-3 with a walk, a homer, and 4 RBI. The homer — Ludwick's 18th — was a three-run blast that gave the Reds a 4-0 lead in the third.
–Sean Marshall pitched two perfect, dominant innings. This is the Sean Marshall that we knew we were going to see this year. Hope Dusty was taking notice.
–Aroldis Chapman pitched another perfect, electric ninth inning for his 22nd save (that's 14 in a row that Chapman has converted). Sam LeCure was effective too, throwing 2.1 good innings after Homer Bailey collapsed. LeCure kept the Reds in the game. Good stuff.
–Brandon Phillips hit the homer that gave the Reds the winning margin. Todd Frazier also hit a two-run homer.
–Homer Bailey looked good early, and he was staked to a 6-0 lead. With the way Bailey had been pitching lately, it seemed like we were going to have an easy win on our hands.
Not so fast, my friend. The wheels fell off for Homer in a hurry, as he gave up all six San Diego runs in the fourth inning. Overall, Bailey went 3.2 innings, giving up six runs on nine hits and two walks.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Another winning streak begins. The Reds almost let this one get away from them but, as good teams do, they buckled down and collected the win. The Nation needed that.
–According to the AP report: "Phillips left the game in the eighth with a strained left calf, which has bothered him lately. C Devin Mesoraco left with dizziness."
–Ludwick is hitting .257/.328/.540 with 18 homers and 52 RBI. That's an 868 OPS, friends and neighbors. I'm ecstatic about those numbers.
–That six-run inning was the most runs given up by Reds pitchers in a single inning this season.
–Xavier Paul had another pinch-hit. He's now hitting .538/.571/.692. Clearly, Paul is the greatest player in the world.
–I watched the game while building a Lego Batcave with my son:
–That's 18 wins in 21 games for the Redlegs, and 12 of 15 since Joey Votto's injury.
http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2012-07-31&team=Reds&dh=0
Source: FanGraphs
Aroldis ChapmanBrandon PhillipsDusty BakerHomer BaileyJoey VottoRyan LudwickSam LeCureSean MarshallTodd FrazierXavier Paul
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