The St. Louis Cardinals nearly pulled off their biggest come from behind win in nine years Wednesday night, but couldn’t plate a run in extra frames as the Cincinnati Reds won 9-8 in 13 innings.

Pinch hitter Ramon Hernandez, the last player left on the Reds’ bench, hit a ground rule double down the left field line in the top of the 13th, plating Jay Bruce with the eventual winning run.

St. Louis got a one out hit by former Springfield Cardinal catcher Tony Cruz in the bottom of the 13th, but Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay struck out against Cincinnati flame-thrower Aroldis Chapman to end the game. Chapman, who was the last available relief pitcher for the Reds, earned his first career save.

The Cards tied the game in dramatic fashion on Jay’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the 9th that turned an eight run deficit into an 8-8 tie.

The Reds jumped out to an 8-0 lead after five innings, scoring five of those runs in the 1st off Cards’ starter Jake Westbrook.  The sinker ball pitcher was centering the ball down the middle of the plate, and the Reds hitters were connecting. Chris Heisey hit the first pitch of the game over the left field wall to start it. Bruce later had a two run homer to make it 5-0.

Cincinnati’s Fred Lewis homered in the 4th to increase the lead to 6-0, then former Cardinal Scott Rolen got into the act, connecting off reliever Trever Miller in the 5th, putting the Reds ahead 8-0.

But the Cardinals wouldn’t give in on this night. After Descalso’s two run double in the 6th made the score 8-1, shortstop Ryan Theriot’s RBI groundout pulled the Redbirds within six runs, 8-2.

The big damage came in the 7th as St. Louis sent ten hitters to the plate. Matt Holliday hit his 13th home run of the season in that inning, but one of the biggest highlights was rookie reliever Brandon Dickson’s first major league hit. The Cards banged out six hits in the inning to make a game of it, 8-7, before Jay’s 9th inning dramatics sent the game late into the night.

Jose Arredondo (1-3) gets the win in relief for Cincinnati, while Raul Valdes (0-1) suffers the loss for St. Louis. 

Cards’ slugger Albert Pujols, playing in his first game since being activated from the disabled list, had one hit in six plate appearances and drove in a run.

The game marked the longest at Busch Stadium this season, lasting four hours and 11 minutes. 

The Cardinals drop to 47-41 on the season, one game ahead of Milwaukee in the National League Central. 

St. Louis will open a four game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday night at Busch Stadium. Kyle McClellan (6-5) goes to the mound for the Cardinals against Arizona’s Joe Saunders (5-7).  

 

 

 

(Sports Network) – Starter-turned-reliever-turned-starter Ryan Dempster meets
the Cincinnati Reds for the 39th time in his 13-year major-league career today
when the Chicago Cubs visit Great American Ball Park to close out a three-game
series.

The British Columbia native, who appeared in 37 games for the Reds during a
brief stint in 2002-03, has started 14 times and relieved 24 against
Cincinnati – racking up a 5-7 record with five saves and a 4.10 earned run
average across 112 innings.

It’s the 499th major-league appearance and 274th start for Dempster, who began
his career as a starter with Florida, became a reliever with the Reds and
early on with Chicago, then re-joined the rotation full-time in 2008.

The most recent matchup in his career series with Cincinnati came May 8 at
Wrigley Field, when the 34-year-old was beaten, 2-0, after allowing five hits
and two runs with four strikeouts in seven innings.

Dempster is 3-1 in five starts since the loss, but things have not gone as
well for the Cubs, whose losing streak reached eight games on Tuesday when
Cincinnati’s Edinson Volquez overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings of
one-run ball in an 8-2 win.

Volquez (4-2), who was recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday after
being sent down on May 23, allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out
five.

Miguel Cairo added his second career grand slam for the Reds, who won for the
fifth time in eight games.

Chicago’s Doug Davis (0-5) took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and
three walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Cincinnati is third in the National League’s Central Division, five games
behind first-place St. Louis. The Cubs are fifth in the six-team division, 12
1/2 games behind the Cardinals and just a game up on the last-place Houston
Astros.

The Reds will send 34-year-old Bronson Arroyo to the mound for his 13th start
of the season and second against the Cubs. Arroyo got a no-decision in a 3-2
Reds loss on May 7 at Wrigley Field, allowing just a run on seven hits in 7
1/3 innings.

That start came amid a winless run of six straight for the Key West, Fla.
native, who broke through with a victory on June 3 when he allowed a run on
five hits in six innings of a 2-1 defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Arroyo is 9-7 lifetime against Chicago with a 2.72 ERA in 139 innings.

Cincinnati has won six of seven over Chicago this year and is 18-5 in this
series since the start of the 2010 season. The Reds are 10-3 at home versus
the Cubs in that span.

The Sports Network

By Kris Willis

– College Hoops Editor

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May 27, 2011 – Fresh off of a two game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Atlanta Braves (28-23) open a Memorial Day weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds Friday night at Turner Field. Atlanta finds itself 3.5 games behind the first place Phillies and 2.5 behind the second place Marlins in the National League East. Atlanta comes into the series with two thirds of its regular outfield on the disabled list. Nate McLouth is out of the lineup with an oblique injury while Jason Heyward is out with a shoulder injury. 

Cincinnati (26-25) comes into the series scuffling of late having won just two of its last 10 games. The Reds are 11-14 on the road this season and four games behind the Cardinals in the National League’s Central division. The Reds Jay Bruce has been red hot in the month of May hitting .344 with 10 homers and 27 RBI’s.  

Pitching match ups

Friday, May 27 – 7:35 p.m.

Tommy Hanson (5-3, 2.72 ERA, 61 strikeouts)

Vs.

Mike Leake (3-2, 5.70 ERA, 32 strikeouts)

Saturday, May 28 – 7:10 p.m.

Derek Lowe (3-4, 3.53 ERA, 56 strikeouts)

Vs.

Bronson Arroyo (3-5, 5.28 ERA, 42 strikeouts)

Sunday, May 29 – 8 p.m.

Jair Jurrjens (6-1, 1.56 ERA, 33 strikeouts)

Vs. 

Johnny Cueto (2-1, 2.19 ERA, 15 strikeouts)

For more on the Braves and this series, be sure and check out Talking Chop  

Read More: Bronson Arroyo (P – CIN), Nate McLouth (CF – ATL), Derek Lowe (P – ATL), Jair Jurrjens (P – ATL), Johnny Cueto (P – CIN), Jason Heyward (RF – ATL), Tommy Hanson (P – ATL), Mike Leake (P – CIN), Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves

A variation on the theme involves clubs that win a battle of the wills. An example occurred late last July when the Phillies went into a brutally hot getaway day game in St. Louis just two games over .500. Cole Hamels allowed just one hit in eight shutout innings. And didn’t get a decision. The Phillies finally broke open a scoreless tie and won in 11 innings.

From that point to the end of the season, they were the hottest team in baseball. They went 49-19 the rest of the way.

There were elements of both in their unabridged win over Cincinnati. So it’s easy to get a little giddy, a little carried away. And maybe the Phillies are now poised to run away from the rest of the league.

The view from this shaded lawn chair, though, is that as wildly entertaining as it was to watch Wilson Valdez shake off signs from catcher Dane Sardinha and to see catcher Carlos Ruiz playing third base and to keep track in wonderment as reliever Danys Baez’ pitch count mounted inning after inning, it was nothing more than that.

The Phillies didn’t get on a roll last year because they out-toughed the Cardinals that blistering afternoon. They took off because they traded for Roy Oswalt a week later and because hitting coach Milt Thompson was fired. Not that Greg Gross necessarily told the hitters anything that Thompson didn’t, but it was a clear signal to the clubhouse that the front office was losing patience. And that if things didn’t turn around, more changes were possible.

They didn’t flatten the Reds, 10-4, yesterday because of what happened 12 hours earlier.

And if they make it back to the World Series this October for the third time in four seasons, it won’t be because the Reds managed to have four straight batters reach base on a hit by pitch and three walks and somehow managed not to score a run in the 11th or because the Phillies were able to finally take advantage of a Cincinnati reliever who ended up throwing 95 pitches.

It will be because Chase Utley is back and Shane Victorino should follow soon. It will be because Ryan Howard has his customary torrid second half and because Jimmy Rollins comes around and because Ryan Madson has finally matured into the closer the Phillies always believed he could be.

It will be because Domonic Brown or John Mayberry Jr. or Ben Francisco takes control in rightfield. Or general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. pulls another bat out of a red Phillies cap.

And mostly, of course, it will be because of Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee and Hamels and Oswalt.

Look, when a game lasts so long and encompasses so many twists and turns, it’s natural to want to build it into something bigger and grander than it actually is. Especially when you win.

Remember, though, that if the Phillies had lost, they would have been quick to point out that it only counts once. Same with a win. It was fun. It was memorable. And that’s where it ends.

No matter what happens next.

PHAIR & PHOUL

WHO DAT? Outfielder John Mayberry Jr. wore a microphone during Tuesday night’s game against the Reds. In one sequence, he was shown walking down the dugout and offering congratulations to Vanimal. In case anybody was wondering, that was a reference to the nickname of that night’s starting pitcher, Vance Worley.

PHILADELPHIA THREEDOM: The Phillies have scored three or fewer runs 28 times in the first 50 games of the season, including a streak of nine straight that ended with Monday’s 10-3 win over the Reds. Let’s put that into perspective.

In 2007 – just 4 years ago – they scored three or fewer runs 45 times for the entire season.

Of course, in ’07 they were 4-41 on those occasions. This year: 11-17. Which is just another reminder of how important pitching really is.

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD: The Phillies like to point out that, for all their injuries and offensive problems, they still have the best record in the National League. Which is true.

However – and you just knew there was a however – that was built largely on the basis of their hot start. They went 9-3 out of the gate while averaging 5.8 runs per game.

Since then, they’ve gone 22-16 (.579). Not bad under the circumstances, but not the best record in the league. In fact, it’s the NL’s fourth-best winning percentage in that span behind St. Louis, 24-14 (.632); Florida, 22-14 (.611) and Atlanta, 23-15 (.605) … and just ahead of Milwaukee 20-15 (.571) and San Francisco, 21-16 (.568).

TIME FLIES: Not only has the Phillies’ offense struggled much of the year, their pitching has been pretty good. The net result has been a lot of fast games. But few have moved along as swiftly as last weekend’s series against the Rangers.

Press-box pal Clem Comly looked at every three-game series in Citizens Bank Park history that didn’t include any rain-shortened games and discovered that the Texas games lasted a combined 7 hours and 14 minutes while a total of nine runs were scored. That was eclipsed only by the Giants series last September that spanned 7:04 with eight runners crossing the plate.

ST. LOUIS — With the rain falling and the forecast calling for more behind it, the sixth inning Sunday night felt like the eighth.

So Yadier Molina’s three-run home run off Edinson Volquez felt like a game-winner.

The rain never fell hard enough to stop the game. But Molina’s two-out homer was the game-winner anyway. The Cardinals beat the Reds 3-0 before a crowd of 38,101 on another rainy night at Busch Stadium.

The Reds lost their 11th straight series at Busch. They haven’t won a series here since they swept the Cardinals in three games June 5-7, 2006. The Reds are 2-18-2 in series at Busch since 2003.

Volquez had avoided the big mistake until the pitch to Molina.

Volquez, 2-1, went 5 2/3 innings and allowed the three runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out seven.

“He threw ball better than he has in a couple of years – under control, throwing strikes, excellent change-up,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “I thought he was going to get out of the inning. The pitch was supposed to be inside. He got too much of the plate.”

Volquez took full blame. He shook off catcher Ryan Hanigan.

“It was my call,” he said. “Ryan wanted to throw a change-up. I made a mistake – a fastball in.”

It was Molina’s seventh homer against the Reds.

“He’s an aggressive hitter with runners on base,” Volquez said, “especially deep in the game. He’s always trying to hit the ball the other way. I think he was looking for that pitch inside. He put a good swing on it.”

The Reds’ offense got nothing going against right-hander Jake Westbrook, who came into the game 1-2 with a 9.82 ERA, and three relievers.

“They told me he was struggling,” Baker said. “He threw the ball excellent. He was cutting it, sinking it. We didn’t center it too much.”

The Reds had only four hits. They were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

The Cardinals walked Joey Votto once unintentionally, once intentionally after a Brandon Phillips’ double. Jonny Gomes, in the cleanup role with Scott Rolen out, was 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.

The Reds scored seven runs in the series. It sounds as if Baker will consider shaking things up.

“I haven’t had time to think about it,” he said. “We just had a tough loss. We’ll go back to the drawing board.”

Phillips and Votto continue to swing hot bats. “Hopefully, we can get some other guys in on the act,” Baker said. “We will.”

Moving Phillips to fourth is a possibility.

Volquez avoided allowing a run in the first for the first time in his five starts. He allowed a two-out single to Albert Pujols. Pujols stole second, but Volquez struck out Matt Holliday.

“It’s a new beginning,” Volquez said.

Volquez gave up leadoff singles in the second and third, but avoided damage.

Through three innings, the Reds only had one base runner. Phillips doubled with one out in the fourth for the Reds’ first hit. Votto followed with a walk, but Gomes and Jay Bruce flied out.

Miguel Cairo led off the fifth with a single, but Ryan Hanigan hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

The Reds threatened again in the sixth. Phillips doubled again with one out. The Cards intentionally walked Votto but Gomes bounced into a fielder’s choice.
Volquez was rolling by then. He retired 10 of 11 batters from the third to the sixth.

But Matt Holliday doubled into the right field corner with one out. The Reds intentionally walked Lance Berkman and Daniel Descalso popped out to first.

But Molina hit the first pitch of his at-bat out to left-center to make it 3-0. It was Molina’s first home run of the year.

Molina came up in the eighth against Aroldis Chapman. Chapman’s first pitch nearly hit Molina. Home plate umpire John Hirschbeck warned the benches.
Molina grounded into a double play on the next pitch.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Miguel Cairo hit a two-out, two-run, go-ahead
single in the eighth inning to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-3
victory Saturday over St. Louis Cardinals.

The slumping Reds had lost seven of nine games before picking up the victory that snapped a three-game St. Louis winning streak.

A throwing error by Cardinals third baseman David Freese led to
three unearned runs in the eighth and Miguel Batista (1-1) and two
other St. Louis relievers could not pitch around it.

Former Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin gave up a two-run single
to left field by Cairo.

Aroldis Chapman (1-0) got two outs in the seventh and Francisco
Cordero pitched the ninth for his third save and No. 293 for his
career, tying him with Jason Isringhausen for 22nd all-time.