Pirates annihilate moribund Reds, 14-0
By HAL McCOY That isn’t the Pittsburgh Lumber Company of the 1970s playing in PNC Park this year. Somebody forgot to send the text to the Cincinnati Reds. For the ninth straight time, the Reds lost Saturday night to the woebegotten Pirates on the banks of the Allegheny River, a 14-0 annihilation. And no that […]
Iglesias blows one-run lead in ninth, Reds lose to Pirates, 3-2
By HAL McCOY Major League Baseball, realizing the Cincinnati Reds-Pittsburgh Pirates history of beanball warfare, issued both teams a pre-game proclamation. No funny business. Or else. So there were no histrionics or extra-curricular activities Friday night in PNC Park. It was just good, old-fashioned baseballs, a rare pitcher’s duel. In the end though, Reds closer […]
Castillo not at his best, but good enough for 12th win
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer The Cincinnati Reds faced pitchers from all over the western hemisphere as the San Diego Padres used Wednesday as a bullpen game. The Padres ran out pitchers from North Dakota, Washington, Alabama, the Dominican Republic and Ohio. None was much effective as the Reds put together a 4-2 victory. San […]
Great American is no gray area for Sonny Gray
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — They say Great American Small Park gives pitchers migraine headaches and sleepless nights. They say smart pitchers fake sore arms and stiff necks when it is their turn to pitch in GASP. That wouldn’t include Cincinnati Reds pitcher Sonny Gray, who probably has a water-color ‘Home, Sweet Home’ sign hanging […]
Garrett returns, Reds now have one lefty in the bullpen
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — It was a ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ moment for Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett. His eight-day suspension is over and he was being welcomed back to the bullpen by his teammates before Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres. Garrett was suspended after he sprinted from the mound to in front […]
Another late rally by Reds falls a run short, 3-2
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — It was a game involving two teams with identical records — both the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds entered Monday’s game with 58-and-65 work sheets. There was one major difference. San Diego was 22 1/2 games out of first place and the Reds were 7 1/2 games out of […]
Aquino: ‘There is no rest for the un-weary’
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — It isn’t often a fresh-faced rookie is summoned from Triple-A in August and is placed immediately into the filet mignon portion of a major league team’s lineup. And it isn’t often that the rookie does so well that the manager can’t bring himself to give the kid a day off. […]
Man Cave: Some not-so-deep thinking stuff
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave while wondering when the Olympics is going to add speed texting as an event and please don’t tell me they already have. —I nearly did a back flip in my backyard when I saw Atlanta manager Brian Snitker remove superstar Ronald Acuna Jr., from a game […]
Another late Reds’ rally falls one-run short, 5-4
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — The temperature in Great American Ball Park Sunday afternoon was plus-90s with a heat index somewhat close to Dante’s Inferno. But St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty kept the Cincinnati Reds bats pretty much encased in Greenland-like ice. Only the heat could stop him, after five innings, and by that […]