No collapse on Saturday for Reds; top Blue Jays 11-1
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CINCINNATI - There was no collapse for the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
In fact, less than 24 hours after losing an eight-run lead to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Reds brought out the bats once again and didn't let up, defeating the visitors from Canada, 11-1 at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds got a solid effort from Mike Leake, along with 11 hits from the Cincinnati offense, to put them in the driver's seat, in the direction of their 36th win of the season.
The win moves the Reds to one game under the .500 mark at 36-37.
For the Reds' starter, Leake (5-6) pitched eight strong innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and two walks. He struck out six, lowering his ERA to 3.59 on the year.
Leake began the game by retiring the first three batters he faced with two strikeouts and a groundout, with the strikeouts coming against Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista.
[[In-content Ad]]The bottom of the first saw the Reds force three consecutive two-out walks with Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce filling up the bases against Blue Jays starting pitcher J.A. Happ in front of a sell-out GABP crowd.
Votto finished 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. He also forced a walk.
The Reds cashed in on those free passes with Ryan Ludwick hitting a line drive to right-centerfield to plate Votto and Phillips for a 2-0 lead.
That was followed by Bruce scoring on a passed ball in the next at-bat, increasing the Cincinnati lead to three runs in the first inning.
Cincinnati ended the first by forcing four walks, and with those three runs, they had just one hit in the inning.
Leake battled his way out of a mess in the second inning with Edwin Encarnacion drawing a lead-off walk and Brett Lawrie hitting the ball off Leake for an infield single.
Those two Blue Jays stayed at their respective bases with Leake responding by collecting two strikeouts and a fly out to keep the Blue Jays scoreless after two innings.
Bruce made it a four-run advantage in the third with a two-out, 438-foot home run to right field, his seventh of the season.
The Reds continued to put together solid innings in the bottom of the fourth with Ramon Santiago and Leake singling with one out, as Leake's line drive to centerfield moved Santiago (2-for-4) from first to third base.
Billy Hamilton batted in Santiago with a hit to right field for a 5-0 Reds lead. Hamilton followed up by stealing third base, giving the Reds runners on second and third with one out.
Todd Frazier chipped in with a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield for another Reds run, scoring Leake from third base and moving Hamilton to third.
Votto extended the inning with a double to the left field wall, scoring Hamilton, putting the Reds in front, 7-0.
The inning still wasn't over with Phillips hitting the ball to the centerfield wall to score Votto, giving the Reds a lead of eight runs through four innings.
The Blue Jays showed some signs of life in the top of the sixth with a leadoff double by Melky Cabrera off the right field wall, but he was left stranded.
In the seventh, Colby Rasmus hit a solo home run for the Blue Jays, but that was topped with a two-out, three-run home run by Devin Mesoraco in the bottom half of the seventh, putting the Reds in front, 11-1, finalizing the scoring.
Happ suffered the loss for the Blue Jays, pitching just four innings, while allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and four walks. He struck out five.
The series with the Blue Jays is even at 1-1, with Sunday having the best pitching matchup yet as the Reds will have Johnny Cueto vs. Toronto's R.A. Dickey.
In fact, less than 24 hours after losing an eight-run lead to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Reds brought out the bats once again and didn't let up, defeating the visitors from Canada, 11-1 at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds got a solid effort from Mike Leake, along with 11 hits from the Cincinnati offense, to put them in the driver's seat, in the direction of their 36th win of the season.
The win moves the Reds to one game under the .500 mark at 36-37.
For the Reds' starter, Leake (5-6) pitched eight strong innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and two walks. He struck out six, lowering his ERA to 3.59 on the year.
Leake began the game by retiring the first three batters he faced with two strikeouts and a groundout, with the strikeouts coming against Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista.
[[In-content Ad]]The bottom of the first saw the Reds force three consecutive two-out walks with Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce filling up the bases against Blue Jays starting pitcher J.A. Happ in front of a sell-out GABP crowd.
Votto finished 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. He also forced a walk.
The Reds cashed in on those free passes with Ryan Ludwick hitting a line drive to right-centerfield to plate Votto and Phillips for a 2-0 lead.
That was followed by Bruce scoring on a passed ball in the next at-bat, increasing the Cincinnati lead to three runs in the first inning.
Cincinnati ended the first by forcing four walks, and with those three runs, they had just one hit in the inning.
Leake battled his way out of a mess in the second inning with Edwin Encarnacion drawing a lead-off walk and Brett Lawrie hitting the ball off Leake for an infield single.
Those two Blue Jays stayed at their respective bases with Leake responding by collecting two strikeouts and a fly out to keep the Blue Jays scoreless after two innings.
Bruce made it a four-run advantage in the third with a two-out, 438-foot home run to right field, his seventh of the season.
The Reds continued to put together solid innings in the bottom of the fourth with Ramon Santiago and Leake singling with one out, as Leake's line drive to centerfield moved Santiago (2-for-4) from first to third base.
Billy Hamilton batted in Santiago with a hit to right field for a 5-0 Reds lead. Hamilton followed up by stealing third base, giving the Reds runners on second and third with one out.
Todd Frazier chipped in with a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield for another Reds run, scoring Leake from third base and moving Hamilton to third.
Votto extended the inning with a double to the left field wall, scoring Hamilton, putting the Reds in front, 7-0.
The inning still wasn't over with Phillips hitting the ball to the centerfield wall to score Votto, giving the Reds a lead of eight runs through four innings.
The Blue Jays showed some signs of life in the top of the sixth with a leadoff double by Melky Cabrera off the right field wall, but he was left stranded.
In the seventh, Colby Rasmus hit a solo home run for the Blue Jays, but that was topped with a two-out, three-run home run by Devin Mesoraco in the bottom half of the seventh, putting the Reds in front, 11-1, finalizing the scoring.
Happ suffered the loss for the Blue Jays, pitching just four innings, while allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and four walks. He struck out five.
The series with the Blue Jays is even at 1-1, with Sunday having the best pitching matchup yet as the Reds will have Johnny Cueto vs. Toronto's R.A. Dickey.