Last Game
The Reds finished their road trip on Sunday by getting swept by the Pirates. Their losing streak is at 5, but thankfully, they had Monday off. It was nice to go one whole day without a loss and without resisting raging against all the bad decisions Dusty Baker makes. Unfortunately, it was just one day off.

Next Game
Homer Bailey goes for the Reds, hoping to make it past 5 innings. The Dodgers counter with Chad Billingsley. All this goes down at 7:10pm EDT.

Pitching’s Bad, Too
As bad as the Reds offense has been, the supposed strength of the team–the starting pitching–has been bad, too. John Fay wrote about that for the Enquirer. Fay lays down a couple key stats about the recently completed disastrous road trip.

• Reds starters allowed 33 runs in 38 1/3 innings (7.75 ERA) as the team went 2-5 on the seven-game road trip that was completed Sunday.
• Reds starters have averaged just more than five innings per start on the road.

To top it all off, the only good starts have come from Mike Leake. No wonder they’ve lost 5 in a row. We’ll get to see if the pitching can step up to the plate, with or without the offense, today.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
4 of the Reds last 6 number 1 draft picks on the active roster. Homer Bailey, Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, and Mike Leake are all with the big league club, while Devin Mesoraco and Yonder Alonso are working their way through the minors.