This One (Series) Belongs to the Reds

It’s an exciting week for baseball lovers and sports fans in general.

My wife asked me this week, “When are there no major sports?” as in “What days/weeks/months of the year are there no professional events?” I promptly responded, “The day before and after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.”

As many know, those lonely July days are the only two days every year there is no major professional sporting event.

For me and other baseball fans, particularly Cincinnati Reds followers, one of the most exciting days of the sports calendar, took place Monday -- Opening Day. It’s citywide holiday celebrating the town’s favorite team. It connects the city’s East and West sides, unites individuals divided by the UC-Xavier rivalry, and brings together both Bengals supporters and those spurned by the Bungles years.

However, the baseball season started on a sour note for MLB’s first professional franchise with a 3-1, 13-inning loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Monday’s Reds-Angels game marked the first interleague Opening Day matchup in MLB history. That’s a result of MLB’s new scheduling format.

With the move of the Houston Astros to the American League West Division, from the National League Central, there are finally 15 teams in each league. While it’s been some time since the Astros have been relevant, mathematically, that move favors the Reds. Instead of playing in baseball’s only six-team division, the Reds now each year have a one-in-five shot at the division title, theoretically.

This year’s Central race, though, figures, on paper, to be between Cincinnati and the St. Louis Cardinals, as has been the case for the past three years. Nonetheless, it would not surprise me to see the Milwaukee Brewers enter the race with a bit of overachieving.

After Monday’s Reds loss, it was a bit disheartening to start the season 0-1. It’s always good to build momentum from the start, especially when your schedule opens with the Angels and National League pennant favorite Washington Nationals. It was also disappointing to see the Reds waste Johnny Cueto’s superb starting effort, too.

The Reds rebounded to win the team’s opening series, though, with back-to-back wins against the Angels -- an early sign this team is focused on “unfinished business” as @DatDudeBP aka Brandon Phillips would say.

Phillips, admittedly my favorite current Reds player, contributed a big blast in the team’s 5-4 win on Wednesday with a three-run home run to give Cincinnati an early 3-0 advantage. It was the Reds’ first home run of the season and a no-doubt shot to left center field.

Cincinnati entered the bottom of the ninth inning knotted 4-4, until every Reds fans’ favorite Canadian (no not Justin Bieber) delivered the game-winning, walk-off single.

The Reds kept it going Thursday afternoon with another 5-4 win against the Angels. Shin-Soo Choo opened the game with a leadoff homer. Chris Heisy and the “Todd Father” Todd Frazier belted homers, too.

While offense typically takes center stage, especially the long ball, the Reds’ pitching really shined. Starters Cueto, Mat Latos and Bronson Arroyo each pitched strong, along with stellar performances by “The Cuban Missile” Aroldis Chapman. According to Elias, against the Angles, Reds pitchers recorded 33 strikeouts, a new club record for the first three games of season and a club interleague series record.

The feat was even more impressive considering the firepower within the Angels’ lineup: Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Mark Trumbo and more. Those are four potential AL All-Stars and it would be no surprise to any knowledgeable baseball fan if any one of those players finished the season as AL MVP. Kudos to the Reds pitchers for minimizing that lineup’s impact.

Will the Reds keep it going against the Nationals? We’ll see. Homer Bailey will look to keep the string of great starting pitching performances going, followed by Mike Leake. Cueto will finish the weekend series in a Sunday showdown with Stephen Strasburg for an early battle of NL Cy Young candidates.

What say you Reds fans? What’s impressed you most through three games? Seen enough to declare this is the year?

I’m not sold yet, but it’s sure looking good. Guess I’ll have to watch and analyze the next 159 to make my decision. Sorry honey. There will be a couple days off, though.