Romano residing in School of Hard Knocks
By HAL McCOY Sal Romano’s School of Hard Knocks pitching education continued Sunday afternoon and it was another C-minus. Romano dug his Cincinnati Reds teammates a three-run hole in the first inning and they couldn’t recover and lost, 7-4, to the Milwaukee Brewers. It was their fifth loss in six games in Miller Park this […]
Reds hang on after nearly blowing eight-run lead
By HAL McCOY A couple of starts ago, when the Reds whipped the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-1, the media approached starting pitcher Homer Bailey after the game and he said, “Go talk to the offense. They did it all tonight.” Bailey could have used that refrain again Friday night in Milwaukee when the Cincinnati Reds nipped […]
Wojo, ‘Irregulars’ pound Padres, 8-3.
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — It was 2000 and Cincinnati Reds manager Bob Boone posted a lineup full of utility players, the bench brigade, for an early-season game. That night’s starting pitcher, Pete Harnisch, glanced at the lineup card and shouted in his New York accent, “Hey, Skippah, are we tryin’ tonight?” That could have […]
Reds lose but Hamilton makes catch for the ages
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — Luis Perdomo carries the surname of a famous cigar rolled in his native Dominican Republic, but the Cincinnati Reds couldn’t light him up Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park. In fact, Perdomo and the San Diego Padres smoked the Reds, 7-3. For the Reds, though, it was a night […]
Professor Votto talks the talk, walks the walk
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — All this game meant was that the Cincinnati Reds and San Padres could rip another game off the calendar. With neither team going anywhere in October except fishing, golfing, hunting or to stay home and watch Naked & Afraid, the rest of the 2017 baseball season will be used for […]
Reds can’t capitalize on Wainwright’s wanderings
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — There are bizarre baseball games and then there are baseball games that are exceptionally bizarre. Mark down Sunday afternoon’s 13-4 St. Louis Cardinals smokefest over the Cincinnati Reds under the exceptionally bizarre category. Has there ever been a game where a pitcher took 39 pitches to get his first out […]
Castillo takes short step back (it is expected)
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — Growing pains continue to plague the long gray line of young Cincinnati Reds pitching prospects. Just when one steps up, like Amir Garrett, he takes a quick retreat. Just when it looked as if Luis Castillo crossed the line into a confident and capable major league pitcher, he retreated a […]
Wojciechowski wows the Cardinals during 3-2 win
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — The St. Louis Cardinals could neither pronounce Asher Wojciechowski’s name nor swallow his three-pitch mix. The Cardinals can be helped on the pronunciation: Woe-jah-chow-ski. They are on their own with the hitting department and they didn’t master it Friday night in Great American Ball Park. Wojciechowski, a late-date replacement for […]
Pirates’ Kuhl cools off the Reds, 6-0
By HAL McCOY The Pittsburgh Pirates wore their camouflage uniform tops Thursday night, perhaps hoping the Cincinnati Reds wouldn’t see them. After all, the Reds won eight of the first nine games played this season between the two bottom feeders of the National League Central. For sure, the Reds couldn’t see Pirates starter Chad Kuhl […]