What a fantastic contest of skills! It's so nice to finally have a change of pace from what we've been seeing these last seven games. There were so many shining moments that it's hard to pick out a few to talk about:

- Paul Wilson demonstrated that he is not in need of any kind of medical or psychological examination by throwing every single one of his pitches over 90 mph to make short work of the Dodgers' lineup in the first inning.

- The bullpen took control of the game, with the new guy, Ricky Stone quelling any jitters over being the one and only roster addition intended to “shake up” the Reds. The rest of the bullpen also rocked, with the notable exceptions of Kent Mercker, Ryan Wagner, and Danny Graves, who continued their ineffectivity. Despite his performance in his last appearance, Graves was welcomed to the field by the entire stadium cheering wildly and doing the wave.

- The incorrect call of Rich Aurilia out at second with the defender catching the ball a solid two feet away from the bag was certainly not the most blatantly miscalled play of the season. Even though by that point the Reds were really in a comfortable position to give away outs, Dave Miley came out to argue the play and really fired up the team.

- The offense looked powerful and confident until the seventh inning when they utterly failed to make a push that was not in the least bit too late.

Tomorrow's game is likely to be equally spectacular. Ramón Ortiz is coming off a great start against Milwaulkee. You won't want to miss a single second.