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Don't expect the Jays to go hitless for seven innings tonight. Cincinnati righty John Riedling, in three previous starts (and seven relief appearances) in the Great American Bandbox, has held opponents to a .325 AVG, walking 11 and striking out 8 en route to a 6.75 ERA. A fired-up group of Blue Jays, still annoyed at being victimized by an inept umpiring crew last night, will be ready to take advantage of his generosity. It's the regular cast for Toronto, except for very capable subs Reed Johnson and Dave Berg.

Roy Halladay gets to play stopper, and with a W beside his name in his last seven starts, I like his chances. Ken Griffey Jr. and F-Lop are not in the Reds lineup, and Adam "All or Nothing" Dunn is the unconventional leadoff man, with a .205 AVG, .318 OBP and more homers than singles -- a #6 profile if you ask me, which Bob Boone rarely does.

Our Advance Scout ran into some technical difficulties today, but Mike D. will fill you in on the Ohio perspective tomorrow. Spot starter Davis faces Dempster Saturday night, and Escobar takes on Haynes in the Sunday matinee. I correctly predicted 50+ runs in the Jays-Rangers series a while back, but I'll put the over-under at a mere 42 this weekend, because I expect Doc and Kelvim to keep the Reds somewhat under control. It's a good chance for the Jays to forget the St. Louis nightmare before returning home.
Game 62: Look Out, Reds! | 8 comments | Create New Account
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Mike D - Friday, June 06 2003 @ 06:50 PM EDT (#100664) #
A few teasers from tomorrow's Advance Scout:

* Felipe Lopez is 0 for his last 20, and has lost his starting spot. Father Bob couldn't convince son Aaron to play second, but Aaron did agree to play short, with Ray Olmedo at second and Russell Branyan at third. The Cincinnati media has even speculated that Felipe could get sent down to Louisville when Ryan Dempster comes off the DL tomorrow.

* Great American Bandbox is right! How does 93 home runs in 31 games (an even 3.0 per game) grab you?

* Coach, you're preaching to the choir on Adam Dunn. First, the push factors for moving him down. Forget the perception of Dunn's skill set, look at reality: 205/318 sucks for a leadoff man. 29 walks aren't exactly Bondsian, and of all Reds with 100+ AB, Dunn ranks a mere sixth in OBP -- just barely ahead of Felipe Lopez.

Next, the pull factors: Dunn is 8-for-his-last-64 (.125). Still, even in that prolonged, protracted slump, he's got with *six* home runs in that span! Given his prodigious power, he's just got to hit behind batters more likely to get on base than...the, uh, pitcher.
_Donkit R.K. - Friday, June 06 2003 @ 08:19 PM EDT (#100665) #
Adam Dunn hit his first career leadoff homerun (and his 19th on the season....I think it's safe to say, "The Kid Has Some Pop") to make the score 2-1. And, of course, the Doc's long ball problems continue.
Coach - Friday, June 06 2003 @ 08:30 PM EDT (#100666) #
Boy, to think all J.P. could get for a guy with tools like F-Lop was Jason Arnold and John-Ford Griffin.

As advertised, Riedling isn't very good, is he? Even Halladay can hit him, and he walked Wells to load the bases for Delgado. Then he fell behind 2-0 and grooved up a grand salami to Carlos. 6-1, and the Reds are hoping it rains.
Dave Till - Friday, June 06 2003 @ 08:39 PM EDT (#100667) #
I'm surprised that the Reds aren't trying to stall to get the game washed out.
Coach - Friday, June 06 2003 @ 08:54 PM EDT (#100668) #
If you're in Ontario and a Rogers customer, you can check out the Syracuse game against Ottawa on Cable 10. Corey Thurman was cruising along with a 7-2 lead -- his only real mistake turned into a Jack Cust 2-run blast -- but he tired noticeably in the fifth, falling behind hitters, and the Lynx scored again. Jordan is at the game, and no doubt will provide a more thorough scouting report, but on TV it appears that Thurman has good late downward movement on his fastball, and that excellent changeup is still fooling people. He's not throwing many breaking pitches, which he'll need if he's going to be a starter in the Show. That's why there's no rush to promote him; Corey needs to develop a third pitch, and just as importantly, the confidence to use it.

In Cincinnati, the rain keeps falling, and with Joey Hamilton the new pitcher, a cloudburst remains the Reds' best hope.
Coach - Friday, June 06 2003 @ 09:41 PM EDT (#100669) #
When will the owners' greed -- the only reason the abomination of interleague play continues -- be replaced by common sense? Doc, aboard on a fielder's choice, lumbered around third on what would have been a Catalanotto triple -- my heart was in my throat, fearing a collision at the plate. Butter threw up a late stop sign, and Cat barely scrambled back into second. That allowed Wells to blast a 420-foot frozen rope (Faulds called it a "fly ball to center") to make it 9-2. Doc then got three quick outs to make it an official game.

The potential of Halladay being hurt in a rare baserunning adventure isn't the only reason it's dangerous for AL pitchers to hit. In Milwaukee, Tim Wakefield couldn't get out of the way of a fastball down and in, and was carried off the field on a stretcher. Whatever pittance the Red Sox get in extra revenue from playing NL teams, they just lost many times over if the injury is as serious as it looked.
Coach - Friday, June 06 2003 @ 10:03 PM EDT (#100670) #
It's now pouring rain, and Halladay (who has won seven straight) is absolutely dominating with a 7-run lead, so what does Cerutti say? "This game is far from over."
robertdudek - Friday, June 06 2003 @ 10:23 PM EDT (#100671) #
Another Faulds gem: on the Reed Johnson lead off bunt single, Faulds intoned "in time" as Johnson beat the throw to the picther (which was dropped anyway).
Game 62: Look Out, Reds! | 8 comments | Create New Account
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