Cincinnati Reds: Regular season results – MLB September 2011
Ending the month of August 2011 with poor 67-69 win-loss record, things were not looking very bright for Cincinnati Reds. Dusty Baker was very disappointed with the way his players had performed throughout the regular season. There was certainly a big room
for improvement and the manager was hoping to end the season with some strong performances. However, that did not turn out to be the case as the Reds managed to win only three series during September 2011.
Losing 4-0 to Philadelphia Phillies, the Reds were certainly feeling the heat. Dusty Baker and his men aimed to improve their game play in their next series to give their fans something to cheer about. In a three match series against St. Louis Cardinals,
the Reds showed great determination and fighting abilities to win a thrilling opener.
Juan Francisco was absolutely superb with the bat as he hit a three run home-run and drove in five runs to lift the Reds to a much needed 11-8 victory.
"It was an important home run, but Todd's was, too, and so was Francisco's," Alonso said. "They all came at good times.”
However, the Reds lost their way a bit in the following game. Despite putting up a brilliant fight, NL Central team failed to cross the finish line and the Cardinals battled back to level the series. Looking for their first series victory of the month, the
Cardinals looked in supreme form in third and final game. Making the most of available opportunities, the Reds clinched a narrow 3-2 win to end their long losing streak.
Rookie Juan Francisco, once again, was the star of the show as he capped a career best four hit day with the go ahead single in tenth inning to take his team to glory. The Reds now required a series sweep against Milwaukee Brewers to keep their hopes alive.
"If we had been able to win at least two out of three here it would have been a lot more compelling, I guess," Lance Berkman said. "If we can sweep them again, we can put ourselves at least within the realm of possibility, I guess you could say."
In their next three match series against Chicago Cubs, the Reds struggled to find their form and they lost two out of three games to suffer their first defeat of the month. Their poor form continued throughout the month of September and they lost series
to Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates, which damaged their win-loss record to an embarrassing 76-82. Ending the season with a victory over New York Mets, the Reds finally managed to restore some of their lost pride.
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