8.13.10 BY:MEH LITTLE FISHES
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
After Brandon Phillips allowed
torments to spew from his mouth aimed at St. Louis players on Monday
that caused a first inning brawl the next day, the Cardinals completed a
three-game sweep of the Reds on Wednesday afternoon. The whiny Cards
hastily bent the Reds over their knee and spanked them as they out-scored
them 21-8 during the series and belted two grand slams. Reds starting
pitching was dull during the series allowing 14 earned runs on 22 hits in
just 14 innings of work. Cardinals' starters, on the other hand, were
brilliant as they hurled 21.1 innings and allowed six runs on nine hits
while striking out eleven Reds. Cincinnati disappointingly overcompensated
as the Cardinals kept their composure and played as they have all season
long. The sweep erased the Reds' two-game lead over the Cards going into the
series and placed them one game behind first in the NL Central.
"We’ve
been a game up, a game down all year,"
Scott Rolen said.
"Would we have liked the outcome to be different? Yeah. They outplayed us in
the series. They threw their three top starters at us. They responded and
pitched well. They swung the bats well. We’ll move on and keep playing."
On Friday, the Reds will attempt redemption as they take on the Florida
Marlins over the weekend for three games. The Cardinals will be hosting the
Chicago Cubs. It's time for the Reds to place the Cardinals behind them (at
least until Sep. 3-5) and remain focused on playing well and winning
series'. Neither was accomplished against the Cardinals. The Reds split a
four-game series with the Marlins earlier this year in Florida (April 12-15)
when
this was going on.
"Man,
I’ll tell you this,"
Brandon Phillips said.
"We lost. It’s just how it is. They did their job, and we didn’t do ours.
That’s basically it. What happened, happened. We look forward to the Florida
Marlins coming in...What’s
in the past is in the past. People want to panic, but we’ve still got a
month-and-a-half to go…We’ve been swept before. We’ve got to bounce back
from what happened, and try to get as many wins as possible."
FRIDAY: Edinson Volquez (2-1, 4.94) vs. Josh Johnson (10-4, 1.97) at
7:10pm
Volquez will be making his sixth start of the 2010 season. In three career
stars against the Marlins, Volquez is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA. In twenty innings
of work, he has allowed just four runs on 13 hits while striking out 17
Marlins while holding them to a .186 average. Volquez has not faced the
Marlins this season.
Josh Johnson will be making his 100th career start on Friday night.
During his six major league seasons, Johnson is 44-20 with a 3.06 ERA and
581 strikeouts. Against the Reds over his career, Johnson is 2-0 with 16
strikeouts and a 1.65 ERA. During his only start against Cincinnati this
season on April 15, Johnson went six innings allowing just one run on five
hits while striking out ten in the Marlin's 10-2 victory. One of the two
starters for Friday's match up will remain undefeated against their opponent
at night's end. Let's hope it's Edinson.
SATURDAY: Mike Leake (7-4, 3.75) vs. Sean West (0-1, 7.20) at 7:10pm
Mike "Godzilla" Leake may,
or may not, make his first career start against the Marlins on Saturday.
In his four starts since the All-Star break, Leake is 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA.
During his last start against St. Louis on Monday, Leake allowed seven runs
in the fourth inning that led to a 7-3 Reds' loss. Fatigue has been
speculated to be a factor in Leake's recent struggles (129.2 IP) and Homer
Bailey (2-0, 2.37 ERA in Louisville) seems to be ready to return to the
Reds' rotation. Bailey has faced the Marlins twice in his career (0-1,
3.65).
Sean West will be making his second career start against the Reds on
Saturday and just his second start of the 2010 season. In his only career
start against the Reds, West went 4.1 innings and allowed five earned runs
on five hits while receiving the loss.
SUNDAY: Johnny Cueto (11-3, 3.38) vs. Anibal Sanchez (9-7, 3.33) at
1:10pm
Johnny Cueto is questionable for Sunday's game. He was recently
suspended for seven days because of his involvement in the
Reds/Cardinals brawl earlier this week. If he accepts the suspension, he
will not start for the Reds on Sunday. If Cueto appeals the suspension, he
will make his scheduled start. Cueto is 1-0 against the Marlins in two
career starts with a 5.73 ERA. Homer Bailey could be an option for the Reds
if Cueto accepts his punishment. Anibal Sanchez has faced the Reds twice
(1-1, 4.50) during his three seasons as a Florida Marlin.
Reds' manager Dusty Baker
received a two-game suspension beginning Friday along with Cards'
manager Tony LaRussa. The two managers have a history of altercations and
were
right in the middle of Tuesday's brawl.
