Missed chances cost Reds dearly
07/20/2006
CINCINNATI -- The final images may not have been the most lasting ones that came out of Thursday's 4-2 Reds loss to the Mets in 10 innings.
A 10th-inning rookie defensive mistake by right fielder Chris Denorfia was costly during another unfortunate outing by reliever Gary Majewski.
But the game never should have gotten to that point.
What really stood out was one missed chance after another by the Reds lineup, which went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. It foiled starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo's sixth bid for his 10th victory, despite his strong eight-inning performance where he allowed two earned runs.
"We should have had the game. We did have the game," said second baseman Brandon Phillips, who himself missed capitalizing on a bases-loaded chance in the seventh. "Things happen."
The game wasn't truly lost until the extra inning. Against Majewski (3-3), Mets pinch-hitter Xavier Nady lofted a one-out pop fly to shallow right field. Phillips appeared to have the best chance at making the play, but was called off by a charging Denorfia, who missed the ball off the end of his glove in a diving attempt.
Nady reached second base with a bloop double. He scored the go-ahead run on Endy Chavez's RBI double down the left-field line.
Not wanting to come down publicly on Denorfia, Phillips deferred the matter to Reds manager Jerry Narron's opinion.
"I think everybody knows Brandon had that ball," Narron said. "Dino really thought he had it and took charge of it. It's just an aggressive mistake."
"It's one of those balls where if I don't call for it, I don't know if he's going to get it or not," Denorfia said. "That's how I'm looking at it. I charged pretty hard and definitely took control of it. I just came up a little short."
Carlos Beltran's RBI double off Kent Mercker added another run and ensured the Mets would leave taking two of three in the series. The run was charged to Majewski, who has allowed five earned runs in three appearances since last week's trade to the Reds from the Nationals.
"He's going to do a good job for us," Narron said. "It seems like every outing he's been out there, he's gotten a freaky little play or something. He's going to be fine."
Locked into a duel with crafty Mets lefty Tom Glavine, Arroyo's only runs allowed came on solo homers by Cliff Floyd in the second inning and Carlos Delgado in the fourth that made it 2-0. The right-hander stepped up his intensity after Ryan Freel's two-run, game-tying double in the fifth inning.
At one point, Arroyo retired 12 in a row and 13 of his final 14 batters. He walked off the field pumping his fist after he struck out Beltran, his final batter.
"When we tied the game, I definitely went out there and tried to pitch [with] more max effort," said Arroyo, who is 9-6 with a 2.92 ERA in 21 starts. "I don't do that a lot in the beginning of a game. Once you get to a point in the game when you don't have too many innings left, you have to give everything you got and either hold the lead or hold it where it is."
The Reds did not reward Arroyo's effort. They put the leadoff batter on base in the fifth through ninth innings, but scored no more after the fifth.
The two best chances came with the bases loaded in both the sixth and seventh innings. Batting with two outs, Arroyo dropped a low percentage bunt to the mound, with Glavine easily firing home for the inning-ending force play.
In the seventh, after Glavine issued back-to-back walks that loaded the bases with one out, Scott Hatteberg was called to pinch-hit for Edwin Encarnacion against submarine right-hander Chad Bradford. Hatteberg struck out swinging before Phillips grounded into an inning-ending fielder's choice.
"He's one of the toughest guys in all of baseball to strike out," Narron said of Hatteberg. "That's the real reason I sent him up there for Eddie. Bradford is just a funky right-hander that can be very difficult with right-handed hitters. With one out, I like my chances with Hattie out there. "
"It's a situation where you've got to come through," Hatteberg said. "We had a couple of them that slipped through our fingers."
Symbolic of the kind of day it was for the Reds, Hatteberg struck out in his second at-bat during the ninth against Pedro Feliciano (4-2). It was only the second time all season he struck out twice in a game. There were no chances left when closer Billy Wagner finished the game in the 10th.
"We should have won the game," Narron said. "We just didn't get a hit when we needed it."
Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/
CINCINNATI -- The final images may not have been the most lasting ones that came out of Thursday's 4-2 Reds loss to the Mets in 10 innings.
A 10th-inning rookie defensive mistake by right fielder Chris Denorfia was costly during another unfortunate outing by reliever Gary Majewski.
But the game never should have gotten to that point.
What really stood out was one missed chance after another by the Reds lineup, which went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. It foiled starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo's sixth bid for his 10th victory, despite his strong eight-inning performance where he allowed two earned runs.
"We should have had the game. We did have the game," said second baseman Brandon Phillips, who himself missed capitalizing on a bases-loaded chance in the seventh. "Things happen."
The game wasn't truly lost until the extra inning. Against Majewski (3-3), Mets pinch-hitter Xavier Nady lofted a one-out pop fly to shallow right field. Phillips appeared to have the best chance at making the play, but was called off by a charging Denorfia, who missed the ball off the end of his glove in a diving attempt.
Nady reached second base with a bloop double. He scored the go-ahead run on Endy Chavez's RBI double down the left-field line.
Not wanting to come down publicly on Denorfia, Phillips deferred the matter to Reds manager Jerry Narron's opinion.
"I think everybody knows Brandon had that ball," Narron said. "Dino really thought he had it and took charge of it. It's just an aggressive mistake."
"It's one of those balls where if I don't call for it, I don't know if he's going to get it or not," Denorfia said. "That's how I'm looking at it. I charged pretty hard and definitely took control of it. I just came up a little short."
Carlos Beltran's RBI double off Kent Mercker added another run and ensured the Mets would leave taking two of three in the series. The run was charged to Majewski, who has allowed five earned runs in three appearances since last week's trade to the Reds from the Nationals.
"He's going to do a good job for us," Narron said. "It seems like every outing he's been out there, he's gotten a freaky little play or something. He's going to be fine."
Locked into a duel with crafty Mets lefty Tom Glavine, Arroyo's only runs allowed came on solo homers by Cliff Floyd in the second inning and Carlos Delgado in the fourth that made it 2-0. The right-hander stepped up his intensity after Ryan Freel's two-run, game-tying double in the fifth inning.
At one point, Arroyo retired 12 in a row and 13 of his final 14 batters. He walked off the field pumping his fist after he struck out Beltran, his final batter.
"When we tied the game, I definitely went out there and tried to pitch [with] more max effort," said Arroyo, who is 9-6 with a 2.92 ERA in 21 starts. "I don't do that a lot in the beginning of a game. Once you get to a point in the game when you don't have too many innings left, you have to give everything you got and either hold the lead or hold it where it is."
The Reds did not reward Arroyo's effort. They put the leadoff batter on base in the fifth through ninth innings, but scored no more after the fifth.
The two best chances came with the bases loaded in both the sixth and seventh innings. Batting with two outs, Arroyo dropped a low percentage bunt to the mound, with Glavine easily firing home for the inning-ending force play.
In the seventh, after Glavine issued back-to-back walks that loaded the bases with one out, Scott Hatteberg was called to pinch-hit for Edwin Encarnacion against submarine right-hander Chad Bradford. Hatteberg struck out swinging before Phillips grounded into an inning-ending fielder's choice.
"He's one of the toughest guys in all of baseball to strike out," Narron said of Hatteberg. "That's the real reason I sent him up there for Eddie. Bradford is just a funky right-hander that can be very difficult with right-handed hitters. With one out, I like my chances with Hattie out there. "
"It's a situation where you've got to come through," Hatteberg said. "We had a couple of them that slipped through our fingers."
Symbolic of the kind of day it was for the Reds, Hatteberg struck out in his second at-bat during the ninth against Pedro Feliciano (4-2). It was only the second time all season he struck out twice in a game. There were no chances left when closer Billy Wagner finished the game in the 10th.
"We should have won the game," Narron said. "We just didn't get a hit when we needed it."
Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/
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