Mariners and Aaron Harang Sink Reds

Aaron Harang pitched six innings in a triumphant return to Cincinnati in a 4-2 win for Seattle.

The big right-hander was in tears when it became clear that he would leave the Reds after the 2010 season.

"My little girl calls Cincinnati our baseball home," Harang said at the time.

Harang won 16 games for the Reds in 2006 and 2007 but his last three seasons were rough on him.  As a fly ball pitcher, short porch Great American Ball Park did not fit his style.  He pitched one season in his native San Diego before landing with the Mariners in April of this season.

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Harang caught Mike Leake on an off night.

Brad Miller tripled to lead off the game.  Nick Franklin followed with a home run.

"They came out smoking," Dusty Baker said.  "Leaky was getting the ball up.  They had a lot of lefties and a lot of young hitters that you don't know how to set up."

Michael Saunders homered in the second and the Mariners scored their final run in the fourth when Saunders hit a sacrifice fly.

Harang allowed six hits in a walk but the Reds scored just twice. Devin Mesoraco singled with two outs in the fifth.  Pinch hitter Jack Hannahan followed with a single.  Shin-Soo Choo doubled down the leftfield line to score Mesoraco and put runners on second and third.  Zack Cozart grounded out.

"We had action but couldn't get the two-out hit.  That has haunted us all year," Baker said.

The night belonged to Harang.  It was the first time that he had been able to pitch on the Great American Ball Park mound on which he had so much success in his career.

"I finally got to start on the opposing side from this mound," said Harang, who still keeps in touch with his former teammates.  "I was a little nervous but it wasn't too bad.  I give credit to Bud Black in San Diego.  He rearranged the rotation in spring training that first year so I could face the Reds.  He told me  that i would be a nervous that first time and he wanted to get it out of the way in spring training.  I faced the Reds in San Diego later that year."

Joey Votto hit a home run off Harang to lead off the sixth and that was the extent of the Reds' offense.

"I still have a lot of friends here.  I still keep in touch with my neighbors.  My wife couldn't make it and she was bummed but it was too close a turnaround," Harang said.  "I text Ludwick all the time to see how he's doing.  We were roommates at Midland (in the Oakland A's organization). I was got a no-hitter alert on my phone Tuesday and watched the end of Homer's no-hitter.  I got to see him grow up.  He was so young and tried to do everything himself.  Now he asks questions and really wants to get  better."

Three Seattle relievers finished up for Harang.

Oliver Perez struck out the side in the ninth to get the save.

Jim Maloney and John Edwards Talk Reds' No-Hitters

Jim Maloney and Johnny Edwards happened to be in town for festivities at the Reds' Hall of Fame and are speaking at a brunch on Sunday.

Maloney and Edwards were involved in two (one official) no-hitters as battery mates in 1965.  Edwards as a member of the Houston Astros came closest to breaking up Maloney's second official no-hitter in 1969.

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With ironic timing, Maloney arrived in Cincinnati on Monday night and watched Homer Bailey pitch his second career no-hitter on Tuesday night.

Maloney, who is uniquely qualified as a no-hitter expert, saw after four innings that Bailey had a chance.

"I was visiting friends from Amberly.  After four innings I said to my wife, 'this guy's got overpowering stuff tonight.  I didn't know if he was going to pitch a no-hitter or but you could see those hitters couldn't function against him at all," Maloney said.

Maloney, who threw close to 100 miles an hour, sees great things ahead for Bailey.

"He's got a good arm," Maloney said.  "He's capable of throwing a no-hitter every time he goes out there.  I hope he keeps going and wins some ballgames to get to the pennant."

When Dusty Baker took over as Reds' manager in 2008, Maloney was invited to Reds' spring training.  The 73-year old Fresno native and resident spent a lot of time with Bailey that spring.

"Dusty said I want you to go out and talk to this kid.  His name is Homer Bailey," Maloney said. "We sat in the bullpen down the rightfield line in Sarasota.  I sat there and talked to him about how I prepared for a game and how I liked to pitch.  He sat there and listened. I did what I was told to do."

Maloney pitched 10 hitless innings against the New York Mets on June 14, 1965 at Crosley Field.  Mets' rightfielder Johnny Lewis opened the 11th inning with a home run.  Roy McMillan singled later and Maloney was on the wrong end of a 1-0 game.  It was considered a no-hitter for a long time but no-hitters were re-defined later.

Later that summer on August 19, Maloney pitched 10 hitless innings against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.   This time Reds' shortstop Leo Cardenas hit a home run in the 10th and Maloney closed it out but not without a lot of effort.

"He threw 186 pitches that day and was wilder than a church mouse," Edwards recalled. "He walked 11 (actually 10)," Edwards said.

"I hit two batters too," Maloney chimed in.

"Every time I looked up, there was a man on third," Edwards said.  "He'd walk two and someone hit into a force play. All I could think about was this guy's going to throw a wild pitch and I'm not going to be able to block; we're going to lose the damn game."

Maloney recalls how he used to beat Edwards up with short curveballs.

'You know I roomed with him for six or seven years. I used to snap off a lot of 56' curve balls and bounce them off of him all the time," Maloney said.  "He never ever said, 'come on get the ball up. You're killing me back here.' That's why he was a great catcher."

After Cardenas homered in the top of the 10th, Maloney had to get past Doug Clemens, then Billy Williams and the great Ernie Banks to complete to game.

Maloney's 10th walk of the game went to Clemens, leading off.  Billy Williams flied out to left.  Banks hit a sharp ground ball to Cardenas, who threw to Pete Rose.  Rose relayed the throw to Marty Keough to end the 1-0 game.

"When he got it, I ran to the mound," Edwards said. "One of my favorite pictures is me jumping on him.  I don't know how I had the strength. I was so tired. I went to the clubhouse and fell asleep, I think."

Edwards played high school baseball for West High in Columbus.  He was the state's second team all-state catcher behind Jack Nicklaus.

"Nicklaus was a great catcher," Edwards said.  "He  was all-state catcher his sophomore year. I was a year older but he won the Ohio Open and his dad made him quit baseball, so I could become all-state my senior year."

Edwards went on to play baseball at Ohio State. Nicklaus played golf on a team with Tom Weiskopf.  Edwards was on the baseball team with Frank Howard, John Havlicek (later Boston Celtic player), Galen Cisco, who played quarterback on the football team, then pitched in the major leagues.  The father of Fox Sports Ohio personality, Jeff Piecoro, John Piecaro was Edwards' backup at catcher.

Edwards left the Reds after the 1967 season but was involved in Maloney's last no-hitter on April 30, 1969 at Crosley Field

Maloney faced a Houston lineup that included Joe Morgan, Cincinnati native Jimmy Wynn, Denis Menke, Edwards and future Red Cesar Geronimo, who pinch hit.

Johnny Bench caught the third (2nd official) no-hitter.

Edwards nearly broke it up.

"He almost got a hit off me," Maloney said.  "He hit a line drive that (Darrell) Chaney laid out for.  That was the only one that was supposed to be a hit."

"Jim was good that game," Edwards said.  "He didn't throw many pitches."

Maloney was asked which of the three was his best.

"The one I got beat was the best really, if you want to know the truth," Maloney said.  "That first one in '65, I had 18 strikeouts I think but they hit a home run off me in the 11th inning."

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Fox Ratings Hit Homer on Bailey's No-Hitter

Steve Watkins from the Business Courier reports that Fox Sports Ohio reaped the benefits of Homer Bailey's no-hitter.

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The network had no fallout for Bailey's choice of language in the post-game interview.  Live TV has those risks.

Wednesday night Thom Brennaman erroneously mentioned the wrong sponsor in an on-air promotion.  The question is whether there would be more fallout from that.

When one thinks about it, Homer's word hurt no one.  Brennaman's gaffe actually had a victim.

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The Reds, Giants Lose Bid To Wait Out The Rain

The Giants only trip to Cincinnati resulted in a three-game sweep for the home team.

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Earlier statements from the Reds were that the teams were going to wait longer than normal to try to get the game in.  A meeting was held at 3 PM to discuss the possibility of an acceptable start time.

The rain won.  The game was called after waiting two hours and 21 minutes.

"There are options they discussed for a makeup - August 29 in Colorado," Bruce Bochy said.  This would be a rare game at a neutral field.  The Giants are completing a series with the Rockies on the 28th.  The Reds are scheduled to start a series with the Rockies on the 30th. Another possibility would be to fly to Cincinnati for one day.  Neither team would like that because in addition to the extra travel, both teams would play 34 days without an off day.

"September 30, the day after the season, we would come here (Cincinnati). They discussed a split doubleheader at our place," Bochy said. "I never heard the day after the All-Star break discussed (July 18). The players association has to approve the rescheduling."

The players association fought hard to add Thursday to the All-Star break.  Many of the players would have to spend an entire day traveling to play on that Thursday.  It would virtually eliminate the day off on Wednesday, following the Tuesday All-Star game.

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The Reds and Giants Will Wait Out The Rain

The Reds and Giants may not start until this evening.

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The rain is expected to last most of the day and the game is nearly sold out.  More importantly, this is the only trip to Cincinnati for the Giants.

The teams will be here a long time in an effort to get this game in.  The game may not start until 7 pm. It is not a problem for the Reds because they stay in Cincinnati to play Seattle, but the Giants are scheduled to fly cross-country to host the Dodgers this weekend.

The common off days for the rest of the season are on July 18 right after the All-Star break and August 29.

July 18 is the most likely possibility because there are enough days off that it wouldn't put the teams in violation of the basic players' agreement.  The rule states that even for rescheduled games, no team will be scheduled to play more than 24 games without a scheduled open date.  The rule is normally 20 days but they make allowances for rescheduled games.

The common open date on August 29 would come at the end of a stretch of 20 games in 20 days for the Reds.  If played on that date, it would cause the Reds to play 34 games in 34 days.

For the Giants, it would be at the end of 16 games in 16 days but would precede a stretch of 17 games in 17 days.

If the game were to be postponed, it is possible that it could be played in San Francisco when the Reds play there from July 22-24.

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Reds Take Third Straight From Giants

The Reds found a team that was struggling just as they were on the latest road trip and took advantage of them.

Shin-Soo Choo let his bat and his teammates do the talking for him Wednesday night.

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Choo's two-out single in the 11th inning drove in Todd Frazier from second base, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Frazier walked to lead off the 11th against left-hander Javier Lopez (1-1) and went to second on Chris Heisey's sacrifice. After Devin Mesoraco was intentionally walked, pinch hitter Ryan Hanigan popped out before Choo came up with his second hit of the game, giving the Reds three straight wins for the first time since June 10-12 against the Cubs, thrilling a sellout crowd of 40,757.

The left-handed Choo almost won the game in the ninth, but his sharp one-hopper up the middle with Mesoraco on second was picked off backhanded by second baseman Tony Abreu for a groundout.

"I've been saying that he's one of the best hitters in the game, and I'm sticking with that," said Frazier, whose bobblehead was one of the game's attractions. "He makes adjustments. That's what he did his last two at-bats."

 Choo's hard-hit ball to Abreu was typical of his recent bad luck, according to manager Dusty Baker. After a hot start, Choo's average was .269 going into the game.

 "The guy he got the hit off of is tough against left-handers," Baker said. "He's been hitting the ball well lately with nothing to show for it."
 
Choo was working out rafter the game and wasn't available to speak to the media.

J.J. Hoover (2-5), Cincinnati's seventh pitcher of the game, struck out four batters in two innings for the win.

"We were down to our last man," Baker said. "We cleared the bench trying to win that game."

The spiraling Giants have lost nine of their last 10 games, including eight of nine on the current road trip, and have scored two or fewer runs in 10 of their last 13 games. They fell six games below .500 for the first time since the last day of the 2008 season, which they finished 72-90.

"We had a good effort from our bullpen," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We couldn't get a hit with men in scoring position. We have too many guys scuffling. I don't know why, whether they are pressing or trying too hard. I wish I had the answer. It seems like we've been saying this for quite a while. We need someone to give us a spark and get a big hit. When you get in a rut like this, you try too hard. We were playing to win one game to get us out of it."

In their first game after being held hitless by Homer Bailey on Tuesday, the Giants needed just two batters to remove any doubt. Abreu, San Francisco's No. 2 hitter against Tony Cingrani, reached second base with a bloop double down the right field line for the Giants' first hit in 11 innings. Brandon Belt led off the fifth with a home run in an 8-1, six-inning loss to the Reds on Monday.

The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the second, which Giants starter Barry Zito opened by hitting Jay Bruce with a pitch. Bruce went to third on Frazier's single to center field and scored on Heisey's sacrifice fly.

The Giants took their first lead of the series in the fifth when Blanco drew a two-out walk and Abreu followed with a 442-foot blast into the upper deck in left field on Cingrani's 1-1 pitch. The homer was Abreu's first since last Sept. 16 for Kansas City against the Angels.

Cingrani, making his eighth start of the season and first since Johnny Cueto went on the disabled list June 29 with a strained back muscle, allowed four hits and two runs with four walks and five strikeouts in 5-2/3 innings. His walks were a single-game career high as a starter.

Zito left the game after Choo and Zack Cozart led off the fifth with singles. Zito allowed seven hits and one run with a walk and three strikeouts.

Heisey, on the disabled list from April 29 to June 25 with a strained right hamstring, tied the game with a 422-foot solo homer into the left field seats on a one-strike pitch from George Kontos. The homer was Heisey's third of the season and first since April 23 against the Cubs in Cincinnati.
 
"It seemed like Heisey had no interest in the fastball," Kontos said. "It was a slider low and away. Unfortunately, it didn't bounce. He hit it off his front foot, and it carried. It is definitely frustrating."

NOTES: Heisey made his first start in the field since coming off the disabled list on June 25. Heisey started at designated hitter in one game each at Texas and Oakland on Cincinnati's last road trip. ... The sellout crowd that showed up for Frazier's bobblehead night and postgame fireworks was Cincinnati's ninth of the season. The team had a club-record 15 last season. ... Tightness in Marco Scutaro's back prompted Giants' manager Bruce Bochy to give the second baseman Wednesday night off. ... RHP Matt Cain is scheduled to start for San Francisco against RHP Mike Leake in Thursday's finale of the four-game series.

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More Homer Bailey No-Hitter News

Bailey said that he called his father after the game last night.  His dad told him that he taped the game but hadn't watched it yet, and asked "How'd you do?"

Bailey's father had of course watched the game.

The Reds' Johnny Vander Meer is the only pitcher ever to pitch no-hitters in consecutive starts.

"I was thinking.Homer has a shot," Dusty Baker said.  Bailey's next start is Sunday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners.  "You got to get the first one.'

Bailey shadowed Jim Maloney in spring training for a few years.  Maloney, who pitched two no-hitters and one with an asterisk, will be honored at a Hall of Fame Breakfast at Great American Ball Park on Sunday also.

"I asked Jim when he came in to spend as much time with the pitchers while you're here especially the young pitchers.  That's why they're here," Baker said.  "That's not the only reason but that's like going to a library for these guys.  They can gain knowledge and they can put you on an accelerated course."

Baker never faced Maloney.

'Hank Aaron said he was one of the toughest guys he had to face," Baker said.

"We're more interested in getting Bailey back to .500, " Baker said.  Bailey has a 5-6 record on the season.  "He is definitely on a confidence streak.  I remember them getting on me early about letting him face Albert Pujols. How else are you going to learn?  What happens when you get to the playoffs and there's nowhere to put him?  You have to learn how to get out of it, how to pitch.  You have to earn your stripes."

Baker didn't even get Aroldis Chapman up to throw.

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"It was his game.  I didn't want him looking in the bullpen.  If someone got on, I would have gotten Chapman up.  A no-hitter can turn into a loss kind of quickly.  I just don't want him looking out there.  Sometimes its a confidence thing.  Sometimes you do things for effect."

Giants'manager Bruce Bochy took the no-hitter in stride and refused to dwell on it.

"It was a tremendous pitching effort," Bochy said.  "You tip your cap.  It was impressive.  You look at the last three innings.  It was here it is, good luck hitting it.  He hit his spots. I know we're struggling offensively but with the stuff he had last night, I don't know what team would have hit that."

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Homer Bailey Adds to Reds Celebration of No-Hitters

Homer Bailey pitched the 16th no-hitter in Cincinnati Reds' history on Tuesday night in a 3-0 win.  He is the third pitcher in franchise history to throw two no-hitters in his career with the Reds.

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The club had been celebrating no-hitters this summer.  June 11 and June 15 of this year marked the 75th anniversary of Johnny Vander Meer's no-hitters in consecutive starts against the Boston Bees and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

This Sunday the Reds will celebrate the third pitcher to pitch two no-hitters in a Reds' uniform. Jim Maloney will be the guest at a luncheon at Great American Ball Park.  Maloney pitched no-hitters on August 19 - a 10 inning no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.  In that game the right-hander, who threw the baseball nearly 100 mph, struck out 12 batters but walked 10 and hit a batter. Shortstop Leo Cardenas hit a home run in the 10th inning to provide the 1-0 win.

Earlier that year on June 14, Maloney also had a no-hitter for 10 innings against the New York Mets.  Johnny Lewis led off the 10th with a home run.  Maloney was credited with a no-hitter at the time but there was a rule change that excluded no-hitters broken up after nine innings from being considered official no-hitters.

Maloney pitched his second official no-hitter against the Houston Astros at Crosley Field on April 30, 1969, a 10-0 win.  He walked five and struck out 13 batters.  Don Wilson of the Astros returned the favor with a no-hitter against the Reds the next night, May 1.

The catcher that caught both no-hitters, John Edwards, will also attend the luncheon.

The 73-year old Maloney is a yearly visitor to the Reds' spring training.  Manager Dusty Baker asked Maloney, who signed for $100,000 with the Reds at the age of 19, to shadow Bailey during the spring visits.

Bailey was told about Maloney's no-hitter in which he walked 10 by a reporter.

"So, what? It was still a no-hitter wasn't it?" Bailey responded at the time.

Now Bailey has garnered two no-hitters and is the owner of the last two no-hitters in major league baseball.  The last one to do that was Nolan Ryan, a fellow Texan and Bailey's childhood hero.  Ryan pitched the last no-hitter in 1974 and the first in 1975.  Bailey pitched a no-hitter against Pittsburgh on September 28 last season at PNC Park.

Bailey was drafted by the Reds in the first round of the 2004 draft. In September he became the fourth pitcher in that round of the draft to pitch a no-hitter.  Justin Verlander, Phillip Humbert and Jared Weaver from that first round pitched no-hitters before Bailey's.  Bailey joins Verlander as members of that round to pitch two.

It was the 16th time the Giants have suffered a no-hitter.  The last three prior to Bailey's were named Kevin.  Kevin Gross pitched a no-hitter for the Dodgers on August 17, 1992.  Kevin Brown did it to the Giants on June 10, 1997 for the Florida Marlins.  The last was on April 27, 2003 when Kevin Millwood of the Philadelphia Phillies no-hit the Giants.

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Reds Jump On Giants Early While Bronson Arroyo Cuts Them To Size

The Reds scored four times off young Mike Kickham in the second inning and Todd Frazier's 10th home run added three more in the third to build an early 7-0 lead.

Bronson Arroyo held off the slumping Giants, allowing a solo home run by Brandon Belt until the rains stopped play at the end of the sixth inning.

"The lead allowed me to relax and throw free and easy," Arroyo said.  "With big hitter's up I didn't worry so much about putting every pitch on the corners of the plate."

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After Kickham retired the side in the first inning, Brandon Phillips started and ambush with a single leading off the second frame.  Jay Bruce followed with his 25th double, one shy of the NL lead.  Todd Frazier drove Phillips home with a single.  Zack Cozart hit a sacrifice fly to score Bruce.  Ryan Hanigan singled.  Arroyo moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt.  Derrick Robinson hit a high chop over Pablo Sandoval's head at thirdbase to score two runs.

"We were more aggressive," Dusty Baker said.  "Everybody got in on the attack. We needed that."

Joey Votto and Bruce singled in the third and both trotted home as Frazier's bomb landed 441 feet from home plate.

"I've been working on pitch selection," Frazier said. "I've been working on simplifying my swing. I've stopped wiggling the bat so much. I just put my foot down and go.  He (Kickham) threw a fastball over the plate.  It might be the only pitch you get to hit. You have to get on it early."

Frazier drove in just six runs in June but he drove in four on this, the first day of July.

"We had a little meeting and Dusty asked me, 'when was the last time we had a big inning,' " said Frazier who lost a card game to Johnny Cueto during the rain delay.

The Reds' reclaimed the run from Belt's home run in the bottom of the sixth.  Phillips singled and Cozart's two-out double to leftcenter sent Phillips around with the Reds' eighth marker of the game.

The rain pelted the Great American Ball Park field for an hour and 28 minutes before the umpires put the Giants out of their misery with an 8-1 win.  Fieldin Culbreth's crew called the game when the riverboat on top of the batter's eye started to list with the tide.

Arroyo gets credit for his 14th career complete game and the first shortened by rain.  The Reds' right-hander improved his record to 7-6 on the season.

"I'll take it," Arroyo said.  "It might be my only complete game this season. Twenty years from now on the back of my baseball card, it will be on my record and no one will have any idea (it was from a shortened game).

Reds' First Round Draft Pick Phillip Ervin Off To A Good Start

The Reds drafted centerfielder Phillip Ervin in the first round of the 2013 draft, the 27th player selected.

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Phillip Ervin

The 20-year old from Leroy, Alambama was chosen out of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ervin signed quickly with the Reds and was assigned to Billings in the Pioneer League.  Ervin reached base in all of the Mustang's first 10 games.  He is hitting .353 with two home runs and seven RBI.

The 5'11' right-handed hitter has walked seven times and struck out seven times.  He has stolen three bases in as many attempts.