Game Recap

It was deja vu all over again as the Cincinnati Reds lost a marathon game to the San Diego Padres last night.

On May 25, 2008, the Reds suffered an 18-inning loss to the Padres at PETCO Park.  In that game, Edinson Volquez was on the mound when Adrian Gonzalez won it with a homerun.

Last night, Volquez started for the Reds.  He gave up two runs in the first then settled down before having to leave in the sixth inning with back spasms.  He was not the only player who had to leave the game for Cincinnati.

Picture this. 

It was a one-run game in the seventh inning.  The Reds had two on with two out and the pitcher due up.  Pinch hitter?  No...

Dusty Baker sent Aaron Harang to the plate.  Harang is considered the ace of the pitching staff.  He is a good-hearted, generous human being.  He is also one of the worst hitting pitchers in the league.

Harang grounded into a force play and the inning was over.

In last year's first series against the Colorado, the Pirates went 0-4, being outscored 28 runs to 9, or an "average" of 7.00 to 2.25. They followed part of that pattern last night, when they scored only one run. Since the starter was their ace Paul Maholm however, one run could have been all they needed.

There were quite a few nail biting moments, with two out in the third, Troy Tulowitzki hit a double, then advanced to third on an infield single, but Maholm got the third out.

The only running Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner was anticipating on Friday would occur during pregame warm-up activities.

Perhaps he would get the opportunity to pinch run for Alex Rodriguez or Hideki Matsui; the pair of damaged goods in New York’s struggling lineup.

It was a long, warm night.

It was one where quality came with quantity...12 innings of it. 

But it didn’t start out that way.  After the first inning, it seemed like it was happening all over again.

The Reds continued to roll on the road last night, beating Arizona 10-3. That win completed the three-game series sweep. The Reds are now 13-5 on the road, a mark easily good enough for the best in baseball.

The Reds offense came up with 14 hits. Ryan Hanigan, Chris Dickerson, Jerry Hairston, and Brandon Phillips each had two knocks. Phillips has now hit in 11 games in a row. Willy Taveras extended his hitting streak to 13 games by collecting three hits.

As a team, the Reds scored 20 runs on 38 hits in the series against the Diamondbacks.

The Chicago Cubs completed a three game sweep of the San Diego Padres on Thursday, as their bats came alive in a 11-3 drubbing of the Fathers. Ryan Dempster pitched well, and hit well too. He allowed two runs and three hits over seven innings and got his first and second hits of the season.

In fact, there were several big hits in the game. Bobby Scales, who continues to write a good story, drove in four runs with two ringing doubles, his first coming in a five-run fifth, following Reed Johnson's two-run double off the wall.

I honestly can't remember the last time I was this happy as a Rangers fan. What an amazing season it has been to this point, and what is even more amazing is how well we are pitching!

Matt Harrison threw his third consecutive great game, including two complete games. His stuff has been electric, and batters just aren't hitting it. What's even more impressive is how calm he has been under pressure.