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Mike Leake delivers
a pitch in the first inning Wednesday against Philadelphia. Leake went
seven innings, allowing three hits, as the Reds swept the Phillies
winning 11-2.
Cincinnati Reds
Leake leads way
on hill, with bat as Reds rout Phils
CINCINNATI -- It's very possible the Reds' rotation will eventually
miss injured ace Johnny Cueto at some point, but that time is not yet.
Not when the team saw the three performances it got while burying the
Phillies for a three-game sweep.
Following the efforts of Bronson Arroyo and Homer Bailey before him,
Mike Leake not only pitched a fantastic game, he was a dual threat,
too, during an 11-2 Reds rout of the Phillies on Wednesday at Great
American Ball Park. Leake not only provided seven scoreless innings on
the mound, but he tied a career high with three hits at the plate and
scored three runs.
"He had everything going on tonight," said Reds manager Dusty Baker,
whose club moved back over .500 at 8-7.
During the three wins over Philadelphia, which came on the heels of a
five-game losing streak to end a road trip in St. Louis and Pittsburgh,
Reds starters allowed two runs and no walks in 23 innings. Leake and
Bailey combined for 15 scoreless innings.
All of this smooth work happened after Cueto went on the disabled list
Monday with a strained right lat muscle.
"This is how you get it done," Baker said. "This is how you get your
bullpen well. We couldn't ask for anything better, considering how this
stretch of 20 days in a row started out. We're not out of the woods
yet, but we could have been upside down, big time."
The timing was good for Leake, who came in with a less-than-stellar
6.75 ERA through his first two starts. He was tapped for five runs and
10 hits against the Pirates on Friday.
With prized prospect Tony Cingrani being called up to replace Cueto on
Thursday, more good performances from Leake should block any thoughts
of making a change.
"As long as we keep this going, it should be a good season," said
Leake, who allowed just three hits and a hit batsman with no walks and
seven strikeouts. "I needed the good performance rather than the hits,
but [the hits] definitely helped."
Cincinnati, which completed a suspended game with a narrow 1-0 win over
Philadelphia less than two hours before beginning the finale, dispensed
with the drama and jumped lefty John Lannan for a 6-0 lead through two
innings…
Read the complete story at Cincinnati Reds
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