Mets @ Reds 4/6,8,9

[el loco]

4/6/09

Where:
Great American Ball Park

When: 1:10 PM EDT

Pitching Matchup:


Santana
vs.

Harang

[el loco]

Well, the Reds lost game one 2-1. Harang pitched a nice game and the bullpen kept it close and kept us in it, but the offense, as predicted, wasn't there.



Tough-luck opener for Harang, Reds
Starter allows one run in five frames, but bats stay chilly
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
CINCINNATI -- One emphasis about Reds pitcher Aaron Harang's 2009 season is to make '08 -- when he went 6-17 with a 4.78 ERA -- look like just a glitch on the back of his baseball card after several strong seasons.

But most importantly, the Reds will likely go as far as their ace can take them. During Monday's 2-1 Opening Day loss to the Mets at Great American Ball Park, the right-hander wasn't sensational, but pitched well enough to give his team a chance to win. That was encouraging to Reds manager Dusty Baker.

"I love the way he pitched," Baker said. "His zip and velocity were back. He had a sharp breaking ball. He got some tough hitters out in some tough jams."

Winning was a task made much harder by Mets ace Johan Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who limited Cincinnati's lineup to just three hits in his 5 2/3 innings. New York's bullpen retired 10 of the last 11 batters to prevent a comeback.

"We had a tough customer and one of the best in the business in Johan Santana," Baker said. "We played them tough."

Santana (1-0) overcame a bumpy beginning and gave up one earned run and three hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. Although he allowed three walks through two innings, the lefty held the Reds hitless until Jay Bruce hit a double to the left-center-field wall with two outs in the fourth.

Under frigid 37-degree conditions and showers that delayed the game's start by 13 minutes, Harang (0-1) threw a lot of pitches -- 114 -- in his five innings. Of the seven hits he allowed, only Daniel Murphy did serious damage, hitting a solo home run to right field on a 3-2 pitch with one out in the fifth.

"You get a 3-2 count, I'm not going to try to nitpick around it," Harang said. "I just went right at him and missed my spot. He hit the ball out of the ballpark."

Other than that, the Mets nitpicked Harang, who gave up two infield hits and three bloopers. They helped extend his pitch count into the higher stratosphere, including 32 pitches in the fourth.

"You're constantly having to pitch out of the stretch the whole time. You don't want to do that the whole game," said Harang, who gave up one earned run with three walks and two strikeouts. "I had to get out of some jams in the fourth and fifth inning. Some balls fell in. I fell behind a little bit and really had to battle."

The only other hard Mets hit, a single to right field by Carlos Beltran in the fifth, resulted in David Wright being called out at the plate after a two-hop throw from Bruce.

That was the only bright spot on a tough defensive day for the Reds' outfield. After Murphy's homer, two blooped hits that seemed catchable followed. After Carlos Delgado's single fell between diving shortstop Alex Gonzalez, left fielder Jerry Hairston and fill-in center fielder Darnell McDonald, boos were heard from the sellout crowd of 42,177 fans.

"There was some miscommunication between [McDonald] and Jerry out there, but they haven't been together that long," Baker said. "I don't know if they played together with Jerry in left and him in center all spring. Communication is the key. We have a good outfield, a real good outfield."

After Harang's departure, reliever Daniel Ray Herrera gave up Luis Castillo's one-out double in the sixth. Herrera walked two batters and loaded the bases, before Murphy's RBI groundout to first base provided what turned out to be the deciding run.

Cincinnati didn't score its run against Santana until the sixth. McDonald led off with a single to left field and went to third base on Joey Votto's single. Brandon Phillips' sacrifice fly to left field scored McDonald.

The Mets left 12 on base while the Reds stranded six in their limited chances.

"Today, we made some careless errors," Phillips said. "Things happen -- baserunning mistakes, walking some batters, the hitting -- we didn't come through. Santana did his job, and we'll have to get them on Wednesday."

The Reds' bullpen group of Mike Lincoln, Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers and Francisco Cordero was strong, but the Mets' bullpen was just as stingy.

"A lot of people don't get a lot of runs against Santana," Baker said. "Aaron matched him except for that home run he gave up to the youngster we don't know either. There weren't many negatives today. People look for negatives when you lose, but they played a good game and they beat us today."

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/art ... p&c_id=cin

[el loco]

Game 2

4/8/09

Where: GABP
Time: 7:10 pm edt

Pitching Matchup:


Pelfrey

vs.
Volquez


Taveras was one of the off seasons big acquisitions but he didn't get the start yesterday. I wonder if he will get it today?

[el loco]

Well, the Reds are 0-2 to start the season and facing the first series sweep in the 1st 3 games out. I don't think it could have started out any worse then it has.

The 4 run 7th that Lincoln gave to the Mets was enough to keep things safe for the team from New York The sad thing is Lincoln only faced 8 batters and surrendered 4 runs. The rest of the bullpen did there job tonight for the Reds. Volquez looked terrible in his first start.

Offensively we looked a lot better then we did on Monday. Taveras finally got an at bat and he did what I thought we went out and got him for, why he isn't starting is still a mystery to me. He tripled in his only at bat/action on the young season. Votto collected 3 hits, one of which went yard, and he drove in 3. Hernandez drove in 2 with his first hit in a Reds uniform. Phillips had 2 hits, Bruce had one hit but left 4 runners stranded in the game. Our shortstop who is finally healthy for the first time in forever, had an error and is still batting a perfect .000 on the season.

It is going to be a long season full of ups and downs with this group of young talent.

[el loco]

CINCINNATI -- The bases were loaded, the small crowd was on its feet screaming, and the New York Mets were getting a familiar, haunting feeling.

For a few moments, it looked like 2008 all over again.

Instead of folding, the Mets pulled off a great escape on Wednesday night, making Carlos Delgado's homer and four RBIs hold up for a 9-7 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that represented a clean break with their recent past.

"It wasn't pretty, it wasn't quick, but we got a win," Delgado said. "You have to find a way to win. Good teams do that."

The Mets couldn't do that last season. They failed to make the playoffs because of another September meltdown set up by their bullpen, which led the NL with 16 blown saves after the All-Star break. They acquired closers J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez in the offseason, and felt awfully good when the two of them closed out a 2-1 win in the season opener.

That one came on a raw, 37-degree afternoon that made it tough on the hitters. With temperatures in the 50s on a clear evening Wednesday, the offenses got going and the Mets found themselves sweating one out in the ninth.

Cincinnati loaded the bases with one out on a pair of walks and Delgado's error at first base. Rodriguez, who saved a record 62 games for the Angels last season, struck out Alex Gonzalez on a full-count fastball, then got Laynce Nix to fly out to the warning track in center field to end it.

Manager Jerry Manuel smiled about this close call, thinking back to all those times it didn't end so well last year.

"I ain't going through that anymore," he said. "I aged about 12 years last year."

Delgado hit a two-run homer in the first off Edinson Volquez (0-1), who had problems throwing strikes. The first baseman also drove in a run with a groundout, and singled home another during a four-run seventh inning that made it 9-4.

Brian Schneider's three-run double -- the hit skipped past stumbling right fielder Jay Bruce -- completed the seventh-inning rally and left the outcome in the hands of a bullpen that was nearly perfect in the opener.

This time, there were meltdown memories all around.

Starter Mike Pelfrey (1-0) left after five innings with a 5-4 lead. The Reds scored twice in the seventh off Pedro Feliciano, and made one final push against the Mets' closer tandem. Putz gave up a sacrifice fly by Chris Dickerson in the eighth, cutting it to 9-7, and Rodriguez improved to 2-for-2 in save chances with New York by getting that final flyout.

When the ball left the bat, Manuel thought it might be out of the park. His new closer wasn't so worried.

"That ball sounded like he hit it at the end of the bat," Rodriguez said. "I heard the sound. You know when a ball's going to leave the park."

Joey Votto had three hits for the Reds, including a three-run homer in the first off Pelfrey.

"It's frustrating, but I'm still very optimistic about our team," Votto said. "As good as their bullpen is, we made it uncomfortable for them at the end. We had some good at-bats. We just didn't get the big hit."

Volquez, the Reds' top winner and only All-Star last season, had trouble with his control in his final spring training appearance, and was wild again. He lasted only 4 1/3 innings, and needed 107 pitches to get that far. Last year, Volquez tied a major league record by giving up no more than one earned run in each of his first eight starts.

"There was a lot of action out there," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "It was a weird night."

Fast Facts

• The Mets improved to 2-0 and have won three straight vs. the Reds dating back to 2008.

• The two starters combined to throw 211 pitches over 9 1/3 innings.

• Carlos Delgado hit his 470th career HR and had four RBIs. He's hitting .356 in his career vs. the Reds.

• Francisco Rodriguez got his second save in as many games despite throwing strikes on only 12 of 30 pitches.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=290408117

[el loco]

Game 3: 04/09/2009

Where: GABP
When: 12:35 PM EDT

Pitching Match Up:


Perez
VS.

Arroyo

[el loco]

Reds are up 6-4 with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 5th. Votto went yard again earlier in the game for a 3 run shot, and then drove in another run in the 5th. 2 outs, Hannigan pops up to short right. Bases still loaded 2 outs and Janish is up. Strike one, Hot damn he singled up the middle to drive in 2 runs. 8-4 Reds.