Game 43, 2011: Pirates 5, Reds 0

By TheNaturalMevs on May 19, 2011

About a week ago, I added Charlie Morton on my fantasy baseball team in my 19 team league. He had an ERA in the low 3’s, and four wins. I said what the Hell, I’ll pick him up and when the right spot comes along, I’ll spot start the guy. He’s shown flashes that he can shut a team down for games this season. He’s not a guy to build your staff around, but in the right spot he can give you solid innings and production. In a 19-team league, that’s all you’re looking for some nights.

When the Reds scratched Jay Bruce before the game due to illness, I knew last night was that night.

Another guy I had a feeling about was Pedro Alvarez. I had a feeling that he would do something big at Great American but I didn’t expect a 3-run home run. Sometimes you luck out, and sometimes it all falls into place.

My team lost and the 5-game winning streak is history. Charlie Morton threw a shutout for me, and Pedro Alvarez got only one hit. But sometimes if you have watched baseball long enough you just know the result before it plays out. I knew the Pirates were going to beat the Reds last night. If I were a richer man I would have bet some big time money on it. Just like today–the Reds play at 12:35–and they’ll win before going on the road for three games in Cleveland. I would bet anyone that Cueto is good again and the Reds get a big home run out of someone to win a tight ballgame.

There isn’t much to touch on as far as the Reds offense goes. Andrew Mccutchen made a couple of nice plays in center field and hit a rocket 2-run home run late in the game to really cement the sale for the Pirates. But the Reds got only five hits and the only rally to speak of was back to back hits by Chris Heisey (who was a pinch hitter once again) and Drew Stubbs. Of course, looking at the final score you realize it didn’t result in any runs.

It’s time for Jay Bruce to return to the lineup and get truly hot. We’ve all been waiting long enough. It’s pretty much a ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ moment for Bruce. He’s sitting on 8 home runs. The rest of the league leaders in the category are getting theirs right now. We really want to see Bruce in double digits by the end of the weekend. Keep the pace, and we would bet the Reds win 3 of the next 4.

We’ll see what happens. But another night in which the Reds belonged to their keeper Charlie Morton. He of Roy Halladay mechanics.