Bronson Arroyo Whacked By Sons of Wahoo Cleveland Clinches Ohio Cup 8-2

It was one of those games that Reds ace Bronson Arroyo goes through about once every 10 games or so.

The Cleveland Indians hit three home runs off Arroyo, giving him the NL lead with 24 home runs allowed.  Arroyo didn't have to face nemesis Shin-Soo Choo, who hit four home runs by himself off Arroyo last year.  Choo is on the DL

Grady Sizemore, Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana took Arroyo over the wall.  Sizemore added an RBI double and Santana and RBI single in the Tribes four-run fifth inning.  Travis Buck chipped in with a run scoring single.

"They're stacking lefties against him," Baker said.  "He had Sizemore 0-2.  Sizemore went down and got a sinker low and away.  Asdrubal Cabrera's been a thorn in our side all year. We have to get with Bryan Price and figure out how to get lefties out.  We'll figure out what pitches to use against them."

Arroyo gave up four home runs in his last start but said that his stuff was probably the best he's had all season.    Tonight he didn't have his good curve or change up and had to rely on his fastball.

"I didn't have good stuff.  I knew it in the first inning but that doesn't mean you can't go out and win," Arroyo said. "Against Toronto, I had the worst stuff I've had all year."

Arroyo pitched eight innings of one-run baseball against the Blue Jays, two starts ago.

"There are so many variables that it's hard to pinpoint why things happen the way they do," Arroyo said.

Home runs don't phase him either.

"I've given up a lot of home runs my whole career, in the minor leagues too," Arroyo said.  "They don't bother me.  A line drive to shortstop can be hit just as hard.  A line drive single can do more damage.  Most of the home runs I give up are solo."

Arroyo has given up 146 solo home runs out of the 234 hit off him or 62 percent.

Three of the Reds first four batters singled off Justin Masterson but Fred Lewis was caught stealing to keep the Reds from scoring.

"We had another well pitched game against us.  We couldn't get anything going.  Masterson was masterful," Baker said.  ":It was the first game in a long time that we were out of."

Former Indian, Brandon Phillips, had a home run, his seventh in the fourth.  Phillips singled in the first to account for two of the Reds half of the hits Masterson gave up in his eight innings.

Phillips homered off Chad Durbin in the ninth for his eighth home run and 1,000th career hit.  It was the seventh time in his career he hit more than one home run in a game.

"I wish we would have won," Phillips said.  "I didn't know anything about 1,000 hits before the game.  I'm proud of myself for that.  It's crazy that it came against the Indians."

Phillips had an eight game hitting streak stopped on Wednesday.  Yet, he is hitting a cool .500 in his last 10 games, improving his season average to .300.

"I went back to my old stance," Phillips said.  "I talked to my dad.  He told me to go back to it and it's worked."

"Brandon is swinging the bat well, right now," Baker said.  "If we can keep him hot and get a couple of our other guys hot, our offense could begin to get rolling."

With the win the Indians defeated the Reds for the fourth straight time this season to clinch the 2011 Ohio Cup..  They swept Cincinnati at home in June.