Stephenson strikes out first six Pirates
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — Robert Stephenson was, well, absolutely poetic Friday night in Great American Ball Park. That, though, wasn’t the poet who wrote, ‘Hail, Guest, and Enter Freely’ on the Great American Ball Park mound. This Robert Stephenson was the rookie Cincinnati Reds pitcher and he certainly wasn’t hailing the Pittsburgh Pirates and […]
Romano, Peraza put the hurt on Cubs, 4-2
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — For seven innings Thursday night, it looked as if the Cincinnati Reds were stuffed and mounted. Jake Arrieta, Brian Duensing and Carl Edwards Jr. had the Reds hog-tied, holding them to one run and four hits. Then Pedro Strop happened. Usually when Strop shows up, the Reds fold up. But […]
Walks, homers are big enemies to the Reds
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — Home runs and walks. Walks and home runs. Cincinnati Reds pitchers give away both like Halloween candy and it has been a season-long epidemic. And they way some of them have pitched they probably wish they could wear Halloween costumes to the mound. It is, of course, a recipe for […]
Reds can’t protect two three-run leads
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — If the Cincinnati Reds can’t protect a 9-0 lead against the Chicago Cubs, how in the name of Eppa Rixey can they be expected to guard a couple of three-run leads. Well, they didn’t on a long and miserable Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park. After twice leading by […]
Reds can’t score against 1-and-7 pitcher
By HAL McCOY On paper, the baseball game Sunday afternoon in Sun Trust Park should have been a pleasure cruise for the Cincinnati Reds. Baseball, though, is not played on paper, it is played on God’s green grass by human beings and anything can happen. The Atlanta Braves sent left hander Sean Newcomb to the […]
Reds rebuild has more questions than answers
By HAL McCOY As the rebuild continues and the season has less than a month-and-a-half to go, the Cincinnati Reds still have more questions than Alex Trebec asks on Jeopardy. And most of them are really tough decisions, some of them evident Saturday nigh when the Reds narrowly escaped the Atlanta Braves, 11-8, after leading […]
Romano rolls over Braves in 5-3 win
By HAL McCOY You can strikeout Joey Votto once. And you can strikeout Joey Votto twice. But more sooner than later, he is going to get you. Atlanta Braves knuckleballer R. A. Dickey discovered that Friday night in sparkling and shiny new Sun Trust Park. The Cincinnati Reds, behind nearly untouchable pitching by rookie Sal […]
Reds blow 9-run lead, still win, 13-10
By HAL McCOY The Cincinnati Reds scored nine runs in the second inning Thursday afternoon in Wrigley Field, their biggest inning of the season. They led the Chicago Cubs, 9-0. In baseball vernacular, the game should have been a laugher, an easy win during which everybody but the Cubs have fun. It nearly turned into […]
Reds lose another on walk-off wild pitch
By HAL McCOY The Cincinnati Reds scratched, clawed and gouged at the Chicago Cubs Wednesday night. In the end, they lost it, unbelievably, on a walk-off wild pitch by Blake Wood in the bottom of the ninth inning, 7-6. Wood had two outs with runners on third and second. But his first pitch to Kris […]