Johnny "Rotten" Cueto started Tuesday's game for the Reds and walked away with the finest performance of his young career under his belt. Striking out eight batters and walking none, Cueto pitched a complete game shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates allowing only one hit on 102 pitches. Ronny Cedeno acquired the sole Bucco hit in the third inning and reached base once again after being plunked by Cueto in the sixth. Cedeno was the only Pirate to reach base. The last Reds' pitcher to throw a complete-game one-hitter was John Smiley on September 22, 1996. Ramon Hernandez caught Cueto's gem and had this to say:
"He was very strong with the fastball. His problem’s been he’s had a long pitch count in the fifth. That’s normally his problem. One of the ways you get out of that is to call a lot of fastballs and don’t move too much around home plate. We got ahead with that and got quick outs."
If it weren't for Cueto's dominance, most of Tuesday's headlines would be bearing the name of Chris "Vicious" Heisey. After a dismal 0-5 debut against the New York Mets on May 3rd, Heisey went 3-4 on Tuesday notching his first major league hit and homerun. Heisey led off the game with a single down the third base line and crushed a two run shot off Jeff Karstens in the eighth inning. The Reds beat the Pirates 9-0.
Reds' top prospect Juan Francisco was rushed to the hospital prior to Tuesday's game in Louisville. Francisco had emergency appendectomy surgery and is expected to miss four to six weeks. After a rough start to the season, Francisco hit .627 with three home runs and fourteen RBI in his last seven games with the Bats.
After being swept by Pittsburg last time they visited, the Reds will attempt redemption on Wednesday. Homer Bailey (0-2, 7.24) will face Zach Duke (2-3, 5.13) at 12:35pm.
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