Reds Fall To Cards 9-2
By Matt Niehaus
The Cincinnati Reds struggled in their last two games against the Colorado Rockies, Friday night was supposed to be a turn
Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
around for the club. A chance to beat hated rival St. Louis and eat into their NL Central lead. That didn’t happen, in fact it didn’t come close to happening.
Adam Wainwright took the mound for the Cards, he is the ace of the St. Louis staff. Mike Leake took the mound for the Reds. I think you all know where this is headed.
Long story short, Wainwright had his way with the Reds line up, giving up just seven hits and two runs. The bullpen for the Cardinals was again spot on for the Cardinals. The pitching for St. Louis is outstanding, they have had starters get hurt this season and yet they are still winning games.
Meanwhile the Reds pitching has been anything but spectacular this season. Mike Leake has been bipolar at best, looking great against awful teams, as he should. Then looking awful against good teams.
Friday night Leake only gave up 6 hits and 3 runs but only went 5 innings before being pulled in favor of Logan Ondrusek, and that was a mistake. Ondrusek gave up 4 hits and 4 earned runs in one inning. The bullpen and more specifically the middle relief have been a weak point for the Reds this year.
Good news for the night though is the fact that Manny Parra and JJ Hoover only gave up one run each. Better than the normal 3 or 4 runs that they have been giving up.
It is incredibly infuriating to watch a team that is capable of competing with the Cards, yet seem incredibly intimidated when it comes time to play them. Cincinnati needs to win the next two games in order to stay in touch with the NL Central lead.
Tomorrow the Reds send Mat Latos (5-0) to the mound to face Tyler Lyons (2-1) from the Cards. Cincinnati has their best chance of beating the Cardinals tomorrow night.