The Honorary Star of the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Game
When Mike Moustakas signed his 4-year, $ 64 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds this winter, it was the largest free-agent contract the club had awarded. It was a much-needed inking for an impact player, but it was immediately going to be an interesting option as a 31-year-old who had never spent much time in the position, 2B, where he was going to be deployed.
Well, a game is certainly not a big enough sample, but it was Moose’s perfect debut.
He showed off an impressive glove multiple times on defense, hit a giant diner and drove a total of 4 runs as part of his 3-hit day against the Detroit Tigers. And on a day when many of the Reds’ recent moves were showcased in a positive light, their exploits clearly roared louder.
Welcome to the Reds, Moose. Keep right on crush.
The honorable mentions are due to: Sonny Gray, who achieved his 1,000th strikeout in his career as part of a very solid day (6 IP, 3H, ER, 2 BB, 9K); Joey Votto, who attacked a diner, hit a single, scored twice, and did all his damage against an LHP; Nick Castellanos, whose debut was just as fun (a double, a run scored, a walk, ribbie and HBP); Curt Casali, who released and walked twice; Nate Jones, who shot a clean inning on his debut with the Reds; and Shogo Akiyama, who became a pinch hitter, leading a run in his first MLB PA career.
Key games
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David Bell and the Reds’ office couldn’t have asked for a better start to play. Phil Ervin walked to lead the bottom of the first against left-hander Matthew Boyd, and Votto followed with a single on RF. Boyd then hit Suarez and Castellanos with last-minute shots, and the Reds had their first streak of the year. Moustakas then followed up with a single RF bloop to defeat Votto, and the Reds held a 2-0 lead, one that probably should have been a bit bigger if they hadn’t hit three balls in a row, none of which came out of the picture.
- The long game continued to seem perfectly planned at the bottom of the 3rd, when Castellanos hit a laser into the LF gap for his first double as Red, and scored a later hitter on a strong single at almost the same spot as Moustakas. Reds led, 3-0.
- CJ Cron finally got the Tigers on the board at the top of the 4th, turning a gray meatball around for a very, very long solo blast on the LF wall. Red LEDs, 3-1.
- Votto snatched the reverb from that home run and made it one of his own in the bottom of the 5th, lighting up a Boyd fastball for a solo blast on the RF seats. Red LEDs, 4-1.
- A single by Freddy Galvis and a walk by Casali made the blood pump at the bottom of the 6th, and Shogo’s 2-hit single in the middle scored Freddy to extend the Reds’ lead to 5-1.
- The Moose blast occurred in the bottom of the seventh and scored Travis Jankowski, who had come running for Castellanos after the latter forced him to walk. The moose drove him crazy, too, a 421-foot bomb in the heart of the RF seats. The reds led, 7-1, which is precisely how this ended.
Tony Graphanino
Other Notes
- This game marked the lowest attendance in the Reds’ opening day history. And we thought spending cash on free agency would put cigarette butts in the seats …
- Speaking of which, the United States of A saw nearly 80,000 new positive tests across the country on Friday. Wear a damn mask, folks.
- When Akiyama punctured the bottom of the sixth to officially debut with the Reds, he became the first Japanese-born player to put on the Reds’ uniform in a major league game. Hell yes. He also contributed an impressive play in LF, too.
- We’re sorry we ever doubted you, Joey. I will not let that happen again.
- Saturday’s match between these two will also be a matter early in the evening, as the first launch is scheduled for 5:10 PM ET. Right-handed veteran Ivan Nova will face Detroit, while Luis Castillo will make his first statement of the year as a Cincinnati starter.
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Melodies
