|
Cincinnati
Reds…
Reds turn away
Cards, stay tied for best record
Club impressed with Chapman's 38th save; Latos wins No. 14
ST. LOUIS -- The Reds may not know where they're going, but they know
they have already been put through a pretty good pre-playoffs test.
Facing a Cardinals club trying to clinch a Wild Card spot, the Reds
took a 3-1 win on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium that kept them alive
for the top seed in the National League postseason heading into Game
162.
"There was a lot of energy for sure," said right fielder Jay Bruce, who
hit an RBI single in the sixth inning for the go-ahead run. "I think
this is a good series for us to play going into the playoffs. These
guys are good, they play us tough and have a great team. It's a big
series for them, and it's a big series for us because we still have
some things hinging on the outcome of this series."
A Nationals win against the Phillies brought their magic number to take
the top seed to one. Since Washington owns the tiebreaker based on
head-to-head matchups with Cincinnati, it only needs to win its
afternoon game to claim the best record in baseball and the No. 1 seed.
If the Reds end up with the No. 2 seed, they would open the NL Division
Series at No. 3 San Francisco on Saturday. As the top seed, they would
face the winner of the Wild Card game on Sunday. So the Reds will wait
another day to learn their opponent.
"It's better than not waiting at all," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
Regardless of the opponent, Cincinnati was encouraged by what it saw at
the conclusion of the game. Closer Aroldis Chapman not only looked
great retiring the side in order in the ninth for his 38th save, he was
dealing the Cardinals some serious gas.
"That was the best that we've seen Chapman since he was back," Baker
said.
Chapman, who missed 10 days in mid-September with left shoulder fatigue
and didn't look good his previous time out, threw 13 of his 16 pitches
at 100 mph or better. The left-hander reached 102 mph six times.
"Since the return to pitching, today has been the best day -- not just
physically, but on the mound. I felt really good on the mound tonight,"
Chapman said through an interpreter.
During his entire inning, the 39,644 fans were on their feet making
lots of noise to will the Cardinals to a comeback win. It was the
epitome of a playoff atmosphere as the two teams have split the first
two games of the series heading toward Wednesday's conclusion.
"They were up, there was a lot of excitement in the stadium," Chapman
said. "There were a lot of people in the stadium. They want to win.
They knew if they won, they were going to clinch the playoffs. It
seemed like a playoff atmosphere, but honestly, I don't look for those
things."
Reds starter Mat Latos pitched very well during his five-inning
postseason tuneup, allowing one run and four hits with one intentional
walk and four strikeouts. Latos gave up a leadoff double in the first
inning to Jon Jay, who later scored from third base on Matt Holliday's
sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.
"That was a super performance," Baker said. "Other than that
first-inning double he gave up, he was still strong."
Before exiting, Latos finished by retiring his final 10 batters in a
row. At one point, he had four straight strikeouts. He finished his
first regular season with Cincinnati 14-4, tying a career high in wins,
with a 3.48 ERA in 33 starts.
"I pitched pretty well. I like to pitch against a team like them,"
Latos said. "They are aggressive. They know what they're doing. They're
a great hitting ballclub. To give up one run in five innings, you're
doing pretty well."
Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter, who was making his third start
after missing most of the season with a shoulder injury, gave up three
runs over six innings of work. Scott Rolen tied the game in the fourth
inning, when he hit a one-out solo homer to left field on Carpenter's
first pitch.
In the sixth, Joey Votto drew a leadoff walk and went to third base
when Ryan Ludwick drove a double to right-center field. Bruce's RBI
single to center field scored Votto with the go-ahead run. With two
outs, Dioner Navarro's RBI single to right field made it a two-run game.
"Unfortunately that inning got away from me a little bit, and there
were some pitches over the plate, and they hit them. They did their
job," Carpenter said.
Now 97-64, the Reds haven't won this many games since they went 102-60
in 1976. Whether one more win is good enough for the top seed, it
remains to be seen. It's also unclear how much it will really benefit
the club in the playoffs that feature a Wild Card game before the NLDS
for the first time.
Read this and other articles at Cincinnati Reds
|
|
|
|
