Game 83: Yay For Offense!!!

Bronson, Bats Come Alive in Reds Victory

Reds        6   12   0   (45-38)
Padres     0    3    0   (34-51)

By Ryan Bramwell

For most of the game it looked like a mirror image of the contest from the night before.  The Reds were up 1-0 after six innings of play just as they were the night before...and we all know how that ended.  Solid pitching from both teams had silenced the offense each lineup up until the Reds decided to back up Bronson in a big way.  The Reds scored two runs in the 7th to increase the lead, two more in the 8th for insurance, and one more in the 9th just for show.  They finished the game with six runs on twelve hits, but really it was all about Bronson Arroyo.  The rockstar pitcher with the patented high-leg kick threw the fifth complete game shutout of his career, all of which have come while pitching in Cincinnati.  Let's go over this victory in some detail:

• Bronson Arroyo - Complete Game, Shutout, 3 H, 8 Ks, 1 BB (110 pitches/72 strikes).  Heck, he even had a hit at the plate.  Bronson's ERA is a shiny 3.73 now. How about that?
• "Superhero" Todd Frazier - Went 2-for-3 with single and a two-run bomb.  He also took a walk, reaching base three times and scoring two runs.  Didn't I say he should be playing everyday?
• Ryan Hanigan - "Hanny" also had two hits including a two-run shot in nearly the same spot Frazier hit his homer in left-center field.  Hanigan's homer came in the 7th, and was the shot that finally gave the Redlegs more than one run for the first time in four games.
• Zack Cozart - Do you realize that Cozart is a rookie?  I just want to run that by you again. Cozy went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a home run in the game's first at-bat.  In that first at-bat, Zack took another ball high and tight that he had to evade.  It was nice to see him stay focused and go yard after that pitch.  He's a tough kid.  A lot of players will shy away from the plate after being beaned in the head like Zack was a couple nights ago.
• Joey Votto - You heard of this guy?  He's news to me.  All he did was reach base four times with two walks, a single, and hit his record pace-setting 35th double of the year.  He's batting .349/.468/1.091.  In case you can't read statistical jargon, those numbers in words would be "superb/special/super-insane good."
• Drew Stubbs - He got a hit.  A double in his last at-bat.  That broke an 0-for-32 spell.  Here's to hoping that puts an end to all that terrible awfulness he was bringing to the table the last couple weeks.
• The Reds won, the Pirates lost, and the Cardinals lost.  Can that happen every day from now on, please? We are back to within a game of the division lead.  And we play the Padres twice more before the break.
• The Reds set a modern-day franchise pitching record for consecutive quality starts.  Did you know that before last night's game that the Reds' starters had pitched eight consecutive quality starts (the first time in seven years!)?  Arroyo's gem last night made it 9-straight QS's.  The team is 4-5 in that span.  Doesn't seem fair to the guys who've been bringing it daily on the mound.  But that's baseball for ya.  Keep it up fellas, and the bats will back you up.  Thats just statistical averages for ya.