Reds Drop Rubber Game, 6-2

A loss is a loss is a loss. The Reds take one on the chin today as their nemesis Roy Halladay bit ’em once again in a Phillies 6-2 win.

Plus side…

1. Joey Votto‘s return. Didn’t take the 2010 NL MVP long to find his groove as he singled to left field (go fig) on his first AB since returning to action. Votto was 2-for-3 for the game.

2. MLB debut of Didi Gregorius. No hits, but Gregorius did make an outstanding defensive play paying back Juan Pierre for robbing him of his first MLB hit. Gregorius was pressed (somewhat) into duty because of Zack Cozart suffering from a stiff back. If that develops further, look for Didi to get extra time as we all know how this organization loves it’s defense.

3. Jay Bruce continues to swing a hot bat. This bodes well for the Good Guys as Bruce was 3-for-4 with yet another home run. He now has 32 on the season, tied for his career high Bruce set just last year.

4. Bullpen. The ‘pen was excellent today. Alfredo Simon (2.2 IP), Sam LeCure (2 IP), Sean Marshall (1 IP), and Pedro Villarreal (1 IP, MLB debut and got a strike out against 1st MLB batter) did their best to keep the lead from being completely out of reach.

Down side…

1. Mike Leake‘s day. Not the prettiest of lines: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 HR. Five of the runs scored via homers (Erik Kratz and Chase Utley). In only an extra one-third of an inning, Simon threw 26 less pitches (56 to 30) then Leake.

2. Halladay’s day. Is there any team that is successful against him? Wait. Upon review, that would be three. Yes, only three teams (and he’s faced all 30) own a winning record against Halladay: Boston Red Sox (14-15 in 39 starts), Chicago Cubs (2-5 in 7 starts) and San Francisco Giants (1-2 in 4 starts). Yes, had to check, and the Cubs?. Doc is now 4-1 against the Good Guys in 8 career starts.

3. RISP. One day, we’ll forget this stat even exists, but as of late, the Reds haven’t been too proficient at driving in runners while they are in scoring position. Today, 1-for-8. For the series, 2-for-16 (.125). Both times, it was Bruce that drove in the run.

4. No TV. Sure, we knew a while back this game wouldn’t be televised. Would have been nice to see Votto return and Gregorius wield his defensive magic especially since it was his MLB debut.

Point of interest…

– Mike Leake could spin four consecutive complete game shutouts, yet he would be judged solely by his latest outing. Sure, he didn’t have his best stuff today (or ever against the Phillies), but in his previous five starts, Leake was 3-1 with the loss being the only start that did not qualify as a quality start (whatever you wish to make of that stat).

– 19,267. That was today’s announced attendance. Again, make of that what you will. For the season, Cincy has now drawn 2,026,038. With 12 home dates remaining, GABP would need to see 187,550 to match 2011’s mark. They are already within roughly 34,500 of surpassing 2010. In other words, the Reds are ahead of what they have drawn over the past two seasons. In fact, if you take their average attendance for this season (29,696), they would draw 2,382,270 fans. That would be the most that have passed through the turnstiles at GABP since the stadium opened in 2003, and the most since 2000 (2,577,371). The first season at GABP saw an attendance of 2,355,259.