Reds Get 19th Walk Off Win 5-4. Increase Lead to Six Games

Jay Bruce singled home pinch runner Brandon Phillips in the 10th inning for the Reds 19th win in its last at bat.
The hits made a winner out of Francisco Cordero.  Trevor Hoffman took the loss.

The line drive to left came after Ryan Hanigan walked to leadoff the 10th inning.  Drew Stubbs flubbed a bunt attempt popping it up to Hoffman.  Paul Janish popped to first.  Chris Heisey singled to move Phillips to second base.  Bruce lined a pitch by Hoffman to left and Phillips scored easily.

"My approach was to take him up the middle or the other way," Bruce said.  "This game was not exactly how you would write it out."

The Reds indeed made some mistakes.

"It was a twilight zone game or a full moon game.  It looked like it was becoming contagious but we fought through it," Dusty Baker said.

Hoffman, is one save away from 600 for his career.  No one has done that ever.  The 42-year old former Cincinnati minor leaguer, lost his closer job on the Great American Ball Park field in May by blowing a three-run ninth inning lead. Joey Votto doubled home the winning run.

Jay Bruce led off the game with his fifth home run in four games.  The blow came off another lefthander, Randy Wolf of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cincinnati starter, Homer Bailey gutted out six innings.  He was hit hard but allowed just four runs.  His downfall was walking Lorenzo Cain with two out and the bases empty in the sixth inning.  Alcides Escobar followed with a triple to put the Brewers ahead, 4-3.

The Reds smacked eight hits off Wolf but ran themselves out of a couple promising innings and hit into four double plays.

The Brewers ran wild on Bailey, stealing four bases.  Wolf even stole one.  It was the first by a Brewer pitcher in their 40 year history.

"It was one of those days when I didn't feel right," Wolf said.  "I got some ground balls to get me out of trouble and they made some base running mistakes that helped.  I told Ed (firstbase coach Sedar) that I could go.  Bailey wasn't watching me and was slow to the plate."

Rolen hit into a double play in the first inning.  Paul Janish did the same in the second.  Bailey walked to start the third and Bruce followed with a single.  When Chris Valaika flied to center, Bruce was thrown out trying to get into scoring position.  With one out in the fourth, Ryan Hanigan doubled and Drew Stubbs walked.  Hanigan made it to third on another fly to center by Janish.  Bailey shot a single to right but Stubbs went through a stop sign by thirdbase coach, Mark Berry.  After the Reds knotted the score at three on a ground rule double by Joey Votto.  The ball bouncing into the stands cost a run and Valaika was out at home when he took off on contact on a hard ground ball to third by Scott Rolen.  The Reds loaded the bases but Hanigan grounded into a double play.

"That was the epitome of an ugly win but it was a win," Baker said.  "We can't make those mistakes.  You get to championship baseball and we could make the mistakes now.  You have to be aware of where the outfielders are.  Mark told Valaika to gohome on a ball hit anywhere but the pitcher and thirdbase.  He said ok then ran anyway. Those things happen with youth.  We encourage our guys to be aggressive but you need to be aggressive and smart."

Bruce knew they got away with mistakes.

"We expect to win.  We didn't play well, myself included.  We have a relatively young team but that's no excuse. Honestly at this point in the season, it can't happen.  You can't give away outs.  You can't give away runs.  We did tonight.  We came out on top.  We all know we need to play better baseball."

The Reds tied the score on a pinch hit home run by rookie Juan Francisco.  It was the first by Francisco in the major leagues this season.  He hit 18 in 77 games with Louisville.  It was the Reds ninth pinch hit home run of the season.

The game tying home run put the game in the hands of the bullpens.  Logan Ondrusek, Bill Bray and Nick Masset held the line going into the bottom of the ninth.

Chris Valaika, filling in capably for Brandon Phillips singled to left with one out in the ninth.  It was his third hit.
That left MVP candidate Joey Votto to face the Brewers lefthanded flame thrower, Zach Braddock. Votto flied out to deep left.  Rolen walked.  Miguel Cairo pinch hit for Masset.  He has been out with a strained hamstring since his key double in the Reds 12-11 win in San Francisco, last Wednesday.  He struck out swinging.

Meanwhile, J.A. Happ of the Houston Astros, shutout the hairless St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0 on two hits.  The Cardinals all shaved their heads to change their luck.  It didn't.

Notes:

Someone emailed, Hal McCoy, of Fox Sports Ohio, pointing out that the Reds started nine caucasion, American born players.  To be correct, Joey Votto, is a native of Canada but the point that escaped most of us as it should.