MVP Votto Shows Why

Joey Votto is the MVP.  Normally, a very serious person, he joked before the game.

A crowd of reporters gathered around Scott Rolen's adjacent locker stall to ask about his return from the disabled list.  Votto went by and said, "It's hard to tell who the MVP is around here."

Votto didn't have to tell anyone.  He showed them in the 10th inning with the game in the balance.

Jason Motte has pitched well this season.  He started the 10th with a 1.69 ERA.

"Motte is a pitcher that gets a lot of strike outs.  He's a hard pitcher to face he elevates the ball and throw so hard," Votto told reporters that spilled over into Rolen's stall this time.  "He made some good pitches.  I definitely didn't want to strike out.  The previous two pitches were higher, I fouled them both off.  I thought he might try to do that again.  If he had gotten it up a little higher I wouldn't have gotten on top.  I'd have flied out or fouled it off again.  I had it in the back of my mind."

Hernandez led off for the Reds with a seven game hitting streak intact.  Hernandez extended the streak with a double.  Heisey grounded to Pujols.  This time he threw to third but Hernandez got into a rundown to allow the faster Heisey to move to second.  Stubbs flied out to shallow right.  Renteria walked.  MVP chants rang out.  The chant was rewarded as Votto beat the Cardinals with a ground single to right.

Renteria's at bat was a key.

Renteria definitely battled.  I made some good pitches that he fouled off.  I thought the 3-2 pitch was a good pitch. I thought it was a strike but it wasn't.  If the umpire says it's a ball.  It's a ball," Motte said. 

"I made some good pitches to Votto.  I tried to get him on a pitch up but didn't get it up high enough.  He's a good hitter.  I made some good pitches down and away.  I made some bad pitches.  He is an MVP for a reason.  He was very patient until he got a pitch that he could do something with.  If you make a mistake he will make you pay and he did."

Was the game a statement game?

"I don't know if this was a statement game," Votto said.  "On occasion I think those kind of games can last you a couple weeks.  Sometimes a loss can be a statement game by showing some resilience.  Sometimes it's a game.  Sometimes it's a series."

"It was like a heavyweight fight," Dusty Baker said.  "We had some scoring opportunities and kept the pressure on.  The bullpen did a real good job.  It was a total team effort.  If that's any indication of what's coming up, it's going to be exciting."

The Reds affirmed it's character.

"Affirmation is the key word.  This club has character," Baker said. 

Bronson Arroyo and Kyle Lohse hooked up in a scoreless duel for three innings.

Arroyo blinked first after Colby Rasmus singled to open the fourth with the Cardinals first hit.  Albert Pujols singled sharply between short and third.  Matt Holliday rifled a shot off the leftfield wall for a double. Lance Berkman hit a sacrifice fly to center.  After the crowd booed Yadier Molina, then let out a triumphant cheer when Molina grounded out to the mound. Daniel Descalso doubled off the barrier in right to score Holliday.

The Reds ran themselves out of two innings.

Brandon Phillips singled to lead off the second inning.  With one out, Scott Rolen, fresh off the disabled list, hit a slow ground ball that secondbaseman, Nick Punto,  had to charge on a hit and run.  Phillips tried to catch St. Louis napping and sprinted to third but Pujols threw him out at thirdbase to end the inning.

Fred Lewis singled to lead off the third.  He moved to second when Ryan Hanigan walked.  Arroyo sacrificed the runners along.  Drew Stubbs hit a hard ground ball that shortstop Nick Greene fielded in the hole.  Lewis hesitated and Greene threw Lewis out at home.

The Reds loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth but Edgar Renteria struck out on a 3-2 pitch.

St. Louis scored an unearned run in the sixth.  Holliday led off with a single.  Berkman struck out. Molina hit a one hopper to Rolen at third and forced Holliday but Phillips relay throw escaped Joey Votto and Molina took second.  Descalso scored Molina with a single.

The Reds battled back.  Votto doubled to open the bottom of the sixth.  Phillips moved Votto up with a ground out to secondbase.  Bruce squibbed a ball up the middle that neither Punto or Greene could field to score Votto.  Rolen doubled for his second hit to plate Bruce.

St. Louis scored against Bill Bray, who replaced Arroyo.  Bray walked Punto.  Rasmus forced Punto at second.  Mike Leake replaced Bray in a double switch that sent Chris Heisey to left, replacing Lewis.

Pujols and Holliday, who pushed his average to .402, singled and Rasmus scored.  A wild pitch moved the runners up.  Berkman was walked intentionally.  The boos rained upon Molina, who hit a one hopper to the mound.  Leake turned a 1-2-3 double play.

Miguel Batista replaced Lohse and Jon Jay replaced Berkman in a double switch.

Lohse pitched six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and a pair of walks.

Heisey greeted Batista with a single to left.  Stubbs walked again.  Renteria double down the thirdbase line. Heisey and Stubbs scored easily.  Batista left the mound.  Trever Miller trotted from the Cardinal bullpen to face reigning MVP, Votto with the tying run on second.  Give away towel began to wave througout the ballpark.  Votto fouled off four 3-2 pitches before walking. Phillips, who was admonished for bunting in a similar situation last week, bunted the runners up against Fernando Salas.  Salas walked Bruce intentionally to pitch to Rolen.   Rolen popped up to Punto at second.  Miguel Cairo, another former Cardinal hit for Leake.  Cairo flied to Rasmus to end the inning.

The Red ran themselves out of the eighth inning.  Hanigan was hit by a pitch from Salas.  Travis Wood had to run for him.  Wood was doubled up on a soft liner to the mound from Heisey.  Stubbs sent Rasmus to the warning track.

Nick Masset entered in the eighth.  Masset had a horrible April but has gone six straight appearances without allowing a run.  He struck out four in a row before he walked Pujols with two out in the ninth.  Pujols stole second his third of the season but Holliday flied out to shallow center.

Eduardo Sanchez entered in the bottom of the ninth to attempt his fifth save.  He was 4-for-4 entering the game.

Towels greeted the righthander as he took his warmups.

Renteria walked to start the ninth.  A wild pitch put Renteria in scoring position and erased the double play situation.  Votto grounded to Pujols, who thought about throwing to third to get Renteria, he flipped to Sanchez to retire Votto.  The Cardinals brought the infield in.  Phillips dumped a single in front of Rasmus in center to tie the game.  Sanchez had his first blown save and had to work on Bruce with the lefthanders spent in the Cardinals bullpen.  Bruce skied to center.  Rolen now had a second chance to put a frown on the face of his former team.  Rolen singled with the Cardinals outfield playing deep.  Phillips easily took third.  Jonny Gomes batted for Masset.. Gomes has been on the bench to three of the last six games, struggling with a .194 batting average.  He took a strike and waved at a pitch in the dirt for strike two.  Then went down swinging.

Francisco Cordero began the 10th for Cincinnati.  Pinch hitter Mark Hamilton flied to right.  Molina singled up the middle as the boos reigned upon him.  With Molina running Descalso grounded out to Phillips.  Greene  came to bat with a .133 average with runners in scoring position and two outs.  The count went full to Greene before he walked.  Jon Jay struck out.

Jason Motte (1-0) with a 1.69 ERA started the bottom of the 10th for St. Louis.