Cincinnati Reds defeat Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 – MLB Update
Cincinnati Reds avoided a sweep in the three-game series as they beat Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 at Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati on Sunday, June 19.
Bronson Arroyo remained unbeatable as he put in a good performance to end the embarrassing losses in three starts.
"It feels good," Arroyo said. "They've been beating me around pretty good, but that's a totally different lineup." It could not have come at an appropriate time than this as Cincinnati Reds won their first game, as his rival Carlos Villanueva lost for the
first time since August 2009.
It was Miguel Cairo who had the strong hit against Villanueva to win the game. "It was supposed to go away there," Villanueva said. "If I get it in the away lane, he's not going to hit a home run to the opposite field. We had the right idea, it was just
a little bit of a mistake."
Arroyo commenced the game with a scoreless and one-hit inning followed by Carlos Villanueva’s one-hit inning, not allowing any Reds’ player to go for any hit. The two starters remained unplayable until the fifth inning when Aaron Hill scored the first run.
Bronson was in his fifth inning, when Hill homered to left to score the first run for the Blue Jays, sparking fear in the Reds’ camp that Toronto were going to rout another victory.
Arroyo gave up a total of three hits in the inning and allowed a run that compounded the Reds woes, having already lost two of the previous games. Villanueva maintained his dominance on the game.
Nevertheless, the sixth inning proved to be a game-turner as Villanueva came out to pitch with his team having a 1-0 lead. Having already given up two hits in the inning, Villanueva was subject to a massive hit.
Miguel Cairo homered to left, allowing Joey Votto to score a two-run homer to not only reverse the Blue Jays’ dominance but also secure a 2-1 lead for the struggling Reds. Cairo’s hit inspired new hope in the camp.
"I told the guys on the bench, 'That's a game-saver right there," manager Dusty Baker said. Once the Reds came to lead the game, Arroyo pitched a strong seventh and eighth inning to compensate for his less than satisfactory performances in the previous games.
Francisco Cordero replaced Arroyo in the ninth inning and did not commit any mistake to allow the Blue Jays to stage a come-back in the game. Cordero pitched a shut-out ninth inning to seal the Reds’ 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Cincinnati put
in a good performance to overpower the Blue Jays and take a much needed victory. The Blue Jays fought hard, but it was not enough to scrape a win out of the game.
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