Reds Drop First One of 2011

Losing sucks, losing by one is awful.

Sam Lecure took the mound in a Thursday low scoring affair. Pitching well all the way to the fifth Lecure only gave up his two runs by way of fielder choices. He looked good out there besides of the many walks allowed. I agree with Shawn Casey that Reds pitchers just need to pound the strike zone and let their defense do the rest.

The Reds offense, which was missing regulars Paul Janish and Scott Rolen, were unable to do much against Houston ace Brett Meyers. Meyers made the Reds look bad forcing them to pop up in almost every at bat.

With the score 2-1 in the seventh Baker sent up Rolen as a pinch hitter. He took the first pitch for a strike and the second he sent over the left field wall to tie it at two. Rolen had delivered what was much needed, momentum against a guy that the Reds could just not figure out. The Astros took Meyers out at that point and handed the ball over to a questionable bullpen. They did however take care of business.

Shutting down the Reds for the remainder of the game it took just one run in the ninth to seal the deal for them. Astros win 3-2

Some Thoughts on the Game

Drew Stubbs Did Not Look Good
Not at all. Popping out 4 times all to the right side of the field, it was a day to forget for number 6.

Defense Played Well
Especially Renteria. I am not sure just how much do we lose when we send him out rather then Janish

Bullpen
A lot of people are talking about how bad Nick Masset is, which I think is great. People expect this bullpen to perform perfectly because of the way they have been playing. And when that happens you know the team is doing something right.

5-1
No reason to panic, the Big Red Machine 2.0 is 5-1. If they continue to win 5 and lose 1 they will have 130+ wins on their hands, which is plenty enough to make the playoffs.