Cincinnati Reds

Roy tossed fpur innings in his last start before the season opener (woohoo!) and Chris Johnson isn’t going out without a fight…even though, in reality, he doesn’t have a chance.

'Stros at the Plate

“Michael Bourn led off the third with a double, stole third and scored on a base hit by Kazuo Matsui. Darin Erstad knocked a solo homer in the sixth. Chris Johnson drove in a run with a triple in the seventh and scored on a Reggie Abercrombie sacrifice fly.”

Astros 7, Reds 2

The Cincinnati Reds lose again, dropping four straight games heading into their final game tomorrow.

Reds pitcher Homer Bailey looked very impressive, as he pitched six innings of four hit ball with two earned. Bailey had eight K's to only one walk.

Mike Lincoln came in the seventh inning and gave up two runs on two hits.

Tom Browning, one of only 17 major-league pitchers to throw an official perfect game, was arrested on Friday and was being held on $99,008.36 bail, a figure equal to the amount he owes. He was still in jail as of Monday night, according to media reports.

In 12 years in the majors, Browning went 123-90 with a 3.94 ERA. He threw his perfect game on Sept. 16, 1988, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 in Cincinnati.

Micah Owings was on the mound as he pitched his last game to audition for the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation. Owings pitched into the sixth, but was pulled out with the bases loaded. He gave up four runs (one earned), five K's, three walks, and six hits. A Jay Bruce three-run error in the fourth with two outs buried the Reds' hopes for good.

Nick Masset pitched up and down in two innings of work.

The Reds made three more roster moves today, cutting outfielders Jacque Jones and Norris Hopper and young pitcher Daryl Thompson. They were all re-assigned to Class AAA Louisville.

Jones was by far the biggest name on the list, as he was previously a leading candidate for playing time in the outfield. But he batted very poorly (a lousy .089 in 45 at-bats) this spring.

For the first time in many seasons, the Reds have a very solid and deep pitching staff to excite the fan base.

Most of the baseball world forgets that Cincinnati received Daniel Ray Herrera with Edinson Volquez in the Josh Hamilton trade before last season. As it happened, Herrera was actually the deciding factor in the deal with the Texas Rangers.

The Reds' only All-Star representative, Edinson Volquez, dominated once again as he helped Cincinnati beat the American League Champion Rays

Volquez pitched five innings and gave up his first run of the spring, but only let up one earned run while striking out three, walking four and allowing only four hits. Volquez has very low ERA of 0.47 and his record is 2-0 for the spring.

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Xavier Nady RF
Cody Ransom 3B
Brett Gardner CF

The Cincinnati Reds will make the greatest improvement this year. I have a feeling they will finish above .500 after a 74-88 record last year. They will do so well that they will contend for the NL Central division crown and an NL Wildcard berth but will fall short in both.