That's Baseball

One of the great things about baseball is the melding of the obvious and the settle in an intriguing drama in which the key to the action can be easily overlooked by the casual observer. Yestersday's Reds 1-0 victory over the Nationals was the type of game that separates the sports fan from the true baseball fan. 

What was obvious early on in this game was that both starting pitchers had brought their A Game to the ballpark, and runs were going to be very precious and hard to come by. By games end, starters Gio Gonzalez and Jonny Cuerto, along with three relievers combined to give up only eight hits while striking out 21 batter.

With this pitching dominance on display for everyone to see, it was two settle developments that turned the tide in favor of the Reds.

With no score in the bottom of the fifth, Reds left fielder Chris Heisey lashed a ground rule double into the left field corner to open the inning. Then in a curious move with lefthand hitting Skip Schumaker facing the lefty Gonzalez, manager Bryan Price elected to NOT have Shumaker attempt to bunt to advance Heisey to third with only one out. Instead, Shumaker hit a weak flyball to left for a very unproductive out.

But then on the second pitch to the next batter,  Brayan Pena, Heisey took off for third in a very crafty move. Heisey hadn't taken a particularly big lead, nor did anything about his body language or movement give any indication of his intent to swipe third.  But what he did take advantage of was the lack of peripheral vision a lefthander naturally has with his back toward a running leading off of second. Plus he took the calculated risk, undoubtedly back by scouting reports, that once Gonzalez refocused on home plate after craning his neck to get a glance at Heisey, that he would not take another peek.

With excellent anticipation, Heisey was able to get an early jump allowing him to steal third easily even with an accurate throw from catcher Wilson Ramos.  

Teams don't often bring the their infield in as early as the fifth inning of a tie game. But sensing (correctly in my view) that one run might be mighty big the way this game was unfolding, the Nationals infielders all positioned tight to the infield grass hoping to hold Heisey at third. But on the next pitch, a low, inside curveball, Pena was able to make solid contact with a sharp grounder wide of third. While likely playable for a harmless out if third baseman Anthony Rendon was positioned at normal depth, by playing in he couldn't range quickly enough to his left to get his glove on it.

So by taking advantage of a lefty's natural lack of peripheral vision with a runner on second and the split seconds lost in reaction time with the infield in, the Reds were able to produce the only run of the day in a wonderfully pitched game by both teams. 

On this day, if you come to the ballpark to see homeruns, you clearly left disappointed. And though even a true baseball fan might not want to see a whole bunch of these 1-0 games, for this one hot Cincinnati afternoon it was a beautiful thing.