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Cincinnati Reds
pitcher Bronson Arroyo shows his emotion Sunday at AT&T Park in the
second game of the NLDS against the Giants. Arroyo went seven innings
and allowed one hit as the Reds went up 2-0 in the series with a 9-0
win.
'A' game:
Reds up 2-0 behind Arroyo, red-hot bats
Starter allows one hit over seven as Cincinnati takes command of NLDS
reds.com - SAN FRANCISCO -- There is clearly no doubt about who has the
overwhelming momentum in the National League Division Series. It's the
Reds, and it's not even close.
After all, they earned an emphatic 9-0 win over the Giants in Game 2 on
Sunday night that included one-hit baseball from starter Bronson Arroyo
over seven innings. Cincinnati returns home with a 2-0 advantage in the
best-of-five series only needing one win over the next three games to
be held at Great American Ball Park.
For having one very successful business trip, the Reds kept the
giddiness to a minimum and lacked for jubilation. They're not quite
done with the Giants, definitely not yet.
"You're not comfortable at all until it's over," Reds manager Dusty
Baker said.
"We couldn't put ourselves in a better situation. It doesn't mean
you're going to close it out," said Arroyo, who walked one and struck
out four. "I know the fans are going to be as jacked as they have ever
been in that ballpark since it has been built, which is going to be
nice. But that being said, we've got to calm it down a little bit and
stay [with] the task at hand, because we haven't won anything, and
baseball is a crazy game."
Even though they had home-field advantage, there were complaints about
the NL Division Series setup this season. It meant the higher-seeded
Reds had to play the first two games vs. the Giants on the road at
tough AT&T Park.
Well, take that, dreaded 2-3 format.
"Obviously the most important [thing] was to get the first two wins,"
said right fielder Jay Bruce, who hit a two-run double during a
five-run eighth. "This home field is interesting. Coming into this
place, against this team, against this pitching, it's tough. We handled
it well. Our pitching did an unbelievable job. You couldn't do any
better than to go home up 2-0."
Play resumes Tuesday after a day off on Monday, but the Reds can feel
good that history is overwhelmingly on their side. Since Division
Series play began in 1995, the team with a 2-0 lead advanced 38 of 42
times (90 percent), and no team has blown it since 2003.
An NL team has had the 2-0 situation 21 times -- and has never lost the
series.
Read this and other articles at Cincinnati Reds
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