8/15/2008 St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds Game 8
2008 was a great foreshadowing for what the Cincinnati Reds would become. It featured two rookies Jay Bruce and Joey Votto and it marked the end of the Ken Griffey Jr. era in Cincinnati after he was traded at the end of July.
This game was also the first time I saw core players like defensive wizard Brandon Phillips and the high leg kick of Bronson Arroyo, who I would see an absurd amount of times during my stay in Cincinnati in the coming years.
Much like most of the nights Arroyo took the mound while I was in the stands, it did not start well. In the first inning he was able to avoid damage by Albert Pujols, but now outfielder and former pitcher Rick Ankiel hit a 2-run shot to put the Redbirds up 2-0.
Most of the crowd rejoiced because on most nights when the Cubs and Cardinals are in town, Great American Ballpark seems to lose its home field advantage.
Chris Dickerson got the Reds on the scoreboard when he hit his first career home run off Brad Thompson. This game also featured the first of many heckles aimed towards Corey Patterson. For some reason, no matter what uniform the former No. 3 draft pick wore, people seemed to throw shade his way.
For his part, he answered future Red Skip Schumaker’s RBI single with a sacrifice fly to keep the Reds within one. The two teams traded runs once again before the Cardinals got the final say 5-3.
A young Jaime Garcia notched the hold for Thompson in just his seventh MLB game. Garcia would go on to finish third in the Rookie of the Year race two years later and was part of the World Series team in 2011.
This was also the first Reds game that my wife/then girfriend attended, but it certainly would not be the last.
