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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 > 2009 > May > 01 > Entry
‘Pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching’
A question or two:
Is it the chicken or the egg? Is it that the Cincinnati Reds pitching is so good or is it that the Pittsburgh Pirates hitting is so bad? Is it left or is it right? Is it real or is it Memorex.
Oh, who cares. It’s fun, isn’t it - this pitching staff.
Here’s what there is to ponder: The Reds now have pitched 19 straight scoreless innings and given up six hits. The Pirates now have gone 22 straight scoreless innings at the plate had had only seven hits.
Is it Cincinnati pitcher prowess or is it Pittsburgh batting ineptness.
Tune in Saturday and Sunday for chapters two and three of this series for more analytical information.
Me? I believe it is the pitching. The Pirates usually hit pretty good, especially in their home PNC Park, the prettiest new park in baseball. Too bad it is a football town and fans would rather go to spartan Heinz Field for the Pittsburgh Steelers than come to see the Pirates.
But I digress. Even the man who slinked out of baseball disgraced by charges to skimmed bonus money from young Latin players, former Reds manager Jim Bowden knew what is not a secret about how to win baseball games. Behind his desk when he had an office in Great American Ball Park was a sign: “Pitching, pitching. Pitching.” He could have added two more, “Pitching, pitching,” because that would be a five-man rotation. And that’s what the Reds could have going for them.
Bronson Arroyo believes it after shutting out the Pirates on four hits over eight innings Friday night.
Arroyo and his stiff-legged delivery never blinked, holding the Pirates scoreless on four hits over eight innings and the Reds prevailed, 4-0.
It is a series of polar opposites: The Reds have not given up a run in 19 innings and only six hits. The Pirates have gone 22 innings without a run and managed seven hits.
“I feel like this like this is definitely the best staff since I’ve been here and if we continue to do things like this, it breeds conficdence,” said Arroyo. “From top to bottom, everybody throws good. Hopefully we can keep holding ‘em down until we start scoring eight or nine a night and not sweat it so much.”
Arroyo sweated it most of the way and Duke finally broke down in the sixth, but it was a minor breakdown.
Willy Taveras doubled to the 410 sign in left center, the deepest part of the park, then took third on Jerry Hairston Jr.’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Joey Votto’s sharp single.
It stayed 1-0 until Duke left after seven and John Grabow replaced him. Brandon Phillips had hit the ball excruciatingly hard three straight times against Duke with zero to show for it.
But he lit into Grabow’s first pitch and hit it where only a fan could catch it, into the right field bleachers for his third home run and a 2-0 Reds lead.
The Reds added two more in the ninth with Phillips driving in another run with a sacrifice fly.
“Two shutouts in a row? A beautiful thing,” said manager Dusty Baker. Edinson Volquez held Houston to no runs and one hit over eight innings in the previous game. “Man, I love that. And tacking on those runs late was sweet. Those guys (the Pirates) are capable of scoring runs, so going from 1-0 to 4-0 was great,” said Baker.
“Bronson (4-1, 4.91) was masterful and had everything working for him, including a couple of key double plays.”
The biggest was in the first when the first two Pirates (Nyjer Morgan, Freddy Garcia) singled. But the Reds turned a 6-4-3 double play on Nate McLouth and the Pirates didn’t get another hit until the seventh.
“I had those two guys on in the first, but I knew my command was good and I thought, ‘If I can get through this inning without giving up a run I’ll be all right,’” said Arroyo. “Luckily I got the double play and got out of that inning and it worked out like I thought and it doesn’t always happen like that.”
Pittsburgh catcher Jason Jaramillo was perplexed by Arroyo’s assortment of pitches that arriveing between 65 and 88 miles an hour.
“You can see the ball, we all saw the ball,” said Jaramillo. “But it’s moving around so much it is not easy to hit.”
.
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Comments
By W
May 2, 2009 9:36 PM | Link to this
Oh, Hannigan must not have had any hits during the last game?
By Wizard
May 2, 2009 9:34 PM | Link to this
Hannigan in the 8th, if you please Mr. Dummy Baker!
By Tom
May 2, 2009 12:40 PM | Link to this
Good pitching and the ability to bunt the runner(s) into scoring position. Call it small ball but it’s fun to watch.
By Jeff
May 2, 2009 9:11 AM | Link to this
The pitching has been great, most times out they have given us a chance to win. Phillips is coming around. As long as he tryies to hit the ball the other way he is a tough tough out, too much he gets infatuated with the home run and then he tries to pull everything. His approach is 10 times better right now. he is due for a hot streak. Hopefully Edwin is watching and sees that right field is open too. If tyose two guys get going look out!!! The time on the DL will help EE. In the meantimes I am happy to see rosales
By Matthew Ian Feltner
May 2, 2009 8:20 AM | Link to this
you know its early still, but if you really look at it we have a pretty decent pitching staff now i think our 5 man rotation is solid
By MAC
May 2, 2009 1:49 AM | Link to this
Another nice win 4 Reds. BA has really bounced back & BP hit another shot to RF. If he’ll just stay disciplined in his approach (stay back and inside the baseball)( he’ll continue to have a good yr @ the plate. e.
By HoosierVirg
May 2, 2009 1:35 AM | Link to this
Great job by Bronson, nice win against a team we had a tough time with last year.
By What the Heck
May 2, 2009 12:22 AM | Link to this
A soft liner behind the second base bag is not an “extremely hard” hit ball, Hal. That was the result in Brandon’s third AB.
By Bill from Florida
May 1, 2009 11:32 PM | Link to this
I think pitching will be the strong part this year. The homework is done. I’m curious to see what will it be about 3B (EE vs. AR) and LF (CD vs. LN). It looks like BP it’s on his way.
By Y-City Jim
May 1, 2009 11:12 PM | Link to this
The humidity probably helped Arroyo’s movement. As for whether it is the pitching or the lack of opponents’ hitting, the test will come next weekend when the Reds return to Great American against the Cardinals.