Going Out With a Bang

On Sunday, the 2014 Major League Baseball season officially came to an end for the Cincinnati Reds. Even though the second half of the season for the Redlegs was quite awful, the last two games of the season gave Reds Country something to celebrate.

On Saturday during the second game of the three game series with the Pirates, the Reds' bats awoke from their slumber. They got nine hits and were able to move runners across the plate. The Pirates were also swinging the lumber well and got eight hits off Reds pitching. After nine innings, the Reds and Pirates were in a 6-6 tie.

The Reds held the Pirates scoreless in the top of the 10th and were in prime position for a walk-off win after they loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning with only one out. However, Brayan Peña hit a popup for the second out of the inning, and it looked like the Reds would squander a golden opportunity.

Enter Ramon Santiago. All the Redlegs needed was a hit, and Santiago delivered in a huge way. He blasted the ball to the left field stands for a walk-off grand slam to give the Reds a 10-6 victory over the Pirates. You can see Santiago’s grand slam here.

Sunday was a different type of ballgame. Instead of both teams scoring runs at will, the game was deadlocked at a 1-1 tie. With a runner on third and one away in the bottom of the eighth inning, Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto hit a ground ball single up the middle of the field to score the go-ahead run. Kristopher Negron added some insurance runs with a 2 run homer before Chapman came in and slammed the door on the Pirates, giving Cueto his 20th win of the season. You can see Cueto’s rbi single here.

The Reds looked good during these two games, and the back-to-back wins over the Pirates this weekend helped cushion the blow of a losing season coming to an end. Even though the Reds are not going to be playing October baseball, the last images of the 2014 season definitely give Reds Country something to look forward to in 2015.

Go Redlegs!