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Message #: 31509
A far cry from our performance against Montreal in 1994, the Reds would have swept (despite the split cards from hell) were it not for one more in the never-ending serial "Nobody Chokes Like The Reds".... Game 1: A complete mound mismatch, with Pedro Martinez opposing recently-acquired batting practice pitcher Brian Keyser, but Keyser rose to the occasion and posted results about as good as could be expected (5.1 IP, 8 baserunners, 1 run). A barrage (3) of first inning doubles put the visitors on top 2-0, but little did we know that outburst would represent 50% of our hits and 100% of our runs scored for the day. Still, it appeared that might be enough. Keyser took a shutout into the 5th, losing it on a 1-out triple which was followed by an RBI groundout. When Keyser allowed a 1-out double in the MON 6th, Dave Burba came to the rescue and halted the rally. So Keyser left with a 2-1 lead -- and the Reds still looking for their next hit after the first inning. We found a couple of hits leading off the 7th, getting runners to 2nd & 3rd with nobody out. There they died, with the subsequent 3 batters going strikeout, strikeout, strikeout. Bravo. That last K being a pinch hitter for Burba, spectacular arsonist/closer Todd Jones took the mound and was, as usual, at his worst. With 2 outs and the bases empty, the most efficient way to prevent a scoreless inning is to allow a gopher. And so he did, tying the contest in the 7th and removing Keyser from any possibility of victory. Then in the 8th, Jones removed his entire team from any possibility of victory by choking up another clutch 2-out hit which made it a 4-2 final after the offense went down without too much effort in the CIN 9th. Jones recorded his second blown save of 1995, and worse yet sunk to a devastating 0-3 in the young season. ======================================================================== Game 2: The Reds again scored early and then not at all, building a 6-0 lead against Jeff Fassero, whose 2-inning outing was the briefest start of his career (47 GS). The Cincy offense managed this despite batting a perfect .000 on the split cards, getting the adverse result every possible time and doing pretty much the same for the remainder of the series. CIN starter John Smiley kept the shutout intact until the 6th, when the Expos cut the margin to an uncomfortably close 6-2, but Smiley hung in there and wobbled to a complete-game 7-3 win after extinguishing a major rally that began with 2 outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the 9th. Smiley wound up with an ugly 11-hitter. The teams combined for 9 extra base hits, 7 doubles and a pair of home runs from Cincy's Barry Larkin and Jerome Walton. Smiley found time to fan 11 batters and walk only 2 among all the hits he allowed, an outstanding control performance topped only slightly by Pedro's 0 walk, 11 K stats in the series opener. ======================================================================== Game 3: Continuing the theme, Cincy scored twice in the first off Dennis Martinez and then hibernated for a while. Also continuing a theme, CIN starter Jose Rijo got off to a good start and kept the home team off the board until he finally permitted his first run of the year in the 4th with a minimum of effort from the opposing offense (single, WP, WP, groundout). Assuming quite correctly that more runs would be necessary, the Reds woke up in the 6th and plated 2 more on a Larkin sac fly and a Reggie Sanders double. Rijo worked 6 innings, allowing just 4 hits, 0 walks and registering 7 K's. His ERA currently stands at 0.82, but with that card (and such little usage) Rijo will be no contender for any postseason awards. His impending freedom from the Cincy Arson Squad having been announced earlier in the day, the Reds again stupidly turned to Jones to try to seal the narrow victory and -- would you believe it? -- he actually did! Jones retired all 6 batters who came to the plate in the 7th & 8th, but with nobody on base thanks to a GIDP and Montreal down to their final out he simply couldn't resist: Sean Berry's solo -- instead of 3-run -- gopher made the final score 5-3. Who knew that Darrin Fletcher's GIDP would be so important? Cincy's 8 hits for the day included 5 doubles and a Hal Morris home run. Half of the Expos' 6 hits were more than mere singles as well. Alan |
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