A Red Hot Start; How Sweep it is

Lets talk...the first series:

What a way to kick off the season! A sweep of the Phillies, including two comeback wins on opening day and night. I'm not saying we'll go 162-0, or 182-0 according to the drunk gal at the bar & grill I was at on Monday night, but the Reds have gotten off to one heck of a start. It always seems like we lose on opening day to me, so I figured that was how it was going to end. The Reds proved me wrong and went on a five-run rally in the eighth that lead to our first victory. This run production was backed up by a pretty good outing from starter Raisel Iglesias. In all reality he only made one big mistake by giving up a two-run homer. Other than that, he looked like he has potential to be a big asset. Definitely exciting.

On a frigid, rainy Wednesday IN APRIL, the Redlegs rallied again behind a double in the ninth by Scott Schebler. He hadn't seen the ball well all game, tallying a total of three strikeouts in his previous at bats. Low and behold he would have the game winner. With the bases loaded, he brought em' in to push the Reds past the Phillies for the second straight night, 3-2. Brandon Finnegan, who we acquired from the Royals in the Cueto trade, had a nice night himself including a career-high nine strikeouts. He's no Cueto yet, but it's refreshing to see we did get someone useful out of that heartbreaking trade.


No comeback needed in game number three. Cincy rolled Philadelphia in a 10-6 win today. Now, if you read my previous post, I was a bit harsh on ol' Brucey boy, but I also said he needs to become the power hitter that we know he is capable of being. Would you look at that, the kid jacks out two homers, AND grabs five RBIs. I like what I see, and I want to see more of it. Eugenio Suarez had a big day with a grand salami. The battle of the big league debut went to the Reds. Both starting pitchers took the mound in the majors for the first time today, and our top prospect Robert Stephenson recorded the first win of his MLB career.

Lets talk...perspective:

I know it's the first series of the year people, I'm not delusional. However; when you're franchise is throwing words around like, "rebuilding year", you get a little down before the season even begins. It's refreshing to come out guns-a-blazin. Do I expect us to win the division? Probably not. Do I expect us to be in the hunt for a wildcard spot? Ehh. But guess what...we're 3-0 and I'm going to relish in that. And to make it that much sweeter, the Cardinals are at the bottom of the division at 0-3!

Did that Really Just Chapman?

Lets talk...the Phillies' series:

As I'm watching the game last night, I turned the television off in the bottom of the eighth. Mike Leake was pitching a gem, the Reds had a 2-0 lead and frankly, I was dead tired. I thought I'd wake up in the morning and catch some SportsCenter highlights of the Reds getting the win, but of course I should know not to assume anything with this club. For the second night in a row they lose on a walk-off hit. Same score too! After the sweep of the Nationals this past weekend, fans were wondering if it was just a fluke, myself included. They've got one more shot against the Phils to prove that this is not the start of another abysmal losing streak.

Lets talk...pitching:

Mike Leake! Welcome back sir. With his previous three starts leaving all of us grimacing, he was the shining light of last night's game.  His stuff was working, there was movement on the ball and he took a no-hitter into the seventh. Leake gave up to singles in the ninth, but walked away confident with a 4-0 lead under his belt. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the game, and he did everything but; giving up a three-run shot to Maikel Franco. Chapman has always been more reliable than not, but correct me if I'm wrong. Yes, the man can throw insanely hard, but when a pitcher throws that hard, they throw mostly fast balls. It's better odds for hitters because like Franco said, "I know he throws hard and wasn't going to throw many breaking balls, so I waited for one pitch". One fastball right down the pipe is all you need because that thing's coming in so fast if you get even a little bit of the bat on it, it's going to fly.

On the other side, Phillies' pitcher Cole Hamels pitched a decent game, only allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out eight in seven innings. Hamels was not awarded the win, but still remains a flawless 10-0 against our Redlegs.

Lets talk...what's next:

They wrap up a three-game series with the Phillies tonight. Anthony DeSclafani is on the mound for the good guys, with a familiar face on the opposing mound. Aaron Harang gets the start for the Phillies. Yes, he's still hanging around the majors, and not doing too shabby. Not a stellar record at 4-5, but a decent ERA, 2.02. The Harangutang was a heck of a guy and gave eight great seasons to the Reds' organization, but we need a win tonight so I'm kind of hoping he bombs! No hard feelings Aaron. First pitch goes out at 7:05PM, go Reds!