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Reporter Dave Jablonski goes beyond the press box to take you behind the scenes with Reds players and coaches.
Today’s Game
Brewers at Reds, 1:10 p.m., FS Ohio, 700, 1410
Jay Bruce may have inadvertently created the next Reds promotion, one sure to make baseball history for all the wrong reasons.
Asked if he liked the Los Rojos jerseys the Reds wore in Saturday’s 13-7 victory over the Brewers at Great American Ball Park, Bruce said he couldn’t be less interested in the jerseys.
“We could be wearing pink tutus out there,” Bruce said. “It’s the same to me.”
The Reds in pink tutus? There’s a sight to picture and immediately forget — although the Reds might wear almost anything if it meant 13 runs and 14 hits every night,
In the second game of the series, Cincinnati thrilled a sellout crowd of 41,678 — 30,000 of whom took home Aroldis Chapman bobbleheads — and moved five games over .500 (21-16) for the first time this season. The Reds fell behind 2-0 and then scored five runs in the second and seven in the third.
The offensive explosion started with Bruce’s third home run, a lead-off shot in the second. Bruce then became the first Red since Sean Casey to double twice in an inning. He had the first and last hits of the third, both doubles.
Bruce has nine RBIs in the first 11 days of May after driving in a total of 11 runs in April.
“It’s a long season,” Bruce said. “I’m just trying to get good pitches to hit. I have been lately, and I’ve been missing them less, so that’s good.”
The Reds drove in runs on four straight at-bats in the second and on five straight at-bats in the third.
On the mound for all of that was Milwaukee starter Hiram Burgos, who was charged with 10 earned runs in three innings. That’s four more earned runs than he gave up in his first 18 innings this season.
Reds manager Dusty Baker said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke didn’t want to go to his bullpen early.
“I know the feeling,” Baker said. “Sometimes people don’t understand, but you have to leave the guy out there as a sacrificial lamb to save the rest of your team.”
The Reds’ offense saved starter Mat Latos, who had his worst start of the season. He gave up six earned runs on nine hits in six innings. Latos went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in two runs, but that was small consolation.
“I got the crap kicked out of me,” Latos said. “I could care less how many hits I had.”
Latos didn’t get much help in the field. Xavier Paul couldn’t catch a long fly ball off the bat of Aramis Ramirez in the first, and Ryan Braun scored on the play.
In the third, Joey Votto committed an error, and the Brewers scored two more runs to get back in the game — briefly at least.
“You could tell it was going to be one of those days,” Baker said. “Fortunately for us, we got quite a few runs, and we got enough from Mat to not get deep in our bullpen.”
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