On the eve of another end-of-summer showdown against the Cardinals with playoff implications, one wonders which Reds team will show up at Busch Stadium.
Will it be the bunch that went on a tear by winning eight of nine after being roughed up by the Cardinals the last time at Great American Ball Park? Or will it be the group that was silenced by a sub.-500 Brewers club in a 3-1 defeat in Cincinnati on Sunday?
“We were playing well coming into this,” Reds shortstop Zack Cozart said after the Reds dropped two of three to the Brewers. “We beat a good Diamondbacks team three out of four. I thought we were starting to turn the corner. It’s two out of three. The Brewers aren’t having a great year, but are still a tough team to play. We still control our own destiny. We play the Cardinals a lot. We play Pittsburgh at the end of the year. We’ve just got to right the ship.”
Brewers starter Marco Estrada entered with a 4.80 ERA on the season and a 4.24 ERA in eight previous appearances — including four starts — vs. the Reds. On Sunday, he worked a one-hitter over seven scoreless innings. Estrada had only three baserunners all afternoon.
Cincinnati put a promising first inning together against Estrada, only to see it come apart on a baserunning miscue. Shin-Soo Choo led off with a single to right field and notched career stolen base No. 100 when he swiped second with Joey Votto batting and one out. Choo then stole third base as Votto walked, and the ball rolled away as Choo slid feet-first and no one retrieved it. Votto alertly took second base standing on the play.
Brandon Phillips followed with a flyout to center field. Choo feigned tagging up and was headed back to third base when Carlos Gomez’s throw overshot catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Estrada backed up on the play and tossed to the plate as Choo bolted for home. Choo did not slide or initiate contact with Lucroy and was tagged out to end the inning.
“We knew the guy has an outstanding arm out there,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “It looks bad, because the ball got away from him. The ball hopped right back to the pitcher. I was surprised, because usually it caroms one way or the other. [Estrada] was in proper position.”
From that point, Estrada cruised as he retired 15 batters in a row, including a stretch of six straight strikeouts, until Choo drew a four-pitch walk with two outs in the sixth.
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