Game 88: SWEEP!

Reds Sweep Cardinals In Front Of 40,000 Fans on National TV

Cardinals   2   9   0
Reds          4  10  1

By Ryan Bramwell

• Homer Bailey was just splendid in his victory over the Redbirds.  He went eight innings, allowed 2 runs (1 earned), on nine hits, struck out and walked a pair.  In the 8th inning Reds fans may have seen the maturation of Homer Bailey, finally.  Fellow blogger Nick Hall texted me after the inning was over: "We just saw Homer Bailey grow up right before our eyes."  Yes, Nick, I wholeheartedly agree.  Homer gave up back-to-back hits to start the inning and got a visit from Bryan Price and Dusty Baker on the mound.  He then went on to get himself out of the jam with a strike out, a fly ball to right field, and then grounder back to the mound off the bat of Yadier Molina (who had homered off Bailey previously in the game).  Big stuff.  You can't say enough about how important and insanely huge that inning was for Homer Bailey and the Redlegs.  Props to Dusty for allowing Homer to finish the inning and leave the game with what is probably the biggest confidence booster of his young career.
• Scotty Baseball had the big hit in the bottom of the 8th.  With two outs and the bases juiced, Rolen tagged a single over the outstretched arm of the 2nd baseman and two runs came home to score and give the Reds a 4-2 lead going into the 9th.
• Chapman came into the game to close things out as usual.  And as usual the Cuban Missile struck out the side.  The Cardinals looked utterly overmatched in the process. The crowd at GABP was absolutely electric. An abundance of brooms bobbing up and down throughout the stadium along with an in unison clap and chant of "sweep, sweep, sweep!" gave me goosebumps.  
• The outcome and drama of this game can not be overstated by anyone.  Baseball fans across the nation were able to watch the Reds sweep their arch enemies on ESPN in front a terrific crowd and atmosphere.  
• In other news, Heisey was great in the 2-spot, going 3-for-4.  Votto and Rolen both contributed two hits, and Brandon Phillips and Homer Bailey each had a hit as well.
• Enjoy this one folks.  The Reds have won six straight ballgames and the Diamondbacks are coming to town for a four game set starting tonight.  

*In some bad news, it appears that Joey Votto has a torn meniscus and could be out of action anywhere from 2-4 weeks.  Don't fret people.  We will see a lot of Todd Frazier now, which is a positive.  It will also give Scott Rolen a much better chance to continue to climb out of his slump (which he has already begun to do).  This may also force the hand of the front office to make a move before the deadline for a big-time, or at least productive player. So hang in there, guys.  It's not the end of the world.  We are 12 games over .500 and leading the division.