Reds beat Mets with help of controversial call
The Cincinnati Reds scored a victory in their first game of a three-game away series at Citi Field, defeating the New York Mets 8-6.
Mike Pelfrey (10-3), gave up just his third loss on the season after a brutal fifth innings in which he let in six runs, conceding nine hits, four walks and only managing to strike out one Reds batter.
Travis Wood started the game for the Reds but did not pick up the victory, that instead going to reliever Jordan Smith (2-1), who recorded seven outs and gave up just a run. Wood had been bumped up early to replace Aaron Harang. Because the Reds are in the middle of an 11-game, 11-day road trip he didn’t have much rest between games and so was only kept in for just under five innings, conceding three earned runs and give overall.
Game Breakdown
It was in the fifth innings that the Reds did damage. Brandon Phillips singled, and advanced to third when Orlando Cabrera singled up the centre. After Joey Votto was walked to load the bases, Scott Rolen faced a 2-2 count, and after a high inside pitch, began moving to first base as if he’d been hit by the pitch, which the home plate umpire had not originally called. Eventually the umpires held a conference and determined that he had indeed been hit, overturning the original call and sending in a run.
"I saw the replay...There is no way it hit his forearm. I don't even think it was close. It was a tough call," Pelfrey said. The call made Mets manager Jerry Manuel furious, to the point he was ejected from the game arguing the call.
After the game, the third-base umpire and crew chief Dale Scott explained the decision to award Rolen first base.
“We got together and all talked about what we saw, and as a crew we felt it hit Rolen and wasn’t a swing,” said Scott. “The easy call would be to keep it the same. We’re not looking to make the easy call; we’re looking to get it right.”
Pelfrey managed to record the next two outs, but then suffered a single, a double and then a triple as the Reds found their clutch bats, and chased Pelfrey from the game with a 7-1 lead. The Mets would come within one run with a rally of their own in the bottom of the innings, but Joey Votto hit his second home run of the night in the sixth innings to put the Reds up 8-6, and pitchers on both sides shut the other side down for the remaining frames.
Mets bats still looking good
The loss for Pelfrey is one of his worst starts of the season, as he rarely lets in that amount of runs for the opposing team. What the Mets did have last night was good resilience and run support, and they managed to continue a streak of scoring in the first innings of each of the past seven games. Angel Pagan, Ruben Tejada and David Wright have all been clicking in the 1-2-3 spot early on in games, meaning that if they can get strong pitching and defence to protect a lead, they’ll be able to win some games.
They’ll want to do that Tuesday night as they’ll get services of Johan Santana on the mound. Santana is only 5-5 despite throwing for a solid 3.41 earned run average thus far this season. Additionally, because of the injuries to the Reds’ bullpen, it’s unclear who they’ll start, but they may be under rested or have tired arms, giving the Mets a great chance to steal a game back and even the series at home.
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