Game 73, 2011: Reds 2, Blue Jays 1

By TheNaturalMevs on June 20, 2011

I didn’t enjoy this small round of interleague play as much as I thought I would. Jay Bruce and Joey Votto are not hitting a whole lot; at least that is to say they aren’t hitting with a lot of power. Bruce broke out of his slump with four hits in the final two days of the weekend series and Votto also collected three hits of his own yesterday including one that started the small rally that would win the game on Miguel Cairo’s 2-run home run.

And let’s pause for a moment. How good has Miguel Cairo been this season? He’s collected a few absolutely huge hits for the Reds, and none were bigger than this one.

Bronson Arroyo rebounded with a performance that kept the Reds pitching staff rolling. He had more than just a quality start; he went 8 innings allowing only 5 hits and one run on an Aaron Hill home run. This was the type of start that Bunny Arroyo has became known for over the course of his Reds career. He’s not always effective, but more often than not when it’s a must-win the guy shows up and is able to be a ‘stopper’ of sorts.

Friday and Saturday were such disappointments in terms of entertainment in this series. The Reds salvaged a little bit of the series and find themselves two games out of the lead that the Cardinals and Brewers share.

The Reds play host to the Yankees tonight, and might get more good news with Albert Pujols going down with an injury. This is a chance before the All-Star break where as a Reds fan you would like to see the team play their best baseball and the lineup get a little hot. The weather is hot, school is out; and it’s time for these guys to try and make a move and take a stranglehold on the division. They’ve been treading water for a little bit now.

With the Yankees coming to town (minus Derek Jeter), let’s see what they’ve got. We’ll be there tonight, by the way.