CINCINNATI -- Sam LeCure popped off the mound, pounding his right fist into his glove. He had an excited step as he headed back to the Reds dugout after striking out Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez on a check swing to end the top of the tenth inning, stranding potential go-ahead runners at second and third bases in a 3-3 game.
Todd Frazier's two-out double into the left field corner in the bottom of the 10th off of Brewers reliever Tyler Thornburg scored Chris Heisey all the way from first base to give the Reds a 4-3 win, their third victory in four games against the team with Major League Baseball's best record. They trailed 3-1 in the fourth inning but rallied for just their fifth win in 14 one-run games.
October isn't gained in May but it sure can be lost in the first few weeks of the baseball season.
The Reds are still one game under .500 this season at 15-16. They haven't been on the plus side of the win-loss ledger all season but they can still see the Brewers without squinting.
"We wouldn't have made up any ground," said manager Bryan Price. "Eventually it's not going to be the early part of the season, and I think we all know that. We're going to get to June 1 and if I say hey it's still early well then you guys (media) are going to give me a kick in the ass. We can't say that for the entire season, so it was an important series in the sense that we gain no ground if we split."
"We need to send a message that we're in this thing to compete against the better teams, Milwaukee has gotten off to a nice start. We have to make sure that ourselves, we know, that this near .500 record isn't really what we're all about. We're certainly a much better team than that and weâre starting to show it."
Jay Bruce could be heading for surgery.
The NL Central produced three of the five playoff teams from last season. All three teams -- the Reds, St. Louis and Pittsburgh â are currently under .500 while the Brewers have started the first five weeks of the season 21-11. Milwaukee had won 11 of its first 13 road games this season until coming to Cincinnati.
"It's big to take three of four from anybody," said LeCure. "We had a tough first month but we kept afloat and we feel our best baseball is ahead of us. Our starting pitching has been unbelievable and that has set the tone for the whole deal. You feel you've got a good chance to win every single day with the guys we're running out there."
Reds pitching, beginning with starter Alfredo Simon, held Milwaukee without a hit for 17 batters following a solo home run by Kris Davis with one out in the fourth inning to put the Brewers up 3-1. Davis ended the streak with a double against LeCure leading off the 10th inning. LeCure lost a battle to Logan Schafer, walking him on a 3-2 pitch and bringing up the dangerous Gomez.
LeCure lost control of his first pitch, buzzing Gomez high and tight for a wild pitch that advanced the runners. Even though first base was open, Price and LeCure said there was no thought of intentionally walking Gomez.
"I'm not trying to shy away from anybody. If I can make several good pitches in a row, then I think I've got a good chance," said LeCure. "We were talking about it in the bullpen about not being on the bench and having an opportunity to pump the guys up. We were talking about our ability to change some momentum for us when come in and get a big out. Obviously I was pumped to get out it because that one run could've been the difference in the game."
"I wanted us to be pumped up for that inning and come out and put it on them. And the guys came through."
Heisey got on base with a two-out walk. He was playing because Jay Bruce had some soreness in his left knee that limited Bruce to a pinch-hitting role in the seventh inning.
As it turns out, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, Bruce will require surgery this week to repair a partially torn meniscus and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. It's not the first injury theyâve had to deal with this year and the loss of Bruce from the everyday lineup will hurt but it's not a season-ending catastrophe.
The Reds can sniff that .500 line. There are still five months to go before October. Nothing has been lost through these first five weeks.
