Reds knocked out of GABP
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CINCINNATI — Bronson Arroyo couldn't keep the Pittsburgh Pirates inside Great American Ball Park, and as a result, the Cincinnati Reds will be playing on the road in their Wild Card game, Tuesday.
The Reds will finish third in the NL Central this season, a result coming from an 8-3 loss Saturday to the Pirates at Great American Ball Park.
Pittsburgh will host the Wild Card game on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at PNC Park. The winner of that game advances to the National League Division Series next week.
Reds manager Dusty Baker was asked why there were so many runners stranded as it has become a recurring theme for the Reds in 2013.
"You have to keep plugging, you have no choice," he said. "If you con solve it, you can solve it a long time ago. It was a game of inches that went their way and not our way."
The Reds knew what they had to do, and at times they did what was needed, but for most of the day, the pitching just wasn't there, and the hitting was inconsistent as they left 11 runners stranded, including two innings with the bases loaded.
Arroyo was pulled from the game after 4.2 innings on the mound. The right-hander allowed six earned runs on eight hits and one walk.
"He (Arroyo) was missing. He was missing over the heart of the plate," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "His ball was a little bit up and in the middle."
Arroyo (14-12) gave up five home runs and struck out two in the losing effort.
"Before the game started, I felt like my rib was out of place … it still does," Arroyo said. "I don't think it affected the game that much. You just can't get away leaving balls up in the zone as much as I did in a ball park as small as this against a lineup like they have over there.
"It was definitely poor location."
Arroyo spoke about this potentially being his final start for the Reds and at GABP.
"The years go by quickly," he said. "I've been here eight years. It will be strange if this is my last start, hopefully not. We still have life.
"It's something to think about. (I thought about) it being my last start a little bit (walking off the mound). I would have loved to walk off the mound with the lead, but it's baseball. Every day, you never know what you are going to get, and today those guys put on a good show."
Arroyo, who has a 3.79 ERA this season, was asked about his chances of returning.
"Honestly I don't have any idea," Arroyo said. "When you don't have any conversation about it, then it is left to the imagination, which is I'm sure there is plenty positive and there is some negative.
"It's going to be an interesting offseason for me. Maybe if we play deep enough into October, they'll be excited enough to have the same ball club back."
For the game, the Reds' pitching allowed six home runs.
[[In-content Ad]]Neil Walker was first to put the Pirates on the board in the top of the third when he hit a solo home run, with a full-count, 392 feet for a 1-0 lead.
The lead quickly went to two runs as Andrew McCutchen, on an 0-1 count, sent the ball 405 feet over the right centerfield wall.
Cincinnati battled to take the lead with a three-run inning, as Shin-Soo Choo getting hit by a pitch with one out.
From there, the inning continued with Joey Votto drawing a walk. Brandon Phillips batted in Choo with a base hit, followed by Jay Bruce knocking in both Votto and Phillips with a double off the centerfield wall.
The Reds' lead didn't last too long when Pedro Alvarez hit his 36th home run of the season, off a first pitch to right field.
Walker hit his second homer of the game in the fifth, this time to centerfield, 390 feet on the first pitch of the at-bat, for his first multi-home run game of the season.
The home runs continued in the fifth with Marlon Byrd hitting a two-run shot 418 feet for a 6-3 lead, capping off a three-run inning for the Pirates, while also ending the day of Arroyo.
"The one that really hurt was the one that (Marlon) Byrd hit," Baker said. "He had one ball and two sticks with two outs in the inning, and that hurt.
"He's (Byrd) has been a thorn in our side. He's a key acquisition by them, so it is disappointing (the loss), and we have no choice but to just win it (the Wild Card game) on the road."
Baker, who said you can live with the solo home runs, tried to get Arroyo out of the game before he faced Byrd, but the Reds couldn't get anyone warmed up quickly enough.
"In the case of Bronson, you can't get anybody loose fast enough," Baker said. "This isn't fantasy baseball where you can just plug in somebody. You have to give guys a chance to get loose, or you end up hurting them.
"That was one of those cases. We had (Sean) Marshall ready for Alvarez, but we couldn't get anybody loose quickly enough for Byrd. You can't have somebody ready all the time. You can't do it, or you'll run through your whole bullpen."
Pittsburgh wasn't done hitting the long ball as pinch hitter Andrew Lambo hit the Pirates' sixth home run of the game in the sixth inning for a 7-3 Pirates lead.
The Pirates added another run in the eighth with Byrd scoring on a sacrifice fly by Garrett Jones.
Vin Mazzaro (8-2) was the winning pitcher for the Pirates. In 0.2 innings of relief, he struck put one batter and allowed no runs.
The Reds will finish third in the NL Central this season, a result coming from an 8-3 loss Saturday to the Pirates at Great American Ball Park.
Pittsburgh will host the Wild Card game on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at PNC Park. The winner of that game advances to the National League Division Series next week.
Reds manager Dusty Baker was asked why there were so many runners stranded as it has become a recurring theme for the Reds in 2013.
"You have to keep plugging, you have no choice," he said. "If you con solve it, you can solve it a long time ago. It was a game of inches that went their way and not our way."
The Reds knew what they had to do, and at times they did what was needed, but for most of the day, the pitching just wasn't there, and the hitting was inconsistent as they left 11 runners stranded, including two innings with the bases loaded.
Arroyo was pulled from the game after 4.2 innings on the mound. The right-hander allowed six earned runs on eight hits and one walk.
"He (Arroyo) was missing. He was missing over the heart of the plate," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "His ball was a little bit up and in the middle."
Arroyo (14-12) gave up five home runs and struck out two in the losing effort.
"Before the game started, I felt like my rib was out of place … it still does," Arroyo said. "I don't think it affected the game that much. You just can't get away leaving balls up in the zone as much as I did in a ball park as small as this against a lineup like they have over there.
"It was definitely poor location."
Arroyo spoke about this potentially being his final start for the Reds and at GABP.
"The years go by quickly," he said. "I've been here eight years. It will be strange if this is my last start, hopefully not. We still have life.
"It's something to think about. (I thought about) it being my last start a little bit (walking off the mound). I would have loved to walk off the mound with the lead, but it's baseball. Every day, you never know what you are going to get, and today those guys put on a good show."
Arroyo, who has a 3.79 ERA this season, was asked about his chances of returning.
"Honestly I don't have any idea," Arroyo said. "When you don't have any conversation about it, then it is left to the imagination, which is I'm sure there is plenty positive and there is some negative.
"It's going to be an interesting offseason for me. Maybe if we play deep enough into October, they'll be excited enough to have the same ball club back."
For the game, the Reds' pitching allowed six home runs.
[[In-content Ad]]Neil Walker was first to put the Pirates on the board in the top of the third when he hit a solo home run, with a full-count, 392 feet for a 1-0 lead.
The lead quickly went to two runs as Andrew McCutchen, on an 0-1 count, sent the ball 405 feet over the right centerfield wall.
Cincinnati battled to take the lead with a three-run inning, as Shin-Soo Choo getting hit by a pitch with one out.
From there, the inning continued with Joey Votto drawing a walk. Brandon Phillips batted in Choo with a base hit, followed by Jay Bruce knocking in both Votto and Phillips with a double off the centerfield wall.
The Reds' lead didn't last too long when Pedro Alvarez hit his 36th home run of the season, off a first pitch to right field.
Walker hit his second homer of the game in the fifth, this time to centerfield, 390 feet on the first pitch of the at-bat, for his first multi-home run game of the season.
The home runs continued in the fifth with Marlon Byrd hitting a two-run shot 418 feet for a 6-3 lead, capping off a three-run inning for the Pirates, while also ending the day of Arroyo.
"The one that really hurt was the one that (Marlon) Byrd hit," Baker said. "He had one ball and two sticks with two outs in the inning, and that hurt.
"He's (Byrd) has been a thorn in our side. He's a key acquisition by them, so it is disappointing (the loss), and we have no choice but to just win it (the Wild Card game) on the road."
Baker, who said you can live with the solo home runs, tried to get Arroyo out of the game before he faced Byrd, but the Reds couldn't get anyone warmed up quickly enough.
"In the case of Bronson, you can't get anybody loose fast enough," Baker said. "This isn't fantasy baseball where you can just plug in somebody. You have to give guys a chance to get loose, or you end up hurting them.
"That was one of those cases. We had (Sean) Marshall ready for Alvarez, but we couldn't get anybody loose quickly enough for Byrd. You can't have somebody ready all the time. You can't do it, or you'll run through your whole bullpen."
Pittsburgh wasn't done hitting the long ball as pinch hitter Andrew Lambo hit the Pirates' sixth home run of the game in the sixth inning for a 7-3 Pirates lead.
The Pirates added another run in the eighth with Byrd scoring on a sacrifice fly by Garrett Jones.
Vin Mazzaro (8-2) was the winning pitcher for the Pirates. In 0.2 innings of relief, he struck put one batter and allowed no runs.