With Todd Frazier the new people's choice due to the "backup QB syndrom", Baker had a plan to mix the veteran and the rookie. His timing couldn't have been better.
Rolen laced a two-out single over the head of Skip Schumaker with the bases loaded to plate the two runs that provided a 4-2 win over the detestable St. Louis Cardinals.
There were clutch performances galore in the Reds' sixth straight win that sent the team to a season-high 12 games over .500. The Reds took over sole possession of first place and dropped the Cardinals 4 1/2 games back.
Homer Bailey, starting in place of staff ace Johnny Cueto, was brilliant in a gritty eight innings. He allowed nine hits but only one earned run. He pitched out of a jam in the eighth. Matt Holiday and Carlos Beltran singled to start the inning but Bailey fanned noted Reds' killer, Lance Berkman, looking. Got the much booed Yadier Molina on a fly to right and David Freese on a comeback ball.
"I told Homer a couple years ago, that's how you build an ace," Baker said. "That's what aces do. Boy that was a great game by him. It was an outstanding game."
Cueto developed a blister but Bailey picked him up in the start two days earlier than planned.
"I did some drills off the mound the last couple days," Bailey said. "I was ready."
Molina seemed to thrive on the boos showered upon his person. He drove in both St. Louis runs with a double in the second inning after Berkman reached on Joey Votto's error. He hit his 15th home run and second in two days in the sixth to tie the game.
"Honestly I was just thinking, make pitches. If you try too hard you leave it over the plate. To Molina I tried to stay in to him. He hit a slider. He hit a curve ball. He hit everything we threw. I just floated in there he hit everything else. It was in on him. I guess he was looking away," Bailey said.
"We gutted it out. We made good defensive plays. We got hits with men on base. At the end of the day it was Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 2. It doesn't matter what I did."
The Reds overcame the Cardinals' first run with a two-out rally. Heisey singled and scored on Votto's 36th double of the season. Brandon Phillips singled Votto home.
Phillips came up big with the glove in the sixth. With Beltran on with a leadoff single, Berkman hit a hard ground ball deep in the hole behind first. Phillips speared it and turned it into a double play. Molina, the next batter, homered. Jay Bruce made a diving catch to rob Rafael Furcal. Rolen made a couple good plays at third.
Bailey getting out of the top of the eighth inspired the rest of the team. Heisey fanned but Votto walked. Phillips was hit with a pitch. Bruce hit a hard ground ball up the middle that deflected off the pitcher, Marc Rzepczynski, to Daniel Descalso at second.
"The key was they were playing Jay Bruce up the middle. If it doesn't hit off the pitcher's foot that's a double play," Baker said.
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny had yesterday's hero Ryan Ludwick walked intentionally, then brought in Mitchell Boggs to face Rolen.
"Rolen has been in these big games before. That was a huge hit," Baker said.
Rolen came into the game hitting .188 but his value is more than the batting average indicates.
"I was trying to get a good pitch to hit and trying to put a good swing on it," Rolen said. "I haven't been doing a lot of that lately. You get locked down on results, thinking about base hits or trying to escape an ugly number out there. Right there you get an opportunity. It just presents itself. You try not to think about it."
The Reds' pitchers held the team with the NL's highest batting average (.274) and highest on-base-percentage (.340) to seven runs (six earned) in 28 innings over the weekend.
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