Saturday, July 30, 2011

Game Recap: Reds 4, Giants 3

I'll be brief, because I never really enjoy writing about 13-inning losses...
  • Entering tonight, Dontrelle Willis had made 30 starts since 2008. In just four of them, he'd gone 6+ innings with two or fewer walks (for comparison, Madison Bumgarner has done that in 15 of his last 16 starts). So yeah, disappointing to see the Giants couldn't do better than that. 
  • I've been waiting for a Ryan Vogelsong disaster start for quite some time now, and in the first inning, I thought it had finally come. But nope. After laboring in the first (31 pitches), he managed to go six innings with only three runs allowed. Easily one of his worst starts this season (as the season-low strikeout total -- 1 -- illustrates), but a quality start nonetheless. Dating back to May 8th, he has a 1.90 ERA; and on the season, he's made just two starts in which he's allowed more than three runs.
  • Mike Fontenot is now 0 for 21 in his last six games. This should be fairly clear: he's a left-handed hitter, and shouldn't be starting against left-handed pitchers. In this case, I think Miguel Tejada -- a career .284/.350/.475 hitter against left-handed pitching -- might actually be useful. 
  • I'm still worried about Brian Wilson. A good closer still, sure, but not nearly as dominant as last year. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is nearly half what it was last year.
  • A note from Baggs -- "[Reds GM Walt Jocketty] specifically said he isn’t shopping Ramon Hernandez, a veteran catcher with a credible stick, even though Cincinnati has top prospect Devin Mesoraco wearing shin guards at Triple-A." If he continues to take that stance, well...that sounds pretty foolish to me.
  • Free Brandon Belt