Game 44, 2011: Pirates 5, Reds 3

[Box Score]

[PBC Blog] [Cincinnati.com] [Red Reporter] [Redleg Nation]

Observations:

This was another one of those afternoon games that the Reds play in the daylight, and so often come up short before heading out of town. I can’t blame this one on a Dusty Baker lineup. Johnny Cueto and the Reds just didn’t have the winning ingredients yesterday, and now first place belongs to someone else.

James McDonald is hardly a guy who is going to scare anyone, but he went 6 and 2/3 innings on this day in baseball history and it stood up as good enough to get the win.

The Reds wasted the 11th multi-home run game of Jay Bruce’s career in this one. Joey Votto only had 1 hit, an RBI single late in the game to cut the deficit to 5-2. Don’t look now but Jay Bruce actually has 6 home runs in the month already. It would be really nice to see him somehow hit four more before the calendar turns. I don’t know that he’s ever hit 10 in a month before. You would have to think that if he continues this type of power surge, he’ll get some consideration to be an All-Star for the Reds. That’s really important.

Highlights:

Jay Bruce homers in the 2nd inning to give the Reds a lead (9)

Bruce takes a 98 MPH fastball from Joel Hanrahan the other way for HR #10

Andrew Mccutchen’s RBI double

Ryan Doumit’s home run

Diamond Hoggers Song of the Game:

Potpourri:

-Remember Reds fans, vote 25 times (and make up other fake e-mail accounts to vote more times than that) for all Reds. You know those buttheads in St. Louis are going to be voting all day long for Lance Berkman, Colby Rasmus and Tyler Greene to be on the All-Star team, so do your part.

-Heading to the game in Cleveland tonight. More on this later, but excited to see some interleague baseball.