NewsFrancisco takes little time to impress
Cincinnati (74-82) vs. St. Louis (90-66), 7:10 p.m. ET
By Michael Murphy / Special to MLB.com
09/27/09 7:50 PM ET
HOUSTON -- While it's been a disappointing season for the Reds, manager Dusty Baker has been using the final weeks of the season to take the measure of some of the organization's youngsters.And so far, Baker likes what he sees from Juan Francisco.
The third baseman was called up from Triple-A Louisville on Sept. 14, and Francisco has taken advantage of the opportunities he's been given. As the Reds head into St. Louis for a three-game series that starts Tuesday at Busch Stadium, Francisco has been a bright light.
The lefty is batting .444 (8-for-18), going 5-for-10 with three RBIs and two runs scored in the three-game series at Houston. Francisco got starts in the first two games of the series -- both wins -- while subbing for regular third baseman Scott Rolen, who had been dealing with a balky back.
"He's very aggressive as a hitter, and he hits the ball exceptionally hard," said Baker of Francisco. "He can get to balls that most guys won't even swing at. He kind of reminds me of Pablo Sandoval out in San Francisco, except that [Francisco] is not a switch-hitter.
"He has power to all fields and he works hard and he wants it very bad."
Francisco is known for his stroke, hitting 31 homers and driving in 93 runs while splitting time between Louisville and Double-A Carolina (131 total games) this season. In 2008, when he was at Class A Sarasota, Francisco was named the Reds' Minor League Hitter of the Year.
But in Sunday's game at Houston, Francisco, who sat for much of the game since the Astros were throwing lefty Wandy Rodriguez, came off the bench in the ninth inning and worked hard-throwing closer Jose Valverde for a walk to lead off the inning.
"He fought off some tough pitches," Baker said. "We're getting a pretty good look-see at a guy who's getting his first time in the big leagues. He's been impressive."
Some have opined that with Rolen at third, Francisco may move to left field, a position where the young slugger has dipped his toe in the water a couple of times at the Minor League level.
But when asked about the next step in Francisco's development, Baker had a simple answer.
"Just playing," Baker said. "We just want him to play. We want him to play winter ball, like he always does. He's very young and he's raw, so we need to polish up his game somewhat."
Pitching matchupCIN: RHP Homer Bailey (6-5, 5.02 ERA)
Bailey didn't have his best stuff in a 12-2 win over the Pirates on Wednesday, but he was more than good enough to work six quality innings. He allowed four hits and three walks. Lacking a putaway pitch, he did not strike anyone out. Because he lacked zip on his fastball, Bailey and catcher Corky Miller resorted to throwing his offspeed stuff more, namely the curveball. It worked well. Over his past seven starts, Bailey is 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA. STL: RHP Joel Pineiro (15-11, 3.24 ERA)
Pineiro has two starts left, and he needs two more wins for a career high. It would be a sweet accomplishment at age 31 for Pineiro, who has recast himself as a sinkerballing groundball-getter in his 10th big league season. He's on track to start Game 3 of the NLDS, which might have been hard to envision for anyone but Pineiro himself back in Spring Training. Tidbits
Joey Votto singled in the third inning on Sunday, extending his career-high streak of reaching safely to 24 games, the longest such streak by a Reds player this season. In his past 17 games, Votto is hitting .453 (29-for-64) with two home runs and 12 RBIs. ... In his five games prior to Sunday's 3-2 loss at Houston, Votto had hit 10 doubles, the first Major League player to deliver 10 doubles over a five-game span since Pittsburgh's Paul Waner did it in 1932. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• FS-O On radio
• WLW 700 Up next
• Wednesday: Reds (Bronson Arroyo, 14-13, 3.95) vs. Cardinals (John Smoltz, 3-7, 5.96), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Reds (Matt Maloney, 2-4, 4.87) vs. Cardinals (Chris Carpenter, 16-4, 2.30), 12:35 p.m. ET
• Friday: Reds (TBD) vs. Pirates (Daniel McCutchen, 0-2, 4.80), 7:10 p.m. ET
Michael Murphy is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
