Reds Dominate Cards 10-0

After the first two games of this series the Cincinnati Reds had all but embarrassed themselves. Wednesday night though the Reds

Aug 28, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jay Bruce (32) hits a three run home run off of St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (not pictured) during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

brought their bats and the pummeled the Cardinals early and often scoring 9 runs on their way to a 10-0 win.

The old saying goes “hit em when they’re down” and that is exactly what the Reds did Wednesday night. Adam Wainwright (15-8) was on the mound for the Cardinals, he wouldn’t be there long. After giving up 6 runs in the first and 3 in the second Cardinal manager Mike Matheny would pull him after 2 innings. Wainwrights line for the night 2IP, 8H, 9ER with a pitch count of 53.

Cincinnati’s offense came alive after a lineup change by manager Dusty Baker that saw Brandon Phillips move the the 2 spot, it also led to a heated argument in the club house with Enquire reporter C. Trent Rosecrans.

After the first 3 Reds batters reached base in the first Jay Bruce singled to center driving home Shin Soo Choo and Brandon Phillips. Ryan Ludwick would double to center after that scoring Votto. With a 3-0 lead Todd Frazier would ground out to second scoring Bruce and pushing Ludwick to 3rd. A wild pitch with Wainwright allowed Ludwick to score from 3rd. Pitcher Homer Bailey would add to the onslaught with a single to center that would score Zach Cozart giving the Reds a 6-0 lead.

After a great first inning the Reds had a comfortable lead for pitcher Homer Bailey (9-10), the second inning would see more offense from the Reds. Jay Bruce would blast his 26th home run of the year, a three run home run at that giving the Reds a 9-0 lead now. And ending Wainwrights night.

Jay Bruce’s 5 RBI lead the team, while Zach Cozart’s 3-4 night was the best in the lineup. Homer Bailey did go 2-4 on the night, a surprise to say the least.

The Reds needed a good outing out of Homer Bailey and they got exactly that. Bailey went 7.1IP while only giving up 5 hits in the process, and no runs. Wednesday was one of the few times this season Homer has gotten proper run support from the offense and he made the best of it.

Chris Heisey would hit a home run (9) in the 9th just to rub it in a little bit more to the Cardinals.

With their win Wednesday night Cincinnati sits 3.5 games out of the NL Central lead behind the Cardinals and tied for the Wild Card lead with Pittsburgh. Cincinnati has a four game series against the Cardinals next week at GABP as well as 6 games against the Pirates before the end of the season. The NL Central battle is far from over.

An apparent rejuvenated Reds team has an off day Thursday as they travel to Denver to take on the Rockies this weekend. The Reds are 1-2 against the Rockies this season. Bronson Arroyo will be on the mound Friday night.