Although the pitching was bad the takeaway from the first game of Spring Training good. Shin-Soo Choo worked the leadoff role to perfection his first time at bat in a Reds uniform. He walked and scored the first of five runs in the first inning. Joey Votto started the spring off on the right foot with a 2-3 performance.
Power came in the form of the battle for backup catcher between Miguel Olivo and Devin Mesoraco. Oliva went deep with a solo shot in the fourth inning and Mesoraco blasted a two-run shot in the fifth.
Starting pitcher Tony Cingrani allowed three runs in his only inning of work.
Manager Dusty Baker had a comment after the game.
“The offense was moving pretty good,” Baker said. “We had a lot of young guys out there. A lot of walks, untimely walks especially at the end of the game. You want to rescue them but they have to get their work in.”
According to Mark Sheldon Choo was not a liability thus far in center-field. He said that Choo got to a deep drive on one hop and held the runner to a long single.
Ex-Reds Drew Stubbs and Jeremy Hermida both contributed a single to the Indian victory.
