Jay Bruce was bound to make an out sooner or later. The Cincinnati Reds will lose again at home, too.
Eventually.
The Reds sure didn’t show any signs of slowing Wednesday night, when they knocked around the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 9-1 win that was their ninth in a row at home.
The last time a Cincinnati team went on this kind of a roll by the banks of the Ohio River was in 1980.
“You have to feel like you can come home and win,” manager Dusty Baker said. “If you look up and down the leagues, very few teams are winning on the road. A lot of good teams are struggling on the road. You’ve got to win somewhere.”
The Reds haven’t been doing much winning on the road lately. They’re 9-19 in away games after finishing a 2-5 West Coast trip with an 18-inning loss in San Diego on Sunday.
But at Great American Ball Park, they’ve scored nine runs each of the past two nights against woeful Pittsburgh. The Reds’ streak goes back to a 9-0 win over the Chicago Cubs in a series finale May 7, and includes sweeps of the Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins.
In other NL games Wednesday night, it was, Milwaukee 1, Atlanta 0; San Francisco 11, Arizona 3; St. Louis 6, Houston 1; New York 7, Florida 6 in 12 innings; the Chicago Cubs 2, Los Angeles 1 in 10 innings; and Nationals 6, Padres 4.
David Ross homered to cap a six-run first inning against Tom Gorzelanny, and drove in four runs overall. Bruce, the prized rookie who reached safely all five times up in his debut the night before, walked in the first then flied out, though he later doubled and got another walk.
His streak of reaching safely in his first six plate appearances was the longest since 1977, when Boston’s Ted Cox went 6-for-6 with a walk in his first seven times up in the majors.
Gorzelanny (4-5) retired only two of the eight batters he faced during the shortest of his 54 starts in the majors. He gave up four hits and a pair of walks, and threw a wild pitch that set up a run.
“It’s embarrassing to do something like that,” said Gorzelanny, who threw only 38 pitches. “I’ve never done this before. I don’t know what to say other than I can’t believe it.”
The early lead was helpful for Bronson Arroyo (4-4), pitching on short rest to help Cincinnati’s rotation in disarray. Arroyo volunteered to go on three days of rest after the Reds used starters Aaron Harang and Edinson Volquez during the 18-inning loss in San Diego on Sunday.
“We got six runs early, and that made things a lot easier,” Arroyo said. “I could throw batting-practice fastballs. I didn’t feel the greatest, but our defense was great, and I was lucky enough to get them to pop up some pitches.”
Brewers 1, Braves 0
In Milwaukee, Rickie Weeks delivered a run-scoring triple in the eighth inning to make a winner of Jeff Suppan (3-4), who baffled the Atlanta Braves over eight innings.
Braves starter Jo-Jo Reyes (2-3) had given up just two hits and retired 14 batters in a row before walking J.J. Hardy on four pitches leading off the eighth.
Blaine Boyer replaced Reyes, and Jason Kendall’s sacrifice gave the Brewers their first runner in scoring position. After pinch-hitter Joe Dillon struck out, Weeks hit his second triple of the season down the left-field line.
Salomon Torres pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in six opportunities.
Giants 11, Diamondbacks 3
In Phoenix, Ray Durham drove in four runs with a homer and a three-run single, and the Giants spoiled Doug Davis’ homecoming.
Davis (2-2) was making his second start, first at home, since returning from surgery to remove his cancerous thyroid gland. He allowed six runs on nine hits in five innings, striking out five and walking three, one intentionally.
Jonathan Sanchez (3-3) blanked Arizona for five innings before giving up two in the sixth as the Diamondbacks lost a series to an NL West opponent for the first time this season.
Cardinals 6, Astros 1
In St. Louis, Adam Wainwright shackled the Houston Astros for eight innings and Yadier Molina had two hits and two RBIs to help spoil Wandy Rodriguez’s first start in more than a month.
Wainwright (5-2) matched his career high with eight strikeouts, allowed three hits and issued his only walk to Michael Bourn with two outs in the eighth.
Ty Wigginton homered into the third deck in left in the third for the Astros.
Rodriguez (1-1) made his first start since going on the 15-day disabled list on April 20 with a strained left groin.
Mets 7, Marlins 6, 12 innings
In New York, Fernando Tatis delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the 12th.
The Mets made it 5-all in the ninth when Endy Chavez connected for the first pinch-hit home run of his career.
After Alfredo Amezaga homered with two outs in the 12th off reliever Duaner Sanchez (1-0), the Mets rallied. Tatis’ one-out hit came against Justin Miller (1-2).
The NL East-leading Marlins lost despite four home runs, including two by Cody Ross.
Cubs 2, Dodgers 1, 10 innings
In Chicago, Alfonso Soriano singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th to complete a three-game sweep.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs tied it against Dodgers’ closer Takashi Saito on Geovany Soto’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly.
In the 10th, pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot doubled with one out off Chan Ho Park (1-1) and scored on Soriano’s single to left.
Nationals 6, Padres 4
In San Diego, Jesus Flores hit a grand slam off Shawn Estes (1-1) and Washington kept the Padres from assembling their first three-game winning streak this season.
Add A Comment