Final: Reds 10, Diamondbacks 3
Posted by JohnFay at 5/13/2009 9:37 PM EDT on Cincinnati.com

Johnny Cueto went seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits, to improve to 4-1.

The Reds end the night tied for first place in the NL Central with St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds haven't been in first this late in the season since June of 2006. They haven't swept a team in the Pacific Time Zone since July of 2005.

They've won a season-high four in a row and six of seven.

Some highlights:

IMPRESSIVE FIRST: Bryan Augenstein got off to a good start. He struck out Willy Taveras on three pitches, Jerry Hairston grounded out, then Jay Bruce took called third strike. 12 pitches, 10 strikes.

IMPRESSIVE FIRST AT-BAT: Gerardo Parra, also fresh up from AA, homered in his first big league at-bat. That equalled the number of runs Cueto had allowed in any of his last five starts. D-Backs, 1-0.

REDS TAKE LEAD: Cueto led off the third with his second push bunt single of the year. Taveras extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an infield single. The inning seemed to go bad there. Hairston bunted into a fielder's choice -- Cueto out at third. Bruce flied out. But Brandon Phillips lined a 0-2 into right to get Taveras and Hairston home. Ramon Hernandez singled to center to score Phillips. Reds, 3-1.

JOHNNY B. GOOD:Cueto walked Stephen Drew after the Parra home run, then retired 12 in a row. He walked Chad Tracy with one out in the fifth and then struck out the next two. He was at 68 pitches after 5.

D-BACKS CUT LEAD:Cueto got two quick outs in the sixth. Justin Upton then shot one into the gap in right-center for a double. Drew followed with a single to center to score Upton. It was first time since his first start of year that Cueto gave up more than one run. Drew took second on the throw. But Cueto got Eric Byrnes to strand him. Reds, 3-2.

BREAKING IT OPEN: Taveras singled and stole second. Hairston grounded one down the third base line for a double. That was it for Augenstein. Scott Schoeneweis came in and walked Jay Bruce. Hairston stole third. Juan Gutierrez came on and struck out Phillips. But Bruce stole second on strike 3. Hairston scored when catcher Miguel Montero’s throw went into center. The D-Backs troubles were only beginning. Hernandez walked. Adam Rosales, Chris Dickerson and Ryan Hanigan followed with RBI singles. Reds, 8-2.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll...innati.com

Reds 10, Diamondbacks 3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
CIN (20-14) 0 0 3 0 0 0 5 2 0 10 14 1
ARI (13-22) 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 5 2
Final

W: J. Cueto (4-1)
L: B. Augenstein (0-1)
Reds 10, Diamondbacks 3

Quote:Regular Season Series
Cincinnati leads 3-0 (as of Wed 5/13)
Mon 5/11 CIN 13, @ARI 5 Recap
Tue 5/12 CIN 3, @ARI 1 Recap
>Wed 5/13 CIN 10, @ARI 3 Box Score
Jun 30, 2009 ARI @ CIN 7:10 PM ET
Jul 1, 2009 ARI @ CIN 7:10 PM ET
Jul 2, 2009 ARI @ CIN 12:35 PM ET

PHOENIX -- Brandon Phillips drove in four runs Wednesday night and the Cincinnati Reds completed a three-game sweep in Arizona with a 10-3 rout of the stumbling Diamondbacks.

Gerardo Parra homered in his first major league at-bat but Arizona could muster little offense beyond that against Johnny Cueto.


Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning of a baseball game on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Willy Taveras singled three times, scoring twice, to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and Jerry Hairston Jr. doubled and tripled as the Reds won for the sixth time in seven games to climb a season-best six games above .500. Taveras had nine hits in the series, and Phillips had six hits and eight RBIs.


Cincinnati Reds' Jay Bruce, right, steals second base as Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Felipe Lopez can't make the catch in the seventh inning during a baseball game on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The Reds improved to 13-5 on the road, best in the majors. They had 26 runs and 38 hits in the series.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=290513129

'Gorgeous' Reds sweep

PHOENIX – The first-place Cincinnati Reds.

How’s that sound?

“I like the sound of that,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “I like the sound of a sweep, too.”

The Reds moved into a three-way tie for the National League Central lead with a 10-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks that completed the three-game sweep.

The Reds’ victory, coupled with the St. Louis Cardinals’ 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh, put the Reds in a three-way tie for first in the NL Central.

The Reds, Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers are all 20-14. The Reds haven’t been in first this late in a season since they were 36-24 on June 8, 2006.

“To tell you the truth, it’s just the beginning,” said Brandon Phillips, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI.

“It’s like getting to the major leagues: The hardest thing to do is stay there. Right now, anybody can get there, but it’s all about staying there. We’ll keep working hard and get the lead up, take it game by game and go out and have fun.

“But it does feel good.”

The Reds have won six of seven.

How good is it going? Let Phillips tell you:

“Our swag is real nice right now. We’re picking each other up. Our team chemistry is gorgeous. Everybody on this team is rooting for each other. When somebody gets a hit, you see everybody in the dugout going crazy. Honestly, this is the best team I’ve played on. The guys on this team pick each other up.

“We’re not worrying about negative. Even when we lost, we were like: We just showed the Cardinals we were here. We’re trying to come through in the big situations. That’s why we’re winning.

“Plus, our pitching is gorgeous. Our pitching makes us pick it up on defense. They don’t waste time. They’re not walking nobody. We’re just having fun.”

Johnny Cueto’s pitching was indeed gorgeous Wednesday. He went seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits, to go to 4-1 on the year.

“He made two mistakes,” Baker said. “Other than that, he was masterful.”

The Reds had 37 hits in the series.

“We were just hitting it where they wasn’t,” Phillips said. “We really didn’t hit it that hard. That’s what it’s about, hitting the ball in the right place.”

Arizona took a 1-0 lead in the first. Gerardo Parra, just called up from Double-A, hit a home run in his first big league at-bat.

Cueto got things started in the third with a bunt single. Willy Taveras followed with an infield single to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

The inning seemed to go bad from there. Jerry Hairston Jr. bunted into a fielder’s choice, forcing Cueto at third. Jay Bruce flied to center for the second out.

But Phillips hit a 0-2 pitch to right for a two-run double. It extended Phillips’ hitting streak to 11. Ramon Hernandez singled in Phillips to make it a 3-1 game.

Cueto was rolling by then, retiring 16 of 17 from the first to the sixth.

Justin Upton doubled with one out in the sixth for the Diamondbacks’ second hit. Stephen Drew singled him in to make it 3-2.

The Reds broke it open with five in the seventh. The rally included two-out RBI singles by Adam Rosales, Chris Dickerson and Ryan Hanigan.

Cueto gave up a two-out home run to Augie Ojeda in the seventh.

Phillips made it a four-RBI night with a two-run double in the eighth.

“Our guys are starting to hit it,” Baker said. “Hitting is contagious. Our guys are rooting for each other. That’s what I like.

“It was a good series, a real good one.”

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090...eakingnews

Reds sweep lackluster D-Backs
by Bob McManaman - May. 13, 2009 11:47 PM
The Arizona Republic

Before the Cincinnati Reds put the finishing touches on a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, new manager A.J. Hinch had a fireside-like chat with reporters in the Arizona dugout.

He said things such as his team needs to "get back to the simpler things" and "rekindle a sense of spirit" and finally, remember to "take a deep breath" and "have some fun."

Winning, not words, is the only thing that can save the spiraling Diamondbacks, who got clobbered 10-3 Wednesday night in front of 20,443 fans.

Arizona has lost three in a row, fallen to 1-5 under Hinch and dropped 10 of its first 12 series to open the season.

It's not getting better. It's getting worse.

Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto improved to 4-1 by limiting the Diamondbacks to three runs on four hits in seven innings, as Cincinnati outscored Arizona 26-9 in the series.

"It's hard," Hinch said. "They outhit us, ran the bases better, and played better defense. They just stuck it to us.

"But there's no magic potion here. I think we've got to find a way to have a little more fun, and get that boyish spirit back. . . . (Without it) it can create a negative momentum if you're not careful."

The Diamondbacks brought up two prospects from Double-A Mobile to make their major-league debuts.

Pitcher Bryan Augenstein, who was 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA for the BayBears, had an electric start by easily retiring the first three hitters he faced. But after the first time through the order, the Reds settled in against him and the right-hander left after 6 1/3 innings, having allowed five earned runs and eight hits.

"This was an amazing feeling and a great opportunity for me," said Augenstein, who will remain in the rotation indefinitely.

Gerardo Parra, who was hitting .361 for Mobile, started in center field for the slumping Chris Young and smacked a home run in his first at-bat, hitting in the No. 2 spot.

Parra became the 100th player in major-league history to homer in his first major-league at-bat. He is the second player to do so this season - the other was Atlanta's Jordan Schafer on April 5 against Philadelphia - and he's the second Diamondbacks player to do it - the other being Alex Cabrera on June 26, 2000 against Houston.

Parra didn't get another hit the rest of the night, however, and the 1-0 lead he gave his teammates didn't last long.

The Reds scored three times in the third inning, getting a two-run double to right by second baseman Brandon Phillips and an RBI single to right by first baseman Ramon Hernandez.

Shortstop Stephen Drew, hitting in the cleanup spot for the first time in his big-league career, had an RBI double in the sixth to help the Diamondbacks pull within a run.

But the Reds broke open the game an inning later, scoring five times off Augenstein and three relievers.

Key player

Johnny Cueto stifled Arizona hitters over seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits.

Key moment

Trailing by a run, the Diamondbacks saw any hope they had evaporate in the seventh inning when the Reds scored five times against four pitchers on five hits, two walks and an error.

Key number

51: Combined career games spent in Triple-A among four players in the Diamondbacks starting lineup - Miguel Montero (36), Justin Upton (15), Gerardo Parra (0) and Bryan Augenstein (0).

View from the press box

A.J. Hinch is a personable and smart guy, but if Diamondbacks management says he's such a great leader, why haven't the players responded to the managerial change? This team was better under Bob Melvin. At least it had a pulse.

Notes: D-Backs think Owings retaliated

by Nick Piecoro - May. 13, 2009 11:52 PM
The Arizona Republic

The Diamondbacks seemed a little confused by the reasoning, but there was little doubt in the clubhouse about the intent.

Players believe that Reds pitcher Micah Owings, a former Diamondbacks pitcher, was throwing intentionally at pinch-hitter Ryan Roberts in the eighth inning of Tuesday night's game.

Roberts was hit on the left elbow immediately after Diamondbacks reliever Jon Rauch twice threw up and in to Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips in the top of the inning.

Diamondbacks players were surprised that the Reds chose to retaliate as they didn't believe the pitches to Phillips were that far inside.

Roberts didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

"It's how the game's played," he said. "It's a part of the game. I'm not mad about it."

Manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday night that he didn't think it was intentional and didn't seem to change his stance Wednesday.

"Anytime we feel like there was malicious intent around it, we certainly will need to stand our ground," Hinch said. "I didn't feel like that was the time to make a statement of any kind."

The Diamondbacks might have answered back in the eighth inning Wednesday night when Esmerling Vasquez drilled the Reds' Jay Bruce with a pitch.

Parra arrives

Outfielder Gerardo Parra, the club's top position-player prospect, was all smiles in the clubhouse before he made his major-league debut.

He was asked how it felt to be wearing a major-league uniform.

"It feels so good that if I have to sleep in it, I'll sleep in it," he said. "I don't want to take it off."

Parra, who was in the lineup in center field and hit a home run in his first at-bat, will get "plenty of at-bats," Hinch said.

"He can play all three outfield positions, so we've got four good guys for three spots," Hinch said.

Gordon set back

Reliever Tom Gordon, on the disabled list with a right hamstring strain, had to cut short his throwing session Wednesday because of hamstring discomfort.

He said he wasn't sure what the next step would be in his recovery, but it's clear from the setback that he isn't close to coming off the disabled list.

Gordon said he planned to meet with trainer Ken Crenshaw to determine a course of action.

Short hops

General Manager Josh Byrnes said he hoped to have his minor-league vacancies filled within the next two to three weeks. Following the shakeup on the major-league coaching staff, the organization is without a farm director, minor-league field coordinator and pitching coordinator. For now, Assistant General Manager Peter Woodfork is overseeing the minor-league system.

• Left fielder Conor Jackson underwent tests to determine the lingering illness that forced him on the disabled list.

• To clear space for Parra, infielder Josh Wilson was designated for assignment. Lefty Clay Zavada, who was with the team for one day but did not pitch, was optioned to Double-A Mobile to make room for starter Bryan Augenstein.

Another fun game to watch. I absolutely love this team's style of play.

(05-14-2009 08:56 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Another fun game to watch. I absolutely love this team's style of play.

Same here, it's refreshing to see a team capable of putting together a string of base hits to score runs without relying on the home run ball. They're a much more balanced team than any time in recent memory.

I like watching them run the bases, which is 1000x better than anything we have seen in a long time. Got to love how often they go 1st to 3rd on a single.

The pitching has been pretty damn good overall, aside from a couple blowups.

Finally, they give great effort.

There were times last night when Cueto was so "ON" that the catcher could have told the batter what was coming and they still wouldn't have been able to hit it.

By my eye, he has 3-4 stretches a game when he gets out of his physical rhythm and you can tell he has become a little unfocused. During those windows he is hittable.

As he gets older and more experienced he should be able to even cut those windows down a bit. If so he could be a guy that has 20-25 win seasons.

This is just personal opinion here, but when I watch this team, I don't get the vibe like they're all playing out of their minds or anything. I don't feel like anybody's overachieving, except for maybe Taveras. From what I understand, according to scouts, Cueto's just at a point in the learning curve where he's putting everything together. Hanigan, Rosales, Votto, Bruce, et al are all doing exactly what we wanted them to do. Everyone else is simply playing hard, smart, and doing what they're supposed to be doing. Back in 06, it wasn't a question of if the Reds would collapse, but when. With these guys, they're such a solid club, I expect them to win every night.

I'm not saying I expect a pennant or anything. I had them penciled in at third this year, thinking next year was the big year. But honestly, at this point, I expect them to hang in there at least until July or so. It's not beyond them.

(05-14-2009 09:41 AM)CD11 Wrote:  This is just personal opinion here, but when I watch this team, I don't get the vibe like they're all playing out of their minds or anything. I don't feel like anybody's overachieving, except for maybe Taveras. From what I understand, according to scouts, Cueto's just at a point in the learning curve where he's putting everything together. Hanigan, Rosales, Votto, Bruce, et al are all doing exactly what we wanted them to do. Everyone else is simply playing hard, smart, and doing what they're supposed to be doing. Back in 06, it wasn't a question of if the Reds would collapse, but when. With these guys, they're such a solid club, I expect them to win every night.

I'm not saying I expect a pennant or anything. I had them penciled in at third this year, thinking next year was the big year. But honestly, at this point, I expect them to hang in there at least until July or so. It's not beyond them.

I love watching this team now compared to the Griffey/Dunn years. I think this team has a chance to win the division, but i would like to see a right handed bopper in LF. Dye or Nady when he gets healthy or someone else would do the trick. Please do not put Edwin or Gonzo back in the lineup anytime soon...Keep Hairston at SS and Rosales at 3B and you'll do fine. Honestly, I think EE is done...Get him healthy and trade him off!

Listen...I saved my stub from the rainout against the pirates to redeem during the NLCS!

Cueto has the potential to be the best pitcher in baseball. His stuff is that good. The reds lineup is really hitting right now. They are getting on base at a great clip. I expected the bats to come around some, but they have been on fire of late.

The curse of Jack McKeon may have been removed since Welsh and Grand had McKeon in the booth during the Marlin series. If you remember Jack McKeon two season as the Reds manager they won ??? 98 games and then 86 games the next year. Jack was fired because he was against the Griffey trade. Ever since that moment the Reds have been pretty awful. Bob Freakin Boone American League ball ruined the team. Since Lou is in the NL now he curse has been removed. Still holding out for Davey Johnson to give Reds fans a thumbs up.

I never thought Jack was against the Griffey trade, just that the reds management thought they should win more once Griffey got there. I think Jack won 96 games the first year (which almost any year gets you in the playoffs), then won 85. The year he won 85 the reds were plagued by injuries (of course the year he won 96 they were uncharacteristicalyl healthy). Jack was a good manager...they replaced him with the awful Bob Boone.

(05-14-2009 01:32 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I never thought Jack was against the Griffey trade, just that the reds management thought they should win more once Griffey got there. I think Jack won 96 games the first year (which almost any year gets you in the playoffs), then won 85. The year he won 85 the reds were plagued by injuries (of course the year he won 96 they were uncharacteristicalyl healthy). Jack was a good manager...they replaced him with the awful Bob Boone.

But not until AFTER Old Leatherpants screwed Ronnie Oester.

BaBoone sucked. I prefer to ignore the fact that he ever managed the Reds.