Published 1:13am Thursday, November 3, 2011

By ROB BUTCHER

The Cincinnati Reds

 

CINCINNATI — Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips is a three-time Gold Glover, a two-time All-Star and now he’s a Silver Slugger, too.

Phillips won the honor from the makers of Louisville Slugger bats on Wednesday as the top offensive second baseman in the National League. It’s the first such honor for the 30-year-old.

Phillips led NL players at the position with a .300 batting average, 183 hits, 279 total bases, 94 runs scored and 38 doubles. Cincinnati shifted Phillips to the leadoff spot on Aug. 17, and he batted .350 over his final 38 games to seal the deal.

ATLANTA (AP) – Chipper Jones’ single in the 12th inning drove in
Jordan Schafer to give the Atlanta Braves a 7-6 win over the weary
Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.

Brian McCann had four hits, including two homers. Freddie
Freeman also homered for Atlanta.

It was the second extra-inning game in four days for the Reds,
who lost 5-4 in 19 innings in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

Carlos Fisher (0-2) walked Schafer to lead off the 12th. Fisher,
working his second inning after throwing 5 2-3 innings in Wednesday
night’s game, also walked Martin Prado.

The switch-hitting Jones, batting from the left side against the
right-handed Fisher, pulled a pitch past second baseman Brandon
Phillips into right field. The speedy Schafer easily beat Jay
Bruce’s throw to the plate.

CINCINNATI – After a spotless 3 2/3 innings from the bullpen, punctuated by a breezy ninth inning from closer J.J. Putz, Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson thought for a moment before addressing the topic, wondering superstitiously if it might be best left unaddressed.

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Photos from the game | Box score

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“We’re not going to jinx it,” he said.

One thing’s for sure: Johnson can’t jinx what already has happened through the season’s first 16 games, as late-game leads have led to victories for the Diamondbacks.

It happened again Wednesday night, when an impressive performance from their bullpen helped them hold on for a 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

They improved to 7-0 when leading after six innings, 5-0 after seven innings, 6-0 after eight innings.

The bullpen’s overall ERA still ranked in the bottom third of the league entering Wednesday, but the relievers are helping the Diamondbacks do what first-year General Manager Kevin Towers most wanted: win the games they’re supposed to win.

Which is what they have had so much trouble doing in recent seasons.

After a few seconds, Johnson decided he would talk about it, only as a way to give credit where it was due.

“We heard all off-season about ‘KT’ building a bullpen starting from the back,” Johnson said. “No offense to anybody else from any other year, but the job that J.J. does and the way he goes about it, he’s got a steady personality, a steady demeanor. I think it sets up the rest of it to fall in order.

“It’s coming, exactly like (Towers) said, from the back forward. . . . You’ve got to give KT some credit there, give J.J. some credit. It’s early, but it’s definitely been a positive for the first two weeks.”

On Wednesday, they won a game in which their starting pitcher, Ian Kennedy, left with one out in the sixth after a taking a line drive off his right ankle in the previous inning.

With a runner on second, manager Kirk Gibson went to streaky reliever Juan Gutierrez, who got out of the inning with a flyout and strikeout.

Besides a one-out walk from Sam Demel in the seventh, there was nary a speed bump the rest of the way.

Right-hander David Hernandez, who Towers acquired from Baltimore as part of the Mark Reynolds trade, retired the side in the eighth; he has allowed just an unearned run in 8 1/3 innings.

Gibson then turned to Putz, a veteran closer whom the Diamondbacks signed to a two-year deal in December. A night after pitching out of trouble to record a save, Putz needed just seven pitches to secure the Diamondbacks’ third consecutive win, which evened their record at 8-8.

Putz is five for five in save opportunities and has allowed just one run in eight innings.

“The bottom line is they’re throwing strikes,” catcher Miguel Montero said of the team’s relievers. “You throw strikes, a lot of good things can happen. That’s the key.”

The Diamondbacks’ offense did most of its damage against Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo in the first two innings, getting a sacrifice fly from Justin Upton in the first and a RBI groundout from Kennedy in the second.

Diamondbacks rewind

Scary moment: Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy was struck by a Jay Bruce line drive in the fifth inning, the ball caroming off his right ankle toward first base.

He said he felt considerable pain right away, but it subsided with adrenaline. That didn’t last.

“But in between innings, it stiffened up,” he said. “I thought I could push through it. But that next inning my command wasn’t the same.”

Being honest: After the Reds cut the deficit to 2-1 on a Drew Stubbs walk and a Joey Votto RBI double, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson paid a visit to the mound.

“He asked me how do I feel, and I didn’t want to say my ankle was bothering me so I said someone in the bullpen would be better,” Kennedy said.

“I had to be honest. I wasn’t as sharp as someone in the bullpen. As a team we pick each other up, and they picked me up tonight.”

Locked in: Ryan Roberts, playing again in place of third baseman Melvin Mora (foot), had a double, a walk and hit a fly ball to the right side in the second inning to move Stephen Drew to third, where he would later score.

“Ryan had another good game – good situational hitting,” Gibson said. “He’s probably as locked as I’ve ever seen him.”

Roberts hit two home runs Tuesday night.

View from the press box

The Diamondbacks already have secured a series victory against the Reds, and with three games on deck against a struggling Mets team, they appear to have a chance to have a very nice road trip. A winning one, perhaps. They had only two winning road trips last season.

By Joe Kay, Associated Press

CINCINNATI — Opening day is arriving with a little extra fanfare for the Cincinnati Reds this year. They’ve got a division title and an MVP to celebrate.

And they start the season against one of the teams that’s in position to take it away.

The Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers worked out at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday with snow in the air — a numbing reminder that the cold reality of the regular season was one day away. The forecast for Thursday’s opener is dry with temperatures in the 40s.

Reds right-hander Edinson Volquez will face Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo. The Reds plan to honor National League MVP Joey Votto before the game.

Cincinnati’s Jonny Gomes said he’s not jealous the Reds signed Fred Lewis and Jeremy Hermida to compete with him for the left field job. / Mark Duncan, AP

Written by

JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CARDS’ WAINWRIGHT INJURES ELBOW

(AP) — St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright is getting a second opinion on his injured right elbow, which the team fears will require reconstructive surgery.

Team spokesman Brian Bartow said Wednesday results of MRIs and other tests were being examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles. The team anticipated a news conference today to disclose findings.

Wainwright, a 20-game winner and runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award in 2010, was sent back to St. Louis on Wednesday for tests and consultation with team physician George Paletta. Earlier in the day, general manager John Mozeliak said “things do not look encouraging” for the right-hander, who injured his elbow while throwing batting practice Monday.

POSTED: 2:16 pm EST January 26, 2011

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Reds have reached a deal with one of its top pitchers.The team said Wednesday that it has agreed to terms with right-hander Johnny Cueto on a four-year, $27 million contract extension.The deal was first reported last week by ESPN_Desportes.Cueto was eligible for the first time this winter for salary arbitration.He went 12-7 last season with a 3.64 earned run average, 138 strikeouts and 56 walks.