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It was a
night when Bronson Arroyo was as good as he could be. Arroyo was strong
as the
Reds went to 19 games over the .500 mark in a 3-0 win over Colorado
Friday.
Cincinnati
Reds
Arroyo
sharp as Reds extend win streak to eight
DENVER --
The Reds’ season-high winning streak has covered eight games vs. four
different
teams and has lasted across three time zones.
It’s a
second-half surge that had yet to end as of Friday, when the Reds took
a smooth
3-0 win over the struggling Rockies on the strength of pitcher Bronson
Arroyo’s
strong performance. Now 59-40, Cincinnati is tied with the Nationals
for the
best record in the NL. The Reds have not been 19 games over .500 since
they
ended 2010 as NL Central champions and 20 games over.
“That’s the
best thing about playing the game -- winning,” said second baseman
Brandon
Phillips, who was 1-for-4 with a run scored. “We’re playing good
baseball.
We’re playing small ball. We just feel like we’re coming together.
We’re all
having a good time. Everybody is all about everybody, not just one
person.”
During the
streak, the Reds have beaten Arizona and earned back-to-back three-game
sweeps
over Milwaukee and at Houston. Colorado has now dropped four of its
past five
games and nine of 13.
Meanwhile,
the Reds have won 15 of their last 17 games and are 9-2 since Joey
Votto went
on the disabled list.
“Things are
kind of roiling our way right now,” Arroyo said. “There are other guys
in our
division that are obviously playing as good or close to it. It’s not
like we
have a huge gap. We just have to keep grinding and keep getting after
it.”
The only
thing the Reds haven’t done lately is put distance between them and the
Pirates. Pittsburgh beat Houston on Friday to stay two games behind in
the NL
Central.
No problem,
says Phillips.
“We’re
trying to get as many wins as possible,” Phillips said. “Once you think
about
winning instead of worrying about what other teams are doing, the only
thing
that can really stop you is yourself. We’re staying consistent as a
team. We’re
having fun. It’s fun winning and it’s nice to see everybody come
together.”
Arroyo gave
up six hits with no walks and three strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings for
his third
victory over his past four starts. He’s improved to 6-6 with a 3.76 ERA
in 20
starts.
“He’s a
good pitcher,” Rockies third baseman Jordan Pacheco said. “He’s been
around a
long time and knows how to pitch. He kept us off balance all night.”
It was
scoreless until the Reds broke through against Rockies lefty Drew
Pomeranz in the
fourth. Following a leadoff single, Phillips advanced to second base on
a
flyout. Phillips scored when Ryan Ludwick lined a double down the
left-field
line. Ludwick made it 2-0 when he scampered home from third base on
Todd
Frazier’s sacrifice fly.
Pomeranz
gave up a pair of one-out singles to Ludwick and Scott Rolen in the
sixth and
watched his bullpen give up another run. Reliever Adam Ottavino threw a
pair of
wild pitches to Frazier, the second one letting Ludwick score from
third base
for a three-run lead.
It was more
than enough for Arroyo, who retired his first 11 batters in a row
before giving
up a hit. Not a bad beginning for someone who came in 0-2 with an 8.84
ERA
lifetime at Coors Field.
“He’s a
breaking-ball pitcher that throws every pitch. It’s tough here
sometimes
because breaking balls don’t break here,” Reds manager Dusty Baker
said. “I’ve
seen the best of breaking-ball pitchers have a tough time here and he’s
had a
tough time here. I’m glad we got him back to 6-6. Hopefully he can get
on one
of his extended streaks of wins.”
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