Late rally not enough for Reds against Yankees
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CINCINNATI — Just one inning.
One inning, the first one, was all it took for the New York Yankees to score enough runs to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3, in front of a sell-out crowd at Great American Ball Park, Monday night.
The Reds threatened in the ninth with Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto scoring runs, forcing the Yankees to bring in future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera to get his 18th save of the season.
But the ninth inning rally wasn't enough to overcome the Yankees' first inning, which forced the Reds to play from behind the entire game.
The Reds (38-36) have struggled in interleague play this season, as they stand at 1-6 in those games. The lone win came Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays by a 2-1 score. The Reds and Yankees have two more games left at GABP before the Reds travel to Baltimore and Tampa Bay for six interleague games.
But on Monday, the Reds had no answers to overcome the first inning where the Yankees sent eight batters to the plate.
The Yankees' first inning wrapped up with them pounding Reds starter Travis Wood with four runs on five hits. Wood started a day early due to scheduled starter Johnny Cueto being scratched Monday before the game with a stiff neck. Cueto will start Tuesday.
"I think he was a little pumped up, because he was trying to go low and away … it was kind of like a singles explosion," Reds manager Dusty Baker said of Travis Wood. "He settled down after that."
Though all five hits were singles in the first inning, the Yankees (42-29) brought home Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano for runs.
Rodriguez and Cano each had two-hit nights, with seven Yankees getting hits.
Drew Stubbs was the first to score for the Reds, crossing home in the bottom of the first when Joey Votto hit into a double play.
The first inning wasted what was a solid pitching performance by Wood, as he didn't allow any more runs for the remainder of the game.
Wood responded after the tough four-run first by keeping the Yankees at-bay for the next six innings. He retired 11 straight Yankees from the fourth through six innings. In that span, he faced the minimum as the lone single he gave up in the fourth was caught off the base at first for an out.
Wood (5-5) finished with 107 pitches, 74 for strikes in his seven innings on the hill. He allowed a total of eight hits, four earned runs and walked one. He had six strikeouts.
The win went to Yankees starter Ivan Nova (7-4) who pitched eight innings. Nova allowed one earned run on four hits and no walks. He struck out seven.
The Yankees added their fifth run in the top of the eighth when Curtis Granderson made life tough for relief pitcher Jose Arrendondo and the rest of the Reds' infield.
Granderson forced a walk, stole second and while stealing second base, Janish made a fielding error, allowing Granderson to advance to third. The No. 2 hitter in the Yankees lineup took home on a wild pitch, for a 5-1 Yankees lead.
"That run for them in the eighth was big for them, making it a 5-1 game," Baker said. "Janish catches that ball 99 times out of 100. You just don't know which run will come back and haunt you, and they jumped on us early."
Cincinnati just couldn't hit the baseball, finishing with six hits, all singles. In the first eight innings the Reds had four hits.
After the first inning where the Reds gained two hits, they were held hitless until the bottom of the fifth with two outs when Janish singled up the middle to centerfield. He was left stranded though, when Wood struck out looking to end the inning.
In those hitless innings the Reds struck out three times as Nova retired 12-of-13 batters, with the exception of Stubbs. Nova got credit for the strikeout, but threw a wild pitch in the process during the third inning, allowing Stubbs to reach first safely.
Again, the Reds went multiple innings without gaining a base hit, as they were retired eight consecutive times after Janish's base hit in the fifth. Fred Lewis broke the streak with a liner through the middle of the infield with two outs in the eighth.
The ninth inning rally by the Reds began with a single by Phillips and Votto getting hit in the back, giving the Reds two runners and no outs. After a ground out by Jay Bruce moved the runners, a single by Rolen and fielder's choice by Heisey scored both runners. Edgar Renteria struck out swinging to end the game.
GAME NOTES: Rivera has pitched in 1,008 games … Boone Logan and Luis Ayala pitched a combined zero innings for the Yankees, allowing two runs … The Reds batters 4-8 went a combined 1-for-19 Monday … Jose Arrendondo and Carlos Fisher pitched in relief for Cincinnati … The Reds stranded four runners … Nova had 18 first-pitch strikes … Grandson's steal was his 11th of the season … Cincinnati turned two double plays (Yankees, 1) … the Yankees have won 9 of their last 11 games.
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One inning, the first one, was all it took for the New York Yankees to score enough runs to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3, in front of a sell-out crowd at Great American Ball Park, Monday night.
The Reds threatened in the ninth with Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto scoring runs, forcing the Yankees to bring in future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera to get his 18th save of the season.
But the ninth inning rally wasn't enough to overcome the Yankees' first inning, which forced the Reds to play from behind the entire game.
The Reds (38-36) have struggled in interleague play this season, as they stand at 1-6 in those games. The lone win came Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays by a 2-1 score. The Reds and Yankees have two more games left at GABP before the Reds travel to Baltimore and Tampa Bay for six interleague games.
But on Monday, the Reds had no answers to overcome the first inning where the Yankees sent eight batters to the plate.
The Yankees' first inning wrapped up with them pounding Reds starter Travis Wood with four runs on five hits. Wood started a day early due to scheduled starter Johnny Cueto being scratched Monday before the game with a stiff neck. Cueto will start Tuesday.
"I think he was a little pumped up, because he was trying to go low and away … it was kind of like a singles explosion," Reds manager Dusty Baker said of Travis Wood. "He settled down after that."
Though all five hits were singles in the first inning, the Yankees (42-29) brought home Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano for runs.
Rodriguez and Cano each had two-hit nights, with seven Yankees getting hits.
Drew Stubbs was the first to score for the Reds, crossing home in the bottom of the first when Joey Votto hit into a double play.
The first inning wasted what was a solid pitching performance by Wood, as he didn't allow any more runs for the remainder of the game.
Wood responded after the tough four-run first by keeping the Yankees at-bay for the next six innings. He retired 11 straight Yankees from the fourth through six innings. In that span, he faced the minimum as the lone single he gave up in the fourth was caught off the base at first for an out.
Wood (5-5) finished with 107 pitches, 74 for strikes in his seven innings on the hill. He allowed a total of eight hits, four earned runs and walked one. He had six strikeouts.
The win went to Yankees starter Ivan Nova (7-4) who pitched eight innings. Nova allowed one earned run on four hits and no walks. He struck out seven.
The Yankees added their fifth run in the top of the eighth when Curtis Granderson made life tough for relief pitcher Jose Arrendondo and the rest of the Reds' infield.
Granderson forced a walk, stole second and while stealing second base, Janish made a fielding error, allowing Granderson to advance to third. The No. 2 hitter in the Yankees lineup took home on a wild pitch, for a 5-1 Yankees lead.
"That run for them in the eighth was big for them, making it a 5-1 game," Baker said. "Janish catches that ball 99 times out of 100. You just don't know which run will come back and haunt you, and they jumped on us early."
Cincinnati just couldn't hit the baseball, finishing with six hits, all singles. In the first eight innings the Reds had four hits.
After the first inning where the Reds gained two hits, they were held hitless until the bottom of the fifth with two outs when Janish singled up the middle to centerfield. He was left stranded though, when Wood struck out looking to end the inning.
In those hitless innings the Reds struck out three times as Nova retired 12-of-13 batters, with the exception of Stubbs. Nova got credit for the strikeout, but threw a wild pitch in the process during the third inning, allowing Stubbs to reach first safely.
Again, the Reds went multiple innings without gaining a base hit, as they were retired eight consecutive times after Janish's base hit in the fifth. Fred Lewis broke the streak with a liner through the middle of the infield with two outs in the eighth.
The ninth inning rally by the Reds began with a single by Phillips and Votto getting hit in the back, giving the Reds two runners and no outs. After a ground out by Jay Bruce moved the runners, a single by Rolen and fielder's choice by Heisey scored both runners. Edgar Renteria struck out swinging to end the game.
GAME NOTES: Rivera has pitched in 1,008 games … Boone Logan and Luis Ayala pitched a combined zero innings for the Yankees, allowing two runs … The Reds batters 4-8 went a combined 1-for-19 Monday … Jose Arrendondo and Carlos Fisher pitched in relief for Cincinnati … The Reds stranded four runners … Nova had 18 first-pitch strikes … Grandson's steal was his 11th of the season … Cincinnati turned two double plays (Yankees, 1) … the Yankees have won 9 of their last 11 games.
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