That, folks, was a good old fashion head scratcher.
The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Not Mike Estabrook, that's for sure.
Screw those umps. pic.twitter.com/denyijETg9
— Nick Kirby (@Nicholaspkirby) June 19, 2014Anyhoo, Devin Mesoraco mashed a game-tying 9th inning dinger on his 26th birthday, so he gets today's JNMHSotG in a runaway.
Honorable Mentions are due to: Todd Frazier, who had 3 hits and a pair of TOOTBLANs (which, I dunno, roughly equates to a walk and a catcher's interference); Billy Hamilton, who had a double and a game-saving catch to force extra innings; Zack Cozart, who had a pair of hits and briefly had his season OPS over .600; and Aroldis Chapman, who faced four batters and struck them all out.
Key Plays
- Hamilton doubled on a soft liner down the LF line to lead off the game, and he later scored when Joey Votto listened to Skip Schumaker's gritty advice and smacked a sac-fly to CF. Reds led, 1-0.
- Votto then doubled to lead off the Top of the 4th, and he later scored on a sac fly when Skip's game of telephone reached Jay Bruce unaltered. Reds led, 2-0.
- Homer Bailey took the mound in the Bottom of the 5th and promptly got smacked around like he'd taken the last Sunny D from the fridge after practice. Five singles (of varying strength) buttressed a run-scoring balk, and it was every bit as fruglystrating as it sounds as three Pirates came in to score. Reds trailed, 3-2.
- Meso raco'd a Jason Grilli pitch over the wall in LF for a solo Johnson to send thing into extras, and it proved to be a superbummer than none of the other rockets allowed by Grilli managed to materialize into runs as he was serving up meatballs like Doris in the 6th grade cafeteria. Game tied, 3-3.
- Later, the Pirates continually threatened while the Reds went meekly, and had it not been for a studly catch at the wall by Hamilton with runners on in the Bottom of the 9th, Travis Snider's crushed liner could have ended things on time. Instead, the game went to extras, and Tony Cingrani finally ran up against a crew of umpires with a flight to catch in the Bottom of the 12th. Gaby Sanchez sahhhngled with 1-ahhht, and was promptly picked off of 1B by Cingrani before Jerry Layne ruled it a balk and grahhhnted second bahhhse to the Pirates' 1B. Decent call, I suppose, though not really a great one. Josh Harrison was intentionally walked to set up a potential double play, and after Jordy Mercer struck out swinging, Clint Barmes leaned in to a pitch that was legitimately over the plate (but high), and was allowed to take 1B for it. To be blunt, I found it to be a complete crap call. Cingrani then proceeded to walk Russell Martin on the pitches in the above picture, which drove in the winning run and sent the Reds to the showers. Again, more complete crap. Reds lose, 4-3.
FanGraph That Fails to Account for the Level of Complete Crap Previously Described as Complete Crap
Source: FanGraphs
Other Notes
- All recapping and no play makes Wick a dull boy. That's another game that took some 5 hours to finish. Thanks, Pittsburgh.
- That loss drops the Reds back under .500 and prevented them from garnering their first sweep of the season. I can't believe it's almost July and I'm writing that.
- The Toronto Blue Jays and their magic dinger-mashing water roll into GABP for a 3 game weekend series beginning tomorrow. First pitch will be at 7:10 EST, with Mat Latos taking the hill opposite knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Go watch, be loud, and tip -MBP handsomely for the pile of bourbon you'll drink afterwards.
- Apropo tunes.
