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Los
Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver (36)
reacts as home plate umpire Dale
Scott signals Cincinnati Reds'
Shin-Soo Choo was safe at home on a wild pitch in the
third inning
baseball game, Monday in Cincinnati. Photo
courtesy of reds.com
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Cincinnati
Reds...
Choo
does his part, but bats stifled as Reds fall in 13
reds.com
CINCINNATI- The Reds had it all designed in the offseason. Shin-Soo
Choo was acquired in a trade to get on base and create chances for the
rest of their lineup.
The part where Choo needed to reach base worked great. It's the getting
him home -- the most important of the two parts -- that lacked in a big
way during the Reds' 3-1 loss to the Angels in 13 innings on Monday's
Opening Day. Choo reached base three times and had two of Cincinnati's
three hits. But he only scored once -- on a wild pitch play that still
had negative consequences.
Scoring was tough to come by for both teams. The Reds were 0-for-10
with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 men. The Angels left
12 men on base.
"We lose and we can't point at anybody," said Choo, who came over from
Cleveland in December. "It's bad for everybody. We won and everybody
did a good job. Not [only] one guy is doing a good job or not. That's
my opinion."
A 4-hour, 45-minute duel that made Opening Day stretch into Opening
Night, was ultimately decided by Chris Iannetta, who drove in all three
runs for the Angels. It was the first time the Reds played extras in
the opener since 1990, and first time in a home opener since 1988.
Reds reliever J.J. Hoover, who earned his way on to the roster with a
fantastic spring, masterfully escaped after having a runner on third
base during a scoreless 12th, but he could not add another zero in the
13th.
Hoover walked Josh Hamilton with one out and intentionally walked Howie
Kendrick with two outs. On a 1-2 pitch, he hit Hank Conger -- the
Angels' final available bench player -- to load the bases.
That brought up Iannetta, who scorched a full-count pitch past third
baseman Todd Frazier for a two-run single to left field.
"I kind of put myself in that situation when I hit Conger with that
slider," Hoover said. "I was trying to go back foot. I yanked it a
little bit. Then Iannetta worked me to a full count, and he got me. I'm
happy with that [12th] inning, but when it all comes down to it, I
didn't do my job in the second inning. That kind of makes it a little
bitter."
So did the loss of Reds left fielder Ryan Ludwick, who separated his
right shoulder going from first base to third base as Choo scored on
Angels ace Jered Weaver's wild pitch.
"It's sort of disheartening," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
Overall on a frigid day where temperatures dipped into the 30s after
the sunset, both teams featured fantastic pitching. The Reds' staff
notched a club Opening Day record 17 strikeouts. Ace Johnny Cueto was
responsible for nine of those strikeouts as he gave up one run and
three hits over seven innings.
Cueto retired 10 of his first 11 batters, with the only glitch being a
critical one. In the top of the third, with one out, Iannetta launched
his 0-1 pitch into the left-field seats for a 1-0 Angels lead.
"We had opportunities, guys in scoring position. We couldn't get the
hit early," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "But Cueto threw a great
game. We didn't get too many looks at him, we struck out ... 17 times,
so that says something about the level of the guys they brought out. I
mean Cueto, [Jonathan] Broxton and [Aroldis] Chapman, they're all
terrific. But the way you beat good pitching is you have to pitch with
it, and we were able to do that tonight."
For more of this story, click here
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