Sunday Night Slugging: Reds Smack Cardinals

Winners on Sunday night by a final of 7-2 over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds escaped the fine state of Missouri with a victory.

Spurred on by the solid start from pitcher Alfredo Simon and the offensive theatrics of Jay Bruce and Devin Mesoraco, the Reds were winners for the first since last Saturday.

The Bats:

Yes, that is in fact a gigantic number seven in the column labeled: Runs. While I make my sevens with a line through the center, who cares how the scoreboard operates designates them, as long as that number is posted for the Redlegs.

How this happened against Lance Lynn (who redefined “owning” a club the last time he faced them) is still attempting to be determined by neuroscientists and heart surgeons at the moment. Yet, what my cute little box score inked in with a pen from the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center says, is that the Reds re-discovered their love for the long ball.

Not only do chicks dig the long ball, but Jay Bruce does as well. Sure, the previous 155 games were pretty much like sitting through the final season of Friends, but on Sunday night, Bruce broke out. A blast into the Cardinals’ bullpen in the fourth inning was his 17^th home run of the season. His following at-bat was nothing but fastballs away, and finally taking the ball to left field; Bruce would drive in Brandon Phillips on a RBI single. His final time through against Sammy Tuivailala, Bruce went up and over the St. Louis bullpen, not wanting to give the competition a souvenir for all his hard work.

Bruce brought the cavalry with him on Sunday, as the team’s Co-Offensive MVP’s for the season in Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco brought the lumber as well.

Frazier’s was a majestic blast in the sixth inning to put Cincinnati back ahead 2-1. Off the bat it wasn’t a question of whether or not it was leaving the park, but rather how far it was going to land from home plate. Playing first base yet again, Frazier would finish the night 1-for-3 with two runs scored.

The dagger came in the top of the eighth from Devin Mesoraco, who got all of a 1-0 fastball from Tuivailala. Good for his 24^th blast of the season, as brilliant as Mesoraco’s season has been, fans of both the team and the game alike can only salivate at the prospect of him appearing in 135-140 games in 2015 and beyond and what those numbers may look like.

The Arms:

Not much has made sense about Alfredo Simon’s season in 2014, so why start now? A few weeks ago, it appeared Simon was about as washed up as that pair of jeans you wore five days a week during high school, but as the weather gets cooler and the barbeque goes into hibernation, the Big Pasta continues to boil on the stove.

He would scuffle in his final two innings before getting out at just the right time, but ultimately, a final line of six innings, two runs and seven hits against the mighty Cardinals earns a thumbs up. Simon was just fortunate enough to have the backing of his offense.

Outside of an eephus pitch that nearly gave both Curt Schilling and John Kruk (ESPN’s announcers for the game) a coronary, Simon did not do much to raise anyone’s blood pressure. Approaching 200 innings on the season, Simon picked up his 15^th win in what has been a magical ride through 2014.

While there is plenty of time before the club breaks for Spring Training 2015, it seems logical to imagine that the projected backend of the bullpen would read Sam LeCure for the seventh, Jumbo Diaz for the eighth and Aroldis Chapman for the ninth in most ideal situations. That trio is exactly what the Cardinals had to face Sunday as the three amigos (Diaz and Chapman are of Spanish descent, and LeCure has a mustache that anyone can appreciate) nailed down the victory.

Also of note: Aroldis Chapman has recorded 150 outs this season. 97 of those have been via the strikeout. That is all.

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To think that the Reds are done with the St. Louis Cardinals for the next six months is a relief. After having won the battles of 2010 and 2012, the Reds were unfortunately not due to unseat the Redbirds on a bi-yearly schedule.

Enjoying their final off day of the season on Monday, the Redlegs return home feeling much better than they did leaving. Despite a miserable road stand, there should be positive vibes over the final six games as the club looks to leave their mark on what has been a forgettable season marred by injuries.

Tuesday night is Johnny Beisbol day as Cueto gets the ball opposite Mike Fiers of the Milwaukee Brewers who have nearly fallen out of the playoff picture.