The Reds reinstated LHP Eric Milton today from the 15-day DL. He'll be making his first start of the season in a few minutes against the Pirates' Opening Day starter, Zach Duke.

On the one hand, you've got the like the way that the Reds' offense has dealt with the Pirates' pitching so far this series, but on the other hand, Milton is a seriously unknown quantity. You know he's got it in him somewhere, but he's had a frighteningly bad streak lately. Similarly, the Reds have been facing the bottom of the Pirates' rotation, though I'm not convinced that there's really that much of a difference between the Pirates' #1 and #5. They're the strength of the team, for sure, I'm just saying that they seem to all have a similar skill level.

To make room for Milton on the 25-roster, the Reds put RHP Jared Burton on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring. I don't remember him getting hurt that game, but I do remember him walking three in his one-third of an inning. That's a sort of injury, I suppose. I do wonder whether the A's would have reason to call shenanigans, especially if Burton continues to come down with injuries whenever the Reds need a spot on the roster.

In any event, I'll miss the game this afternoon doing Easter things with the fam. But my thoughts will be with Milton. Go Reds!

The Reds' clinched the series and overtook first place in the division yesterday with a 5-7 win over the Pirates.

I missed this one entirely because I was out house-hunting. It's an exciting activity--especially when the key in the keybox doesn't actually open the door or when your realtor starts making comments like, “sometimes when you take a second look at a house you see different things” about the house you're thinking about making an offer on--but nothing compared to the excitement of a game.

However, from the box score I can see that Aaron Harang didn't have a great game, despite getting the win. Five earned runs on eight hits in five and two-thirds innings. I don't think it's terrifically important, especially since the offense stepped up, but one of the analysts on Baseball Tonight said that Carlos Zambrano's decent performance last night after his shelling on Opening Day was his “Most Important Thing” so apparently these second-showings are even more important than I thought. On the other hand, someone in that same show called Harang “Adam”, so there's also that.

Jon Coutlangus, whom the CTS was sure to get sent down to make room for Eric Milton today but didn't, didn't allow a hit in his two-thirds. Todd Coffey did give up a hit in his one third, but no runs. Rheal Cormier struck out a batter, which is always nice to see.

Kirk Saarloos and David Weathers finished out the parade of pitchers that we get to see every game thanks to the multitude of them that we have around. Weathers is already up to two saves, which is more than the number of wins the entire St. Louis team has this season.

On the offensive side, Xavier Nady helped Adam Dunn to come through with his third home run of the year when the ball bounced off of the palm of his glove and over the wall. And, if I'm reading this right, Dunn also stole two bases, while Edwin Encarnación and Ryan Freel also stole one apiece. Damn, I picked a bad game to miss, but I'm glad to know the guys are figuring out ways to stay warm.

The win brings the Reds' record to 4-1. They finish the series today at 1:05 p.m. when fresh-off-the-DL Eric Milton goes up against the Pirates' “number 1” Zach Duke.

The Reds competently put themselves in a tie for first place with the Pirates by beating those self-same Pirates last night, 1-6.

Matt Belisle took the mound and was the awesome, allowing just one run (earned) on four hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out six. Either FSNO has added a great new camera to center field, or I'm just now getting the baseball-watching sophistication to notice what the pitches actually look like, but Belisle looked real good to me. And not just in his pretty white uniform.

How much did the Reds need that? For them to realize the greatness that we fans know they have the potential for, Belisle had to step up. Could he overtake Eric Milton? We'll see: Milton's scheduled to go tomorrow.

After Belisle's turn, Todd Coffey, Mike Stanton, and Kirk Saarloos each put in an inning on the mound, none of them allowing even a hit or walk and notching five Ks among them. The bullpen: another group that needs to step up in order for the Reds to succeed.

On the offensive side, Brandon Phillips scored the Reds' first run in the first inning with a solo shot that his father was in attendance to see. Jeff Conine's three-run homer in the third inning is probably more telling. Conine: perhaps among the most important people to step up. The one major loss the Reds suffered this off-season was Rich Aurilia, and I was not at all confident that Conine would be ready to step up and fill that gap. Here's hoping that he proves me wrong.

The win brings the Reds' record to 3-1. They continue the series with the Pirates this afternoon at 1:05 when Aaron Harang goes out against Tony Armas.

The Professional Cheerleader blog has a nice write-up about the Reds cheerleaders on Opening Day this year.

And there's a picture of Gapper. I know, not as scintillating as the cheerleaders, but I hadn't seen him in a while and was beginning to worry that furry mascot hunting season had been declared.

I'd say that it's like the division turned upside-down to have the Pirates in first and the Cardinals and Astros bringing up the rear, but I don't like what that would mean about the Reds at all. Our boys can start setting things straight tonight.

C. Trent's got the line-ups:

The Buccos
Chris Duffy CF
Jack Wilson SS
Jason Bay LF
Adam LaRoche 1B
Ronny Paulino C
Xavier Nady RF
Jose Bautista 3B
Jose Castillo 2B
Paul Maholm P

Your Cincinnati Reds
Ryan Freel CF
Brandon Phillips 2B
Adam Dunn LF
Edwin Encarnación 3B
Ken Griffey Jr. RF
Jeff Conine 1B
Alex Gonzalez SS
David Ross C
Matt Belisle P

Maholm doesn't exactly suck and Belisle is pretty untested; this could be a tough one. The sub-freezing temperatures won't help: a frozen ball can't absorb as much energy from a bat. But they've been boning up on their small ball, so it should be all good, right?