Reds Defend Cup

With an 8-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field in Cleveland, the Cincinnati Reds were able to claim their second straight Ohio Cup, and more importantly, take four of six games from the Indians.

After losing game one to the Tribe on Friday night, the Redlegs were able to take the final two games in the series culminating in the win Sunday afternoon. The return of Joey Votto to the lineup had a positive impact on the team as Red's hitters torched Indian's pitching for eight runs on fifteen hits. It was a sign of life for a offense that has been struggling as of late.

Brandon Phillips did work against his former team, going 3-5 with three runs and three RBI.

Hernandez and Taveras also both went 3-5 with Hernandez adding three RBI of his own. Micah Owings improved to 5-8 with the win, pitching six innings and allowing one earned run while David Huff was credited with the loss for the Tribe, going five innings allowing six earned runs.

Since the reinstatement of the Ohio Cup in 2008, the Reds have gone 9-3 against the Indians, claiming the cup both years. With the win, the Reds were able to push their all-time record against Cleveland to 31-32 and ran their all-time interleague record to 83-104.

In other news, the Indians traded away third baseman Mark DeRossa to St. Louis in exchange for right-handed reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later. Perez, who will turn 24 on Jult 1st, is 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA and one save in 29 appearances with the Cardinals.

The Battle for Ohio

This weekend kicks off the first interleague games of the year in major league baseball, and as every year since 1997, the Reds and the Indians will face off head to head in what is commonly known as "the battle for Ohio", or "the buckeye series". This year, the teams will play six games, three in Cincinnati and three in Cleveland as they have since 1999. This also marks the second year that the in-state rivals will play for the Ohio Cup, a trophy given to the winner of the series. As they did last year, the teams will begin with a three game set in Cincinnati.

The Indians lead the all-time series 30-27, but lost 5 of 6 to the Reds in 2008. The Reds are 77 and 95 all time in interleague play while the Indians are 108 and 103. Although the National League used to dominate, the American League has had the upper hand winning each of the previous five years and taking the all-time interleague lead 1,536 to 1,420. The New York Yankees and the Oakland A's are tied for the lead in all-time interleague wins with 123 a piece.

Starting in 1989, the teams played an exhibition game in Cooper Stadium dubbed as The Ohio Cup, but stopped in 1997 when interleague play began. The teams have never met in the world series, and until 1989, they had never even qualified for the playoffs in the same year.

So far this season, the Redlegs have compiled a 21-19 record while the Indians are a meager 16-26 though the first 42 games. The pitching matchup for the series is as follows:

Friday: Reyes (1-1) vs Arroyo (5-3), Saturday: Huff (0-1) vs Cueto (4-2), Sunday: Lee (2-5) vs Bailey (0-0)

Regardless of Records, this series is sure to pack a lot of excitement, and draw in many fans. Enjoy!

-T17M