The Reds managed to win tonight, 9-8, despite allowing five home runs to the Pirates, to pull themselves slightly further out of last place. George Grande is getting to say “smiling side of the scoreboard,” and you can tell he's relishing the opportunity.

Bobby Livingston started the game on 3-days rest. He went five and one-third innings, allowing two runs (earned) on six hits, including the first of the Pirate home runs to Matt Morris. Always good when you're giving up homers to the pitcher.

Todd Coffey pitched a third of an inning in the fifth and gave up the second of the homers, a two-run shot to Jason Bay. In total, he allowed three runs (earned) on one hit, a walk, and a wild pitch. Mike Gosling took over to finish out the inning by giving up the next of the home runs, a solo shot to Nate McLouth.

However, thanks to four early runs by the Reds, the Pirates' five-run inning only put the game slightly out of reach.

The Reds hung in, though. When Mike Stanton got out of a zero-out, bases loaded situation in the seventh inning, the Crack Technical Staff sarcastically, “I hope they send him back out to start the eighth.” Edwin Encarnación hit a rally killer in the top of the eighth to tie the game at sixes. But then the Reds really did send Stanton back out for the eighth. And he gave up the next home run on the second pitch of the inning to give up the lead again.

Never fear, though, because Jeff Keppinger hit his own rally killer in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game again, and for a change, the bullpen didn't give up the lead in the bottom of the inning. Adam Dunn's two-run homer in the top of the tenth outshone Kepp's contribution.

And rightfully so, since David Weathers came in the bottom of the tenth to give up the final Pirate homer to Jack Wilson.

The win brings the Reds' record to 47-64. Tomorrow they go for the sweep of the Pirates and the attempt to claw themselves ever-closer to third place. Bronson Arroyo goes up against Tom Gorzelanny.

As you almost certainly have already seen, JD at Red Reporter put up a post about the excellent numbers of Carlos Guevara in AA Chattanooga. He hypothesizes that the reason Guevara hasn't been given the opportunity to prove himself in AAA Louisville is because general manager Wayne Krivsky is a dyed-in-the-wool seamhead who can't overlook the guy's height and lack of plus off-speed stuff to notice that he's getting results.

I have the sneaking suspicion that JD is on to something there. The refusal to acknowledge the numbers is the baffling deficiency of the scout. Surely there must be some middle ground here, where you can follow your gut with due consideration to the numbers.

That being said, observing the actual results isn't exactly the strong point of the statheads either. The obsession with removing luck from the picture discounts the very real part that luck plays in the game.

Perhaps a simulation of each key personnel decision in Celebrity Death Match format is in order.

As I sit here, the Reds are up 6-3 on the Pirates in the top of the sixth inning: the ferocious battle for fifth place in the NLC is on! The Reds are a half game down on the Pirates after that sweeping at the hands of the Nats, making this a pride fight for the ages.

I'm coming in late on it after sweltering in the Indiana humidity helping the tot master the art of bike riding without training wheels. It's nice to see the wheels coming off in a good way for a change.

So, what the heck is up with the Reds' rotation anyway? There seems to be much discussion of who's available to fill the hole left by Kyle Lohse and not to mention…well…about everyone but Aaron Harang.

Ooh, McLouth steals one from Adam Dunn. I'd better start paying attention. It's a pride fight!

WASHINGTON, DC - A year has passed since the long-time friends Adam Dunn (CIN left field) and Austin Kearns (WAS right field) were separated by a trade. This week’s series between the Reds and the Nationals allowed the two to reminisce on old times, swap parenting tips, and hit their favorite restaurant: White Castle.

“[Washington Manager Manny] Acta gave me extra fielding,” said Kearns, “but I just told him 'As a matter of facta, I'm busy'.”

“Actually, I was the one to convince Kearnsy to hit the town anyway,” explained Dunn. “I told him to bring his mitt and we'd see what we could shag along the way,” he said with a wink. The two piled into Kearns’s car and took off for the nearest Slyders they could find.

The duo had been driving for 30 minutes when they heard on the radio that there was a tiger on the loose, but they didn’t have long to worry about it before their car broke down. “Thankfully Freak Show stopped to help us,” said Kearns of Danny Graves, who happened to be out for a jog and helped fix the car. “Too bad he left his hot wife at home.”

As the three once-teammates continued to White Castle, they noticed a celebrity hitchhiker. He was a guy famous nationally and internationally for playing the part of the child prodigy: Ken Griffey, Jr. The former Reds’ outfield was together again.

Before long, though, Griffey was itching to pick up some fishing poles he’d ordered (“Best hookers in town!”) and some cola (“I need some Coke!”) and, as a practical joke, he took Kearns’s car and left the pair on the side of the road. That’s when they ran across the tiger that they’d heard about on the radio.

“It was pretty tense,” said Dunn, recounting the scene, “But then we saw it was just Sean Casey and we knew everything was all right, if progressively less plausible.” Casey, the nicest guy in baseball, offered to carry the guys on his back the rest of the way to the restaurant.

Finally they arrived and ordered an enormous meal before the four millionaires discovered that they’d all forgotten their wallets. Thankfully, that’s when Griffey appeared with Kearns’s car, high as a kite over his hookers and Coke, and ready to pay for dinner after his little joke.

“It was sort of a dick move on my part,” said Griffey.

The Cincinnati Reds organization is seeking a well-qualified individual for the position of team Manager. The responsibilities of this position include creating line-ups, managing personnel, and providing motivation for grown men who play a child's game for a living. The ideal candidate will be intelligent, organized, proficient with conversational English and Spanish, and incredibly lucky.

The Reds are an equal opportunity employer. To apply for this position, submit your application.