Reds Exorcise their Demons, Sweep the Cardinals

In what became a statement series, the Reds swept away their arch-rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, in impressive fashion. Mark this series down, folks. Remember it for the future, because this series may have been the changing of the guard in the NL Central. I don't want to read too much into the sweep - remember, the Cardinals swept the Reds last year and then tanked in August and September - but it's hard not to get excited. The Cardinals have beaten up on the Reds for years, and owned a 14-7 record against the home town nine coming into this weekend since last year. A sweep hardly means the division is the Reds' to lose. It's only May 16th. What the series showed is that the Cardinals are an extremely flawed team and the Reds have the ability to exploit those flaws. They did that, finally getting the monkey that was St. Louis and Chris Carpenter off their back.

The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

It started Friday night. And, in truth, the series changed completely on Friday night, too. Trailing 4-0 in the 6th inning, things looked bleak for the Redlegs. Kyle Lohse was pitching a good game, and the Reds managed little offense. They rallied, though, on the strength of good team offense. In particular, it was Edgar Renteria, who came up with three good at bats late in the game. He doubled home two in the 7th, walked in the 9th to start the Reds' rally that tied the game, and drew a walk to get Joey Votto to the plate in the 10th. Votto delivered a single to right to score Chris Heisey and give the Reds a walk off 6-5 win. The crowd at the game was on their feet more often than not, waving the white rally towels which had been passed out at the gate. It was a playoff type atmosphere at Great American. And the crowd appreciated the effort of the Reds, giving Joey Votto chants of MVP late in the game.

The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

Saturday was definitely meant to be an interesting day, with Johnny Cueto making his first start against the Cardinals since the brawl. One might have expected something to happen in the game. Instead, Johnny Cueto brought his A+ stuff while the Reds played long ball and the Cardinals rolled over. Brandon Phillips drove in three runs, including a homer, and Ramon Hernandez hit 419 and 401 foot shots off of St. Louis starter Kyle McClellan. Cueto delivered 7 2/3 innings of 3 hit, no earned run baseball (the three runs scored in the 8th came after a pair of errors) in route to a 7-3 Reds' win. Cueto was efficient and dominant, getting ground balls and easy outs. No Cardinal reached second base until the 7th inning. He could not have been better, and capped the day off with this ridiculous play.

Sunday was the day where the Reds finally kicked the Cardinals, and their past troubles, to the curb. Chris Carpenter had won 10 of his last 11 starts against the Reds and was taking the hill to avoid the sweep. Carp, though, had not pitched well thus far this year, having won just one game. The Reds actually won a game started by him back in St. Louis, when Travis Wood pitched a good game and Cincy struck against the Cardinals' bullpen. Yesterday, Wood out dueled Carpenter. A pair of early homers put the Reds in a quick hole, but bad defense by the Cardinals and a homer by Ramon Hernandez gave Cincinnati a 3-2 lead. From there, the Reds blew the game open. An RBI triple by Scott Rolen in the 6th and a two run double by Brandon Phillips in the 7th chased Carpenter from the game. Jay Bruce's two run double charged Carpenter with 8 runs (7 earned) on 9 hits. A Chris Heisey homer gave the Reds a 9-2 lead, which they clung to in the 9th when St. Louis scored 5, mainly on Aroldis Chapman's walks. Francisco Cordero struck out Lance Berkman to cap off the sweep. The win was Cincinnati's first against Chris Carpenter since June 6, 2006, when Eric Milton (of all people) beat him 7-0. The victory also gave Cincinnati their first series sweep of St. Louis since September 11-13th of 2007.

AP Photo

Of course, when these two teams meet, it's never just about the game. In the 9th inning, with Albert Pujols representing the tying run, Cordero let an 0-2 fastball get away from him and hit Pujols on the wrist. The Cardinals, apparently, took offense to it. Backup catcher Gerald Laird, acting manager/bench coach Joe Pettini, and pitching coach Dave Duncan were all barking at Cordero from the dugout. Apparently, they believed Cordero intentionally threw at Pujols. On an 0-2 count. With a two run lead. And the .379 batting Holliday coming up. And Reds killer Lance Berkman behind him. Really? Here's what Cordero said, "Out of all the guys that are great hitters, great players, Gerald Laird doesn't even play. He's the one yelling at me because I hit Pujols 0-2. 0-2! I wasn't trying to hit him. I've got to face Holliday next, who can take the lead with one swing, and he's yelling at me." Pujols said of the situation, "I'm pretty sure Francisco didn't try to do that on purpose. He doesn't want to bring the winning run to the plate with two big hitters, Matt and Berkman. It's probably something that slipped. You turn the page and get ready for tomorrow." There you go. Albert Pujols, like the classy man and player he is, understands that things like this in baseball happen. It was an accident. Move on. The Cardinals wouldn't, though. "You pitch away, you pitch in. But you've got to have a clue when you do it, especially against a hitter like Albert," said Joe Pettini. Really? Get over yourself. There was no intention behind the pitch. And since when did the Cardinals invent the rules on pitching inside? Plus, the Reds didn't complain when Hanigan was hit on the hand by a pitch on Friday. The umpires had to ask the Cardinals to leave the dugout after the game. Things like this don't help the Cardinals' case when they don't want to be considered "whiners." This wasn't the only thing that happened this weekend, however. Chris Carpenter was upset because the mound wasn't properly treated. Really? The same mound that Travis Wood threw 6 innings of 2 run ball from? He didn't have issues. And Carpenter also wasn't happy about the lingering smoke from the homer that Ramon Hernandez hit. Well, then maybe you should keep the ball in the yard. Finally, the Cardinals were unhappy that Brandon Phillips seemed to be showboating when he hit the homer on Saturday. He didn't seem to take longer to round the bases. Yes, he touched his hand to his helmet at each base. Guess what? He does that with every homer. The Cardinals believe he saluted their dugout. I think he was giving a gesture to Reds' third base coach, Mark Berry. You be the judge on this. (Go to the 16 second mark to see Phillips' salute.)

AP Photo/Al Behrman

Here's what we learned from the series, starting with Cincinnati. The Reds' offense is better than the Cardinals'. Especially when Scott Rolen is in the lineup. He went 7 for 15 in the series with a double, triple, and 2 RBIs. Since Rolen came over on August 1, 2009, the Reds are 181-133 when he starts. And they are 95-30 when he drives in a run. Rolen lengthens the lineup and gives it more right handed pop. The great Cardinals' pitching was hammered in the series by the Reds, who pounded 22 runs on 36 hits. Let's not forget the pitching. Since Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto have returned to the rotation, Reds' starters are 7-0 with a 2.00 ERA. And the bullpen, other than Aroldis Chapman, has been terrific. And how sweet was it to see Brandon Phillips kill the Cardinals in each game? He drove in the tying run Friday, drove in three on Saturday, and knocked Carpenter out of the game on Sunday. Beat them with your play, not your mouth. That's what Phillips did all weekend.


The Cardinals, meanwhile, appear to be an absolute mess. Yes, they have a tremendous offense, and pretty good pitching. But unless the Cardinals' pitchers suddenly become strikeout artists and the offense can put up ridiculous numbers all year, a porous defense will come back to bite them. They have the second most errors in the NL and the most unearned runs given up. This isn't a good way of measuring that though. There isn't a good way, in fact. Lance Berkman and Colby Rasmus misplayed multiple balls in right and center throughout the series. Carpenter failed to back up third base on a bad throw by Jon Jay. Ryan Theriot let several ground balls get by him on Saturday. Nick Punto and Tyler Greene had no communication on a ball up the middle on Friday, and it got through for a hit. Greene misplayed a ball on Sunday that cost them a run. Albert Pujols committed an error. It's bad for St. Louis. Holliday, Rasmus, Berkman, Theriot, Descalso, Punto, and Greene are all below average fielders. Skip Schumaker, when he comes back, is below average at second too. And when you have contact pitchers like Lohse, Carpenter, McClellan, Garcia, and Westbrook, a good defense is necessary. St. Louis doesn't have that. And I don't even want to get into that bullpen. Batista, Franklin, and Miller are all terrible relievers. The rest of the bullpen is far too inconsistent. They lead the NL in blown saves. And they were a disaster in this series. The Reds fed off of their poor pitching to come back and blow games open. 


Finally, all of the complaining and crying by St. Louis is ridiculous. You don't like Brandon Phillips? Don't like that Johnny Cueto was pitching a heck of a game? Brush them back, then. Make a statement. Otherwise, the Reds will keep walking all over you. The Cardinals have no one to blame, but themselves. Want to make a statement? Stop complaining. Win a game.