Reds Slide Continues, Beaten 3-2

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Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

In one of the premier ballparks the Cactus League has to offer, the Reds fell yet again, by a score of 3-2 against the Colorado Rockies. 

Extracting revenge from their last matchup, which the Reds won, the B-team of the Rockies held on late to narrowly defeat the Redlegs.  With the bases loaded in the top of the ninth and no one out, the club neglected to push at least the tying run across the plate after a force out at home, then ultimately, a game-ending double play.

Offensive Side of the Diamond:

There is a decidedly damper feeling not having Billy Hamilton at the top of the order.  As it has been stated on multiple occasions, he may not provide quite what Shin-Soo Choo did from the leadoff spot, but he could be the most electrifying player in the game.  Consider the fact that that is a sentiment from multiple writers of the game from coast-to-coast and he hasn’t even played more than a month of Major League Baseball yet.

Staying as hot as a fox in a forest fire, is fourth outfielder Chris Heisey, who collected two more hits on the afternoon, raising his average this spring to .370.  For those calling for a position battle out in left field, Ryan Ludwick answered with two hits of his own.  There is no doubting Heisey’s all-out hustle and rock steady abilities; he was just unfortunate enough to not reap the benefits of Ludwick’s injury last season.

As far as scoring runs is concerned, it was quite the disappointing effort.  Devin Mesoraco brought Heisey home in the second off a sacrifice fly, and then Chris Nelson strolled home after Roger Bernadina was walked, forcing in the runner.

Tyler Matzek appeared out of the Colorado bullpen to try to slam the door on the Reds in the ninth, clinging to a 3-1 lead.  He walked Chris Nelson, then Travis Mattair, then Corky Miller, then finally Roger Bernadina.  Four batters, four walks, hit the showers. 

Ultimate journeyman Ruben Gotay strode up to the plate for the Redlegs with the bases cranked and nobody out, before bouncing into a force play that accomplished absolutely nothing.  Argenis Diaz was the next man up, and with a golden opportunity to tie the game, he bounced into a 4-6-3 double play to send the Rockies folks home happy.

Reds’ Toeing the Rubber:

Getting back into his groove was Mike Leake, who was tabbed as the starter for the Reds on this sunny Wednesday afternoon.  He only encountered some trouble when he walked the leadoff man, DJ LeMahieu, who was batting eighth, just to make matters worse.  Fittingly, he came around after a double to become the only run Leake would allow on the day.

Following him was the facial hair gang of Sam LeCure and J.J. Hoover.  LeCure had given up runs in two consecutive outings, but righted his own ship this afternoon, escaping the fourth with no damage.  Hoover was befallen at his own hand, as his error allowed a run to scamper home, albeit not damaging his precious ERA. 

Pitching the final inning for the Reds was newly acquired Brett Marshall, who has certainly endeared himself to fans in Reds Country thus far this spring.  Over his six innings of work, he is yet to allow a run.  A true long shot at making the team out of camp, he will likely be featured down at Louisville for the majority of the year, being used up in Cincinnati in an emergency situation.

* * *

Tomorrow offers up an exciting plate of action from Arizona.  Once again, the Reds are going to appear on MLB.tv, as the Dodger folks are still kind enough to be in town.  Maybe we’ll even get more dialogue from Orel Hershiser as to why Joey Votto should bat lead off!

Alfredo Simon takes the ball yet again, in opposition of Paul Maholm, who is a bonafide All-Star, but probably the sixth or seventh best starter the Dodgers have.  4:05 PM Eastern, tune in to MLB.com for radio, or MLB.tv for live television coverage.

Additionally, if you are yet to venture over to Twitter, scroll down our timeline to find the tweet that you must retweet in order to be eligible to win yourself a pair of tickets to a game against the Tampa Bay Rays from April 11-13.  All it takes is a retweet and a follow, quite literally, about 5 seconds of your day.