In a 4-2 Reds loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, Bronson Arroyo had what amounted to a tuneup for his final regular-season game, throwing only 73 pitches over five innings before being pulled.
“We decided to take him out early before the game started,” said manager Dusty Baker, following his first game back after recovering from a mild stroke. “And we wanted to get some of our relievers a chance to pitch, which we did with [Alfredo] Simon and [J.J.] Hoover, who hadn’t pitched in a week. It was a matter of trying to win the game but trying to get your guys fresh at the same time.”
Not that Arroyo was thrilled about that, especially after he gave up three third-inning runs and six hits overall with one walk and six strikeouts.
“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t take the sting out of it,” Arroyo said. “We could be 160-0 and a loss is a loss is a loss. That sits on the back of my baseball card until the day I die.”
A Nationals loss to the Phillies kept them and the Reds even with matching 97-63 records and a tie for the No. 1 seed in the National League playoffs. Washington, which lost its game vs. the Phillies, still clinched the NL East when the Braves lost to the Pirates. Their magic number to claim the top seed over the Reds is two.
A Cincinnati loss coupled with a Washington win on Tuesday would leave the Reds with the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and playing the No. 3 seed Giants in the NL Division Series.
Arroyo, who finished the season 12-10 with a 3.74 ERA in 32 starts, eclipsed the 200-innings plateau for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, reaching 202 innings. He became the fourth Reds starter to reach 200 innings, something the team hasn’t done since 1943 and no one in baseball has achieved since the 2006 White Sox.
“It’s been a good year for that, just as a staff as a whole,” Arroyo said. “It’s been an exceptional year. I am happy to have gone that deep, especially pitching only 32 times this year. It was a pretty good accomplishment for me.”
What he missed out on was a 13th victory, which would have given the club at least four 13-game winners.
That die was cast after St. Louis notched a three-run bottom of the third, sparked by Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia hitting a 1-0 breaking ball for a leadoff homer that landed just over the right-field wall near the foul pole. Garcia entered the night 4-for-4 lifetime vs. Arroyo.
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