Brandon Phillips batted leadoff for the Reds' on Thursday for the old and tired Orlando Cabrera who was given the day off. Phillips has not hit first in the Reds' lineup since April 13, 2007 when Jerry Narron managed the team. Phillips extended his hitting streak to thirteen games on Thursday, going 4-5 with two RBI and two runs scored against the Giants.
“I don't need a day off, just don’t want one,” Phillips said. “I’m here to play. What if today is the last game I’ll ever play and I miss it."
During the last thirteen games, Brandon Phillips has hit .441 with 10 runs scored and 26 hits. Phillips has raised his season average to .301 and is the only Red to play in every game this season. Phillips is tied for second in hits (74) and tied for third in runs (44) in the National League. Gangster.
Mike "Godzilla" Leake pitched the worst game of his young career on Thursday against the Giants. Leake pitched only 4.1 innings and allowed five earned runs on eleven hits. Leake left the game down 5-4, but the Reds' offense and bullpen would not allow him to lose his first major league game.
“I think what was different about this game is they had a pretty good plan for me,” Leake said. “They punched me right off the bat, and I couldn’t react fast enough. Sometimes games are going to be like that. They didn’t square every ball up. But I made more mistakes than I wanted to.”
The Reds relief brigade of Del Rosario, Herrera, Masset, Rhodes, and Cordero pitched 4.2 innings of two-hit, one-run ball. Squirmy Nick Masset was the only reliever short of perfection.
After Nick Masset allowed a run during the seventh inning, the Giants were finished scoring for the night and led the Reds 6-4. After a Ramon Hernandez single and a Chris Heisey double during the bottom of the eighth, Brandon Phillips drove them both in with his first triple of the season, tying the game at six. Joey "Capone" Votto drove in Phillips with a single and the Reds beat the Giants 7-6 at Great American Ballpark.
"I tell ya' what it's all about is believing in ourselves," said Brandon Phillips. "We did that (today). The pitching staff did its job and we just believe. We just learn from our mistakes and keep rollin'. This was a great game and we really needed it. When you're winning, you become a different player and that's what Scott Rolen has been talking about. When you start winning, you're going to see what type of player you really are. And hey, it's a lot of fun."
Arthur Rhodes extended his scoreless appearance streak to 27 outings. Rhodes' five outs on Thursday were the most he's recorded since May 1, 2008. Francisco Cordero pitched the only Reds' 1-2-3 inning during the ninth and notched his seventeenth save (tied for 2nd in the NL) of the season.
The Reds are now 1 1/2 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.
"I'm doing a lot of hoping and praying and finger-crossing and stuff like that," said Reds' manager Dusty Baker. " I just hope everybody keeps believing - including the fans and everybody out there. When everybody believes, from the front office to the administrative assistants to the ground crew to everybody and just thinks positive, good things will happen."
Bronson Arroyo (5-3, 4.65) will face Luke Hochevar (5-4, 4.74) and the Kansas City Royals (25-36) at 7:10pm on Friday at GABP.
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