MVN - Most Valuable Network

Bako’s Walk-Off Hit Leads Reds Past Phils

Before Spring Training, Paul Bako was out of a job. He was actively looking, and even considering retirement. The Reds came calling, and he answered. Today was the first big day of his Reds career (part two).

Corey Patterson led off the game for the Reds with a walk, stole second, and then scored on a Ken Griffey Jr. sac fly. The Reds lead was extended in the second, Scott Hatteberg singled in Adam Dunn to make it 2-0 Reds. The Phils tied the game up in the sixth on a Pat Burrell RBI-double. Ryan Howard hit the go-ahead homer for Philly off of Kent Mercker, making the prospects look bleak for the Reds. Corey Patterson followed that up with a solo shot into the Reds’ bullpen in the eighth to tie the game back up. After Francisco Cordero held them down in the ninth, Paul Bako singled in the infield to score Ryan Freel and win the game, 4-3.

Aaron Harang recovered nicely from his opening day struggle, he went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits, striking out six in the no-decision. Cordero picked up his first win in a Red uniform, it was his third appearance. Corey Patterson made the win possible, he went 1-3 with a homerun, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Paul Bako went 3-4 with an RBI, including the game winning hit.

The Reds and Phils will go at it again tomorrow afternoon at 1:15 at Great American Ballpark. Edinson Volquez will make his Reds debut, trying to translate a solid Spring into regular season success. The Reds improve to 3-2 on the young season.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 5th, 2008 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Reds Recap, Reds features, Reds Blogs, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.