Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen shines – Redlegs beat Yankees 5-3

The Cincinnati Reds beat the New York Yankees 5-3 on Tuesday night thanks to a superb performance from their bullpen.

The victory pushed the Cincinnati Reds to 18-15 on the season, and kept them just a 1/2 game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central.

With an off day scheduled for Wednesday, Bryan Price was able to go first to converted starter Michael Lorenzen and then Raisel Iglesias for four innings of shutout work from the bullpen which is what the Reds were thinking when they told the duo to train as relievers.  The Reds scored all five of their runs in the second inning thanks to clutch hits from Billy Hamilton, Joey Votto, and Adam Duvall, then held on for the win.  Votto had fallen behind in the count 0-2 to Yankees starter CC Sabathia before ripping a 2-2 single into right centerfield to score Devin Mesoraco and Hamilton.  The Yankees threatened in both the sixth and ninth innings, but just couldn’t get the hit they needed off of Lorenzen or Iglesias.  Their best chance was probably in the ninth when Iglesias walked Aaron Hicks and Matt Holliday before getting Gary Sanchez to line into a double play to end the game.

Quick Hits

Stat of the Game: Tim Adleman allowed two more home runs on Tuesday. Then he settled down.  That pushed his total to 7 in just five games. Luckily for the Reds and Adleman, six of those seven home runs have been solo shots.

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Reds MVP:  Joey Votto gets this one for the second game in a row.  Votto reached base in three of his four plate appearances on Tuesday.   He walked twice and his single in the second inning scored two runs.  After hitting .256 with a .337 OBP in the month of April, Joey is absolutely on fire in May.  He’s now 10-24 for a .417 average to go along with a ridiculous .605 OBP in the month of May.

Turning Point:  First of all, runners reached first and second and nobody out to start the second inning.  Then CC Sabathia responded by throwing three straight pitches to Devin Mesoraco that missed in essentially the same spot; each pitch was perhaps an inch or two off the outside part of the plate.  Then that prompted complaints from the Yankees dugout.  It also frustrated Sabathia, who responded with a ball four that missed the zone badly on the fourth pitch.  Most noticeable of all, with the pitcher on deck, it’s possible that entire five-run fifth inning doesn’t happen if Mesoraco doesn’t draw that walk.

Next: Rookie Davis Struggles vs. Yankees

Play of the Game:  The two-run single in the second by Votto probably decided the game.  The fact that he battled back from an 0-2 count made it even more impressive.

Tweet of the Game: 

Gif of the Game:

Aaron Judge is THAT tall.