Brewers @ Reds August 4,5 & 6

[el loco]

Pitching Matchups:
Mon, Aug 4 7:10 pm EDT B. Arroyo vs. M. Parra
Tue, Aug 5 7:10 pm EDT E. Vólquez vs. D. Bush
Wed, Aug 6 12:35 pm EDT H. Bailey vs. J. Suppan

Reds Team Report:

Now that right fielder Ken Griffey Jr. is gone, can second baseman Brandon Phillips become the face of the Reds? Phillips said he would love to be the face of the Reds and, in fact, said he would like to be what Barry Larkin once was, “The captain. Wear that ‘C’ Barry wore. But I think they lost that particular ‘C’ when Barry quit wearing it,” Phillips said with a laugh.

As for the face of the Reds, Phillips said that’s up to the organization who it promotes, who it pushes, who it puts on billboards.

“And you guys, the media, have a lot to do with it,” he said. “You come up with ‘The Kid’ for Griffey and with ‘Bruce Almighty’ for Jay Bruce and that catches on. Whatever you want and whatever the organization wants.

“But I think it is about time for me to step up and fill those shoes that Griffey left, do even better than I’ve done,” Phillips added. “With Griffey gone, it is time for the team to step up and do what we have to do. I’m sad he’s gone. He helped me, made me what I am. Before he left, he told me, ‘Be yourself.’ And that’s what I’m going to do.”

[el loco]

Streaks: L3
Last 10: 2-8
Home: 30-25 Road: 21-36
Runs Scored: 486
Runs Against: 561

We have had some success against the brew crew, but they have really picked things up a notch in the second half of the season. The good news is that we are back at Great America for this series. The bad news is that the last time we were at home, we didn't take advantage of it. I think we will win a game in this series, but I don't expect much more from this group of under-achievers anymore.

[el loco]

The Reds take game 1 of the series.

An A for Arroyo as Reds beat Brewers
Righty ends Cincinnati's skid, wins 10th game of the year
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- Bronson Arroyo looked satisfied.
He'd just played the star's role in a 6-3 victory on Monday night over the Milwaukee Brewers that shook the Reds out of a three-game funk.

Duplicating many of his recent performances, Arroyo resembled the Bronson Arroyo of a season ago.

"He was dealing," manager Dusty Baker said.

Baker's compliment might have understated what Arroyo's contribution was to this victory, the team's first win since it traded Ken Griffey Jr. last week.

For it wasn't just what Arroyo did with his arm -- not at all -- it was Arroyo's bat that played as much a part in this victory as anything else. Oh, of course, his bat would never trump his arm, but nobody can argue with how meaningful his contribution at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning proved to be.

At the time, he and Brewers left-hander Manny Parra had filled the scoreboard at Great American Ball Park with zeros. Parra, in fact, had held the Reds hitless until Jolbert Cabrera jumpstarted the fifth with a single.

"The young man Parra had us eating out of his hands," Baker said.

But suddenly, inexplicably, Parra lost command of the strike zone. After Cabrera's single, he issued back-to-back walks to Jay Bruce and to David Ross that loaded the bases for Arroyo, one of the better hitting pitchers on the Reds roster.

Now, it was Arroyo the hitter vs. Parra the pitcher.

At one point in his at-bat, Arroyo had the count in his favor. On Parra's 2-2 pitch, he rifled a shot into the left-field corner. Arroyo's double scored a pair of runs, putting an end the duel of zeros on the scoreboard.

"I've been feeling good at the plate," Arroyo said. "Any time you can help the team out, especially with an RBI, is kind of lucky. But, if it can happen a few times, then you feel better about the whole game as a complete package."

That's a good way to put it, because Arroyo, whose season has been a struggle, was a complete package on Monday night.

"In this league, in the National League, it helps to help yourself -- to help your team -- to be able to hit," Baker said. "I mean, that was a huge hit."

Still, it wasn't hitting that the Reds needed most from Arroyo. They needed a well-pitched game. They got it, too. He crafted his finest performance since putting together six innings of shutout baseball against the Washington Nationals on the Fourth of July.

In dissecting the outing, Baker credited Arroyo's performance to a more effective use of the fastball. The veteran right-hander commanded the strike zone with the pitch, aside from a little glitch in his performance in the top of the sixth.

"A lot of people tend to say that when I'm throwing well," Arroyo said. "I like to think that the games I do well I probably throw more fastballs for strikes more often.

"I don't think it's that much more if it is at all."

No big deal, really. For whatever Arroyo was doing, it was working effectively -- whether it was with his arm and his bat.

By the time Arroyo took the mound in the sixth, he was sitting on a 4-0 lead, thanks to Joey Votto's RBI single that followed his double.

But he had no room to relax, not against the Brewers.

Neither did the Reds. They gave Arroyo a pair of insurance runs on rookie Jay Bruce's homer.

Arroyo left in the seventh with the Reds ahead, 6-1. He may have had a pair of RBIs, but that didn't do much to satisfy Arroyo. He had more important things on his mind.

"I'm happy about a win, man," he said, smiling.

[el loco]

Game 2 isn't looking so great for Reds fans. Volquez gave up 5 runs in 5 innings. Masset is fitting right in, he gave up 2 runs in 2 innings, and Bray has worked an inning in which he gave up a run.

The offense appears to be back to normal, we have 3 hits in the game, and Patterson has one of those believe it or not. The current score heading into the 9th is 8-1 Brewers.

[kingofthecourt67]

Only bright spot is playing the young guys. That should be all the season is dedicated to now. Developing our future, as it seems that we are going that way. Our offense seems a lot quieter without Junior and Hairston, I think that should say something about their value.