Bluegrassrivals

Reds get 2 in the bottom of the 9th to win it

Jay Bruce went beast mode.

Easter dinnertime was fast approaching when Scott Rolen stepped to the plate late Sunday afternoon. Thanks to Rolen, Reds fans were able to enjoy both a warm and happy feast.

Pinch hitter Rolen hit a walk-off RBI infield single off of Miami closer Heath Bell to give the Reds a 6-5 win before 23,539 spectators at sunny Great American Ball Park.

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With runners at first and third and one out, Rolen smoked a groundball to the right of Marlins third baseman Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez went to his knees behind third base and stopped the ball, but he could not make a throw home as speedy Drew Stubbs scored from third base.

Reds teammates raced out to mob Rolen behind first base, and Rolen briefly feared he would take a good-natured pounding. Rolen has had four career shoulder surgeries, and he told reporters he also has had four concussions.

“Somebody hit me pretty good,” Rolen said, deadpan per usual. “I think (Mat) Latos got me pretty good. Nobody touches any part of my body.”

Jay Bruce tied it 5-5 for the Reds in the ninth, when he started the inning with a solo homer to center off of Bell. The homer, which just cleared the wall, was Bruce's second of the day and third this season.

“That's the huge hit, right there,” Rolen said.

Of his ninth-inning homer, Bruce said:

“I got a pitch I could handle and I put a good swing on it. It was a fastball, middle away. I have an approach that I've really worked on, and that kind of fell into place for me.”

One-out singles by Stubbs and Ryan Hanigan then set up Rolen's clincher, with Hanigan's opposite-field single having sent Stubbs to third base.

Aroldis Chapman (1-0) won it with two scoreless innings of relief. Chapman struck out three and his fastball reached 100 mph several times.

Reds manager Dusty Baker watched the Reds build an early 3-0 lead, lose it, then rally against three-time All-Star Bell.

“That guy, he's one of the best,” Baker said. “If you're gonna win you're gonna have to beat the best sometimes.”

The 37-year-old Rolen, the Reds' regular third baseman, had been enjoying his first scheduled day off this season.

“Scottie knows what to do,” Baker said. “He knows I might use him in that situation.”

Someone asked Rolen about coming in “cold” in the ninth inning.

“Everybody says cold,” Rolen said. “As soon as you realize you're in the game, your blood pressure goes through the roof. You get circulation a hurry.”

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo was staked to the 3-0 lead but Miami chipped away. After Bruce's first homer put the Reds up 4-2 in the sixth, Miami got to Arroyo in the seventh to take a 5-4 lead. Arroyo began the inning by hitting Greg Dobbs with a pitch.

“Team-wise it was great today,” Arroyo said. “You'll take wins all day long. Myself, other than the seventh inning I was happy with the way it went. I commanded every pitch and kept my pitch count down. Sometimes you open up a can of worms. I hit Dobbs, and sometimes you can't get the lid back on that thing.”

Logan Ondrusek (two-thirds of an inning) and Chapman kept Miami at bay thereafter.

Rolen's hit gave the Reds a 2-1 series win over Miami in Cincinnati's season-opening series.

Rolen is now 8-for-18 lifetime (.444) as a pinch hitter, with four homers and eight RBI.

“It's not easy,” Rolen said. “The guys that do it, (Miguel) Cairo and everybody, they're great at it. I'm not sure that's my job.”

Cincinnati went ahead 3-0 in the first inning against Carlos Zambrano, the former Cubs right-hander.

Brandon Phillips led off with a single, then Zack Cozart plated Phillips with a double to deep left center. Joey Votto and Ryan Ludwick both walked to load the bases. Bruce scored Cozart with a fielder's choice grounder to make it 2-0. Cairo then hit an RBI grounder to make it 3-0.

“I figured we'd score again at some point,” Baker said. “Rarely do you just score in one inning early and then not score more. I wish we hadn't waited until the ninth, but I guess it's better then than never.”http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...|text|Reds

[Image: bilde?Site=AB&Date=20120408&Category=SPT...arlins-6-5]

The Reds' Brandon Phillips gets his 1,000th career hit, in the second inning of Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Bruce with a ROPE in the 9th!!!