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Cincinnati Reds...
Dominant Latos,
Reds blank contending Bucs
Starter homers in 7 1/3-inning gem; Heisey hits inside-the-parker
CINCINNATI -- For those who predicted an inside-the-park home run, a
shutout of the fifth-best team in baseball and another homer from a
pitcher batting .122 on the year, go collect the winnings.
It may not have been the exact gameplan the Reds had drawn up, but
they’ll certainly take it.
Cincinnati rode a superb showing from starting pitcher Mat Latos both
on the mound and at the plate to steal the series opener from
Pittsburgh, 3-0, in front of a sellout crowd of 40,829 at Great
American Ball Park on Friday night.
“That was Latos’ night tonight, pitching and hitting,” said Reds
manager Dusty Baker.
The Pirates entered the series able to pull within a half-game of the
Reds with a sweep, but Friday night’s win gave Cincinnati a 4 1/2-game
lead over the National League Central rivals, and secures at least a 2
1/2-game lead when the series concludes Sunday.
The Reds trailed the Pirates by one game entering the All-Star break,
after leading for a majority of the first half of the season.
Since the break, the Reds have won 18 of 21, while the Pirates have
gone 12-8, allowing Cincinnati to slowly build a lead in the division.
Reds fans knew the significance of the series and came out in droves,
marking the 10th sellout crowd of the season and bringing the “10th
man” factor for Latos in a playoff-like atmosphere.
“What are we, the first week of August? That was unbelievable,” Latos
said. “They were so loud and so into the game. I don’t think they
understand they have a big, big part in games like this, to have a
sellout crowd and have them go absolutely nuts. Everybody is feeding
off that energy coming out of the crowd. The fans have to understand
that if they do what they just did, we’re going to win a lot of
ballgames.”
Friday’s game may have been billed as a “Marty Party,” honoring Hall of
Fame Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman’s 70th birthday last week and his
head-shaving event for charity postgame, but it was Latos’ time to
shine.
Latos (10-3, 3.94 ERA) showed his dominance on the mound early, holding
the Pirates hitless through three innings before Andrew McCutchen
finally laced a single up the middle in the fourth.
Just three Pirates made it into scoring position all night, as Latos
tossed 7 1/3 innings, allowing just four scattered hits.
“We’ve seen him pretty good twice,” said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.
“So I don’t know where that four-plus ERA comes from. He’s effective
with the fastball, has good breaking stuff.”
Latos was finally pulled in the eighth after two singles threatened the
shutout. Newly acquired reliever Jonathan Broxton came on and
immediately forced a huge double play, ending the threat.
“[Pitching coach Bryan] Price came out there and asked how I was
doing,” Latos said. “He said, ‘We’ve got a fresh arm in the bullpen, so
let’s go ahead and bring that fresh arm in.’ [Broxton] got a ground
ball, we turned a double play and got out of the inning.”
Aroldis Chapman then entered in the ninth and earned his 24th save, but
not without some drama. With two outs, Chapman drilled McCutchen with a
101-mph pitch before striking out Garrett Jones to end it.
McCutchen and the Pirates’ dugout were visibly upset by the plunking,
but McCutchen planned to channel any lingering displeasure into a
revved-up performance on Saturday.
“It just pumped us up,” McCutchen said. “And that’s the feeling we’re
going to take on the field [Saturday].”
With Latos dominating on the mound all night, the Reds wouldn’t need
much run support.
They held a 1-0 lead early in the game after a rare feat, when
outfielder Chris Heisey knocked an inside-the-park home run off Pirates
starter Wandy Rodriguez.
Heisey sent a shot off the top of the wall in left-center field, just
missing Starling Marte’s leaping efforts and ricocheting back into the
field.
Third-base coach Mark Berry waved Heisey home, and he was called safe
after a sliding play at the plate.
“When I hit it, I thought it had a chance to get out of here,” Heisey
said. “As soon as I got about halfway to second base, I saw it rolling
along the track and I didn’t see anybody near the ball. I was going as
fast as I could, but you try to give it a little extra just because you
know you have a chance. Thank God I made it home before I fell over
because my legs were dying.”
Baker opted to start Heisey in right field in place of Jay Bruce, who
is just 2-for-29 off Rodriguez in his career. It’s safe to say his
decision paid off.
It was the second inside-the-park home run in Heisey’s career, the
first also coming against Pittsburgh on Aug. 2, 2010, off Joel Hanrahan.
It was Heisey’s fourth homer of the season, and the second
inside-the-parker by a Red this year. Bruce accomplished the task June
15, in New York off Dillon Gee.
The Reds wouldn’t need any more offense, but Latos decided to help his
own cause in the fifth, driving a two-run home run that squeaked above
the left-field wall.
“Just swing hard in case you hit it. That’s the best I got,” Latos
said. “I’m a pitcher, I don’t get paid to hit. It’s just one of those
things, I happened to put a good swing on a pitch, and it left the
yard.”
Latos’ home run was his first of the season and the third of his
career, and it brought the game to the eventual 3-0 final score.
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