The 2010 Cincinnati Reds season was the 141st season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their eighth at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Reds began their season at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 5, losing 11 to 6. Cincinnati was coming off a 78-84 (.481) season and fourth place in the National League Central. The Reds were managed by Dusty Baker, who was in his third season with the team. His coaches were Mark Berry (third base), Billy Hatcher (first base), Brook Jacoby (hitting), Juan Lopez (bullpen), Bryan Price (pitching), and Chris Speier (bench). For the second year in a row, Cincinnati hosted the Major League Baseball Civil Rights Game. They played St. Louis Cardinals and won 4 to 3. The majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds was Robert Castellini; the general manager was Walt Jocketty. Their home field was Great American Ball Park.
The Cincinnati Reds clinched the National League Central division and a trip to the MLB postseason on September 28 by a walk-off home run from outfielder Jay Bruce. This was the first time the Reds were in the postseason since the 1995 season, and their first winning season since 2000. The 2010 season ended when the Reds were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.
Offseason The 2010 Cincinnati Reds offseason was marked by two key pickups. After acquiring a key player in Scott Rolen midway through the 2009 season, another veteran was added in Orlando Cabrera. In late December 2009, the Reds GM Walt Jocketty made a move to acquire Aroldis Chapman out of Cuba. With the many late season wins in the 2009 season, many picked the Reds to finish higher than they did the previous season.
Regular season
April Opening Day: On Opening Day 2010, the Reds were defeated by their division rival St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 11 to 6, in front of over 42,000 fans at Great American Ball Park. They lost the first series of the season 2 games to 1. April 16–18: The Reds were swept in three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
May May 10–12: The Reds swept the Pittsburgh Pirates three games to none, after being swept by the same team a few weeks before. May 14–16: The Reds take 2 out of 3 from their division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds ended the month of May in first place.
June June 18–20: The Reds ran into trouble during the first stop of their interleague road trip against the Seattle Mariners. They were swept in three games. June 21–23: Cincinnati rebounded after the disappointing sweep in Seattle, and swept the Oakland Athletics in three games to close out the AL west coast road trip.
July July 1–7: Cincinnati started the month of July strong. They took 3 out of 4 from the Chicago Cubs and 2 out of 3 from the New York Mets. July 8–11: The Reds suffered four straight devastating losses to the Philadelphia Phillies. Starting Pitcher Travis Wood had a spoiled perfect game attempt during this series during the 9th inning of one of the games. The All Star Game: The Reds had four all stars that went to Anaheim. They were Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen, and Arthur Rhodes. Votto received the final spot in the National League roster after winning a fan vote.
August August 10–12: The Reds were swept three games to none by division rival St. Louis, and dropped out of first place. Derogatory comments about the Cardinals by Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips led to a first inning argument between Phillips and Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, that turned into a benches-clearing brawl and the suspensions of managers Dusty Baker (Cincinnati) and Tony La Russa (St. Louis), as well as Reds starter Johnny Cueto, who injured Chris Carpenter and Jason LaRue of the Cardinals by kicking with his spikes while pinned against the backstop during the fight. It ultimately led to LaRue's retirement. August 13–20: Following the Cardinal's sweep of the Reds, Cincinnati went on to win eight of their next nine games, sweeping both the Florida Marlins and the Arizona Diamondbacks and winning a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers two to one. Homer Bailey returned to the Reds lineup and was the starting pitcher in the third game against the Marlins, pitching a seven inning shutout. Meanwhile, the Cardinals went on to lose six of their next seven games, giving the Reds back the control of the Central Division.
September September 28: The Reds, in first place over the Cardinals by a wide margin, clinched their first division championship since the 1995 season with a dramatic walk-off home run by right fielder Jay Bruce off of Houston Astros left-handed pitcher Tim Byrdak. The first pitch sailed over the wall in center field, clinching the win. The game also featured a home run-robbing, over-the-wall catch by center fielder Drew Stubbs.
The Reds won the National League Central over second-place St. Louis Cardinals by five games.
Season standings National League Central
National League Wild Card
Record vs. opponents
Detailed record Team Home Away Total Win % Gms Left NL East Atlanta Braves 2–1 0–2 2–3 0 Florida Marlins 3–0 2–2 5–2 0 New York Mets 2–1 2–1 4–2 0 Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 0–4 2–5 0 Washington Nationals 2–2 2–1 4–3 0 11–5 6–10 17–15 0 NL Central Chicago Cubs 6–3 6–1 12–4 0 Houston Astros 4–2 6–3 10–5 0 Milwaukee Brewers 7–1 4–2 11–3 0 Pittsburgh Pirates 5–2 5–4 10–6 0 St. Louis Cardinals 3–6 3-6 6–12 0 23–12 24–16 46–28 0 NL West Arizona Diamondbacks 2-2 3–0 5–2 0 Colorado Rockies 2–1 0–4 2–5 0 Los Angeles Dodgers 3–3 2–1 5–4 0 San Diego Padres 1–2 1–2 2–4 0 San Francisco Giants 2–2 1-2 3–4 0 10–10 7–9 17–19 0 American League Cleveland Indians 2–1 2–1 4–2 0 Kansas City Royals 1–2 N/A 1–2 0 Oakland Athletics N/A 3–0 3–0 0 Seattle Mariners N/A 0–3 0–3 0 3–4 5–4 8–8 0MonthGamesWonLostWin % April 23 12 11 May 29 18 11 June 27 14 13 July 26 14 12 August 27 19 8 September 27 12 15 October 2 2 1 162 91 71 GamesWonLostWin % Home 81 49 32 Away 81 42 39
Game log Legend Reds Win Reds Loss Game postponed
|- bgcolor="ffbbbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 1 || April 5 || Cardinals (FSO, ESPN) || L 6–11 || Carpenter (1–0) || Harang (0–1) || || 42,493 || 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 2 || April 7 || Cardinals (FSO) || L 3–6 || Wainwright (1–0) || Herrera (0–1) || Franklin (1) || 28,132 || 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 3 || April 8 || Cardinals || W 2–1 || Cordero (1–0) || Motte (0–1) || || 13,445 || 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 4 || April 9 || Cubs (FSO) || W 5–4 || Owings (1–0) || Caridad (0–1) || Cordero (1) || 24,419 || 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 5 || April 10 || Cubs (FSO) || L 3–4 || Zambrano (1–1) || Rhodes (0–1) || Mármol (2) || 27,235 || 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 6 || April 11 || Cubs (FSO) || W 3–1 || Masset (1–0) || Garbow (0–2) || Cordero (2) || 26,945 || 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 7 || April 12 || @ Marlins (FSO) || W 6–5 || Masset (2–0) || Badenhop (0–1) || Cordero (3) || 10,119 || 4–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 8 || April 13 || @ Marlins (FSO) || W 10–8 || Owings (2–0) || Meyer (0–1) || Cordero (4) || 10,681 || 5–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 9 || April 14 || @ Marlins (FSO) || L 3–5 || Volstad (1–1) || Bailey (0–1) || Badenhop (1) || 14,390 || 5–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 10 || April 15 || @ Marlins (FSO) || L 2–10 || Johnson (1–1) || Harang (0–2) || || 12,912 || 5–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 11 || April 16 || @ Pirates (FSO) || L 3–4 || Dotel (1–0) || Masset (2–1) || || 14,758 || 5–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 12 || April 17 || @ Pirates (FSO) || L 4–5 || Taschner (1–0) || Cordero (1–1) || || 25,196 || 5–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 13 || April 18 || @ Pirates (FSO) || L 3–5 || Maholm (1–1) || Arroyo (0–1) || Dotel (3) || 13,860 || 5–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 14 || April 20 || Dodgers (FSO) || W 11–9 || Lincoln (1–0) || Troncoso (1–1) || Cordero (5) || 12,965 || 6–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 15 || April 21 || Dodgers (FSO) || L 6–14 || Kuroda (2–0) || Harang (0–3) || || 12,203 || 6–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 16 || April 22 || Dodgers (FSO) || W 8–5 || Leake (1–0) || Kuo (0–1) || Cordero (6) || 13,261 || 7–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 17 || April 23 || Padres (FSO) || L 4–10 || Correia (3–1) || Arroyo (0–2) || || 15,183 || 7–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 18 || April 24 || Padres (FSO) || L 0–5 || LeBlanc (1–0) || Cueto (0–1) || || 19,999 || 7–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 19 || April 25 || Padres (FSO) || W 5–4 || Rhodes (1–1) || Adams (0–1) || Cordero (7) || 17,694 || 8–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 20 || April 27 || @ Astros (FSO) || W 6–2 || Harang (1–3) || Norris (1–2) || || 22,467 || 9–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 21 || April 28 || @ Astros (FSO) || W 6–4 || Leake (2–0) || Paulino (0–3) || || 21,035 || 10–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 22 || April 29 || @ Astros (FSO) || W 4–2 || Arroyo (1–2) || Oswalt (2–3) || Cordero (8) || 21,493 || 11–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 23 || April 30 || @ Cardinals (FSO) || W 3–2 || Cueto (1–1) || Penny (3–1) || Cordero (9) || 39,850 || 12–11
|- bgcolor="ffbbbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 24 || May 1 || @ Cardinals (FSO) || L 3–6 || Franklin (1–0) || Fisher (0–1) || || 41,536 || 12–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 25 || May 2 || @ Cardinals (FSO) || L 0–6 || Carpenter (4–0) || Harang (1–4) || || 43,292 || 12–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 26 || May 3 || Mets (FSO) || W 3–2 || Masset (3–1) || Acosta (1–1) || || 14,350 || 13–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 27 || May 4 || Mets (FSO) || L 4–5 ||Feliciano (1–0) ||Cordero (1–2) ||Rodríguez (4) || 13,813 || 13–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 28 || May 5 || Mets || W 5–4 || Owings (3–0) || Feliciano (1–1) || || 16,798 || 14–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 29 || May 7 || Cubs (FSO) || L 7–14 || Silva (3–0) || Bailey (0–2) || || 20,030 || 14–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 30 || May 8 || Cubs (FSO) || W 14–2 || Harang (2–4) || Gorzelanny (1–4) || || 29,404 || 15–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 31 || May 9 || Cubs (FSO) || W 5–3 || Leake (3–0) || Dempster (2–3) || Cordero (10) || 20,402 || 16–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 32 || May 10 || @ Pirates (FSO) || W 2–1 || Arroyo (2–2) || Ohlendorf (0–1) || Cordero (11) || 9,045 || 17–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 33 || May 11 || @ Pirates (FSO) || W 9–0 || Cueto (2–1) || Morton (1–6) || || 9,027 || 18–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 34 || May 12 || @ Pirates || W 5–0 || Bailey (1–2) || Duke (2–4) || || 20,064 || 19–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 35 || May 14 || Cardinals (FSO) || L 3–4 || García (2–4) || Harang (2–5) || Franklin (8) || 27,568 || 19–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 36 || May 15 || Cardinals (FSO) || W 4–3 || Leake (4–0) || Wainwright (5–2) || Cordero (12) || 41,326 || 20–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 37 || May 16 || Cardinals (FSO) || W 7–2 || Arroyo (3–2) || Penny (3–4) || || 26,712 || 21–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 38 || May 17 || Brewers (FSO) || W 6–3 || Cueto (3–1) || Coffey (1–1) || Cordero (13) || 12,409 || 22–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 39 || May 18 || Brewers || W 5–4 || Fisher (1–1) || Hoffman (1–3) || || 17,697 || 23–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 40 || May 19 || @ Braves (FSO) || L 4–5 || Wagner (4–0) || Masset (3–2) || || 25,347 || 23–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 41 || May 20 || @ Braves || L 9–10 || Kimbrel (1–0) || Cordero (1–3) || || 21,621 || 23–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 42 || May 21 || @ Indians (FSO) || W 7–4 || Arroyo (4–2) || Laffey (0–1) || Cordero (14) || 23,028 || 24–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 43 || May 22 || @ Indians (FSO) || W 6–4 || Cueto (4–1) || Carmona (4–2) || || 25,531 || 25–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb"