Leake Pitches and Hits Way to 1st Win of Season

Some might say it’s about time Mike Leake won a game. True, it was a long time coming, but it was almost worth the wait.

Almost…

Leake hurled 8 innings of two-hit ball. The only run he surrendered was a solo shot to former teammate Juan Francisco. That was all one the MLB’s best offenses could muster off Leake. For a guy that came into the game with a record of 0-5 and a lofty 6.21 ERA, the Atlanta Braves could do little against him.

But the crowning moment came in the bottom of the 4th. After Braves starter Mike Minor retired Todd Frazier on a three-pitch strikeout and Devin Mesoraco on a comebacker, Leake would accomplish a first. His first home run. Minor delivered a changeup and Leake cleared the left field wall for the momentous occasion.

But there was more…

Zack Cozart took another Minor changeup that caught too much of the plate and deposited it in almost the exact same spot as Leake’s. In fact, the same fan, Caleb Lloyd, a sophomore at Thomas More, was the benefactor of both. The FSO gang even had Lloyd join them in the booth. And ESPN showed the replay of Lloyd collecting the balls from both blasts. Mr. Lloyd, you are now famous and the envy of many, many a baseball fan.

Wait. Still more…

Drew Stubbs would complete the back-to-back-to-back feat with his second of the game. While his second blast didn’t land in the same spot as Leake’s and Cozart, it was the most impressive. Stubbs went oppo. When Stubbs takes the ball the other way, he becomes a better hitter.

But the evening belonged to the Arizona State product. With all the chatter about his spot in the rotation being in peril, Leake calmed that talk. Tonight, Leake has displayed why the Reds selected him in the first round (8th overall) in the 2009 draft. Could Leake be regaining his 2011 form? If so, the Reds are a much tougher team to face.

Despite the win, the Reds remain 0.5 games behind the Cardinals. Tyler Greene blasted a two-run home run off an Andrew Cashner fastball, which was registered at 100.5 mph, to lead the Cards to a 4-3 win over the Padres.

Chapman Going 93

I’m sure your Twitter timeline lit up about this last night.

In the wee hours of Monday morning, Aroldis Chapman was stopped after being clocked doing 93 mph and driving with a suspended license. As you can imagine, the one-liners were coming left and right from the Twitterverse. They ranged from “He wanted to see if he could drive as fast as he throws” to “What were you thinking?” to “Bad move, dude”.

Doing 93? That’s just a slider for him. Yep, read that, too.

Maybe no one told the Cuban Missle that the I-71 and I-270 area is an area where the enforcement of the speed limit is a little stricter than in other areas. Well, guess he knows now.

And the license was a Kentucky license no less. (No. No Kentucky jokes.) So in less than two years he has managed to have his license suspended? I guess I also would say “bad move, dude”.

In a strange twist, The police report denotes that Chapman plates reads “MPH 104”. Guess what time he was arrested? 1:04 AM

From WLWT, Chapman was released after he posted bond. He is due to appear in court on June 6.

No Baker on FSO

Usually after a game, Reds manager Dusty Baker chats about the game with the gathered media. Not this night. Jim Day told us that Baker was in a meeting.

Hmm. Curious. As of now, no word as to what or why the meeting was called.

Yes, the suspense will get to me.

Update: Hal McCoy says the meeting was between Baker, Chapman and Reds GM Walt Jocketty. Apparently, the Reds were unaware of the violations prior to the game’s start. Maybe Walt does have a Twitter account and saw how this was taking over him timeline, too.