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Y! MyWebReds 2, Astros 1
Arroyo pitches Cincy's first complete game
Hanigan backs him with a home run, but the bigger news might be the first hit in the minors by first-round draft pick Alonso.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
HOUSTON — While the Cincinnati Reds were winning a meaningless August game under the roof of Minute Maid Park, shielded from the thick humidity outside, news was being made elsewhere.
In the stifling humidity of Sarasota, Fla., in front of a few dozen fans swatting mosquitoes, Yonder Alonso made his professional debut, a double off the wall in Ed Smith Stadium in his first at-bat.
See, he can use a wooden bat. Is he ready for the majors? Probably not quite yet.
Soon, maybe? The Reds certainly could use some heavy weaponry, even though they performed a major accomplishment Tuesday night, Aug. 26, by beating the Houston Astros 2-1.
This one was won because pitcher Bronson Arroyo cranked up a dandy, a five-hitter and the first complete game this year by a Reds pitcher — the Reds being the last team without a complete game.
And a home run by rookie catcher Ryan Hanigan in the eighth inning provided the winning run.
Arroyo certainly knew that closer Francisco Cordero was not back from attending the birth of his child and pitched accordingly.
"Arroyo came in after the eighth inning and said, 'Give me a chance,'" said manager Dusty Baker. "I said, 'You got it.' I haven't had the opportunity all season to say that."
Said Arroyo: "With Coco (Cordero) not around, well, if he's here I'm sure Dusty let's him have the ninth. If I got somebody got on, I'd hope he would come and get me.
But Arroyo pitched a quick 1-2-3, with Lance Berkman ended it with a deep fly to center — sort of apropos.
"It was nice to have Berkman up there and to get him because he has beaten me so many damn times," said Arroyo, 0-3 against the Astros this year before Tuesday. "In this park, I'm up 3-1 and he hits a three-run jack or something."
Baker was appreciative of what Arroyo did.
"Bronson was masterful," Baker added. "To hold this team to one run in this park, that's masterful."
Was Arroyo and the starting staff aware that the Reds had no complete games?
"Oh, yeah. We were aware," he said. "Even if you have an off year you usually sprinkle in a few here and there. I knew after last time when I went seven and he pulled me. We thought, 'We might not ever get this thing.' Now we got one, so we're off the schneid for this season."
Arroyo's sinker had the Astros digging divots in the infield, leading to a pair of key double plays. In contract to Sunday's five-error fiasco, the Reds were digging dirt to make plays on ground balls — two exceptional ones by third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, two by shortstop Jeff Keppinger, one by first baseman Joey Votto and one by second baseman Brandon Phillips.
"A lot of good defensive plays that won't show up in the box score," said Arroyo, cognizant of the team's five errors Sunday in Colorado that showed up glaringly and in bold type in the box score. I had the sinker worker to get those ground balls and if a couple get through I probably don't come close to finishing."
Arroyo picked up a clue from home plate umpire Dana DeMuth when he batted in the third inning and DeMuth called him out on what Arroyo thought was a low pitch.
"He rang me up on balls I thought were really low," said Arroyo. "So I went to the mound and test him out. He called those strikes, too, so I said, 'Beautiful,' and tried to stay way, way low with my pitches, down at the bottom of the zone, right at the knees. And those got me all those ground balls."
So now the Reds are 2-8 this season against a team this is 15 games out of first place in the National League Central and an even .500 overall. The Reds played as if they were facing the Los Angeles Angels, leaders of the American League West by 16 games over second place Texas.
The winning blow was struck by Hanigan, an eighth-inning home run above the yellow line and off the viaduct in left field.
Still, the Reds struck out 12 times — and that's 26 in two games. They had five hits, same as they had Sunday in Colorado.
Jay Bruce struck out three straight times, giving him seven straight strikeouts over two games before he grounded out in the ninth inning.
Yonder, where are you?
Nineteen of the Reds' final 31 games are against four teams either leading their division (Chicago Cubs, Arizona) or within six games of the leader (Milwaukee, Florida), or a team within 31/2 games of the wild-card leader (St. Louis).
Houston is not one of them.
Meanwhile, two Reds farmhands from Class AAA Louisville and five from Class AA Chattanooga will play for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, whose pitching coach is Louisville's Ted Power.
Outfielder Drew Stubbs and pitcher Charles Fisher are the representatives from Louisville, while pitchers Robert Manuel, Pedro Viola and Sean Henry, plus infielders Chris Valaika and Justin Turner are the Chattanooga representatives.
