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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > September > 14 > Entry
Meet the one-run wonders
It wasn’t like watching paint dry, it was like watching the third coat of paint being dried with a hair blower.
It would have been more exciting to sit in the middle of the Sonoran desert at high noon counting cacti, or maybe watching the Cincinnati Bengals, than watching the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks foist futility on 27,297 in Chase Field Sunday.
The Diamondbacks, reputedly in the chase for the National League West title, stranded 17 runners and were 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, waiting around long enough for Corey Patterson to hit a 10th inning one-out home run off the right field foul pole for a 2-1 Reds victory.
When the much-maligned Patterson homered, the Reds had only two hits and 19 straight hitters had gone down impotently. But it enabled the Reds to finish 4-2 on the trip to Milwaukee and Arizona, with all six games decided by one run.
Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto used more pitches than a bad salesman, 115 in five innings. At one point in the fifth inning, Cueto had thrown more balls (54) than strikes (53). He walked six.
He finished with 56 balls and 59 strikes, tying Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano and Baltimore’s Daniel Cabrera for most balls thrown out of the strike zone in one game this year.
But the only run he gave up was a fifth-inning home run to Justin Upton, a home run that tied it, 1-1, after Jay Bruce hit his 18th homer, leading off the fourth.
Then 19 straight Reds went down until Patterson’s home run.
“Cueto threw a lot of pitches, but he really battled,” said manager Dusty Baker, referring to the fact the D-Backs left one on in the first, then two each in the second, third and fourth against Cueto.
The stranding continued against the Reds bullpen — two, three, three, zero, two over the last six innings.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team score one run and strand 17 batters,” said Baker. “They were threatening every inning and we were fortunate to come away with it.”
The D-Backs stranded 13 Saturday in a 3-2 10-inning loss to the Reds. In the two games, they were 1 for 24 with runners in scoring position.
Former Reds outfielder Adam Dunn stranded 10 runners over the three-game series, five Sunday. His only RBI came Saturday when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Reds did walk him twice intentionally with runners in scoring position. He hit into a double play in the first with two on and struck out with the bases loaded in the eighth against Bill Bray.
Arizona starter Max Scherzer, 24, the team’s No. 1 draft choice in 2007, held the Reds to one run (Bruce’s homer) and two hits over six innings, walking three and striking out nine.
But the D-Back pinch-hit for him in the sixth when they had two on and one out, going for the downs on that one. But pinch-hitter Jamie D’Antona and David Eckstein popped out against lefthander Adam Pettyjohn, making his debut for the Reds.
But with the tying run on second and the winning run on first, Cabrera caught Young looking at strike three.
“I can tell a difference in the way we’ve played since we played the Cubs at home, then Milwaukee and these guys (Arizona) on the road, all contenders,” said Patterson. “Those teams were all down for playoff spots and to us this was our playoffs. And we’ve played great.”
Patterson, hitting .204 with nine homers this year, has been an offensive mirage, but his defense has been exemplary most of the year, including two near-the-wall stabs in this series.
The fact the Cincinnati Reds are 5-2 over a span of seven straight one-run games through Saturday was impressive to Eric Davis, but he wants to see the team do better, like 7-0, and do it in April, May and June — when it counts.
“Our main objective here is to change the mentality,” said Davis, the former Reds superstar outfielder now traveling with the team as an unofficial coach. The mentality, of course, is a losing one — eight straight years of it.
“That’s what we’re working on, how to win, what it takes to win,” he said. “We lost a one-run game in Milwaukee Wednesday that we should have won and we lost a one-run game Friday in Arizona we should have won. Those games make a huge difference over the course of a season.
“We need to learn what to do and what not to do in those kinds of games,” he said. “My message to young players is to do what you can do and don’t try to do more and don’t do less.
“We have the core players here to be good,” he added. “Just a piece here and a piece there and change the mentality.”
The seven straight one-run games isn’t close to a record, not even a franchise record. The 1967 Reds played 11 straight one-run games.
“The only way to learn how to play one-run games is to play in them,” said manager Dusty Baker. “And you can learn something from the losses, too.”
Amazingly, the Reds are 26-18 this season in one-run games — 26 of their 68 wins are by one run.
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By GrandpaRedlegs
September 16, 2008 4:35 PM | Link to this
The recent wins just go to show that the team can win in spite of the great Dusted one. Baker was and still is a BAD choice to manage this young club.
By David V.
September 16, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this
Hey Hal…glad to see you back where you belong! I hope your house and family are OK after Hurricane Ike passed through!
By Y-City Jim
September 15, 2008 6:39 PM | Link to this
Milwaukee fires Ned Yost!!!
By Y-City Jim
September 15, 2008 6:22 PM | Link to this
JK, four of those one run losses belong to Harang with three of them coming in August.
By JK
September 15, 2008 4:58 PM | Link to this
I wonder how many of those 18 one run losses belong to Aaron Harang’s 16 losses? The guy never got run support all year.
By JK
September 15, 2008 4:58 PM | Link to this
I wonder how many of those 18 one run losses belong to Aaron Harang’s 16 losses? The guy never got run support all year.
By tom
September 15, 2008 2:30 PM | Link to this
The one-run wonders took out whatever air remained in the D-Backs.
By Y-City Jim
September 15, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this
The next 13 games might tell us a lot in regards to how much better this version of the Reds are. 10 of the 13 games are against that routinely kick the Reds butts (St. Louis, Houston, and Florida).
By Y-City Jim
September 15, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
Actually Dunn had an RBI on Friday as well. What this all points out that who bats behind Dunn is as important, maybe even more important, than who hits in front of him. If a guy is going to be on base 40% of the time (45% of time in Arizona) then you better put him in front of hitters that can bring him home. This is why I always felt that Dunn should be hitting 2nd or 3rd in the line-up.
By donb51
September 15, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this
Hal, You wrote:”…Adam Dunn stranded 10 runners over the three-game series, five Sunday. His only RBI came Saturday when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.” Also you wrote: “Reds did walk him twice intentionally with runners in scoring position.” Hal, isn’t it nice when you can walk the other guy’s power hitter and not suffer any consequences? We even hit him once with bases loaded, and walked him once with bases loaded, and basically took his 40 home run per year stat bat right out of his hand. Just like all the teams did when we had him.
By Y-City Jim
September 15, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this
There may be some positives but they are far outweighed by the negatives. While the last thirty games may sport a 16-14 record, this is not a .500 team in its current condition. The Reds still lack two everyday outfielders, SS, and catcher. There are numerous offensive and defensive flaws that need attention.
By Steven Ross
September 15, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
Correct me if wrong and that’s certainly a possibility, the Reds are 16 & 14 since Dunn was traded. I watched every game of the AZ series and to be honest, we’re so much better off without the big fella. I like the direction we’re headed in spite of Dusty trying to mess things up on a daily basis. Great pitching bods well for next season. We need some pop from the right side of the plate but overall, lots of postives.
By Y-City Jim
September 15, 2008 8:27 AM | Link to this
Dusty Baker reminds me of one of those kind of people that everyone is drawn toward. They have that electric personality that everyone enjoys, knows how to say things that stroke someone’s ego, makes the witty but corny remark, etc. but once you step back you realize the person is a major league BS artist.
By Kevin
September 15, 2008 6:50 AM | Link to this
“More pitches than a bad salesman”….Verrryy clever Hal…verrrryy clever!!! Hahahahahaa!!!
By ADS
September 15, 2008 12:29 AM | Link to this
Hal, I read a lot of sports blogs and I just have to say that you are always fun to read even with a team of such mediocrity! Other Reds writers (guess) simply report in their blogs. You have anecdotes and humor. Keep it up!
By Mr. Redlegs (Original)
September 14, 2008 11:09 PM | Link to this
Totally awesome lede, old-timer!
By Y-City Jim
September 14, 2008 10:18 PM | Link to this
If winning has to be this boring I’d rather lose.