Last Game
The St. Louis Cardinals have been unable to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers all week, but the Cincinnati Reds had been unable to win even one game to get out of the tie for first place. Until last night.

Aaron Harang pitched his best game of the year, which is nice to see, allowing 2 runs over 7 innings. That was enough for his 5th win, getting him back to .500 on the season. The offense got to an early lead thanks to great nights from Orlando Cabrera and Scott Rolen. And in a surprising twist, the bullpen didn’t blow the lead. The Cardinals lost again, so now the Reds are back in sole possession of first place.

Next Game
The Reds look to Mike Leake to tie the 4-game series against the Giants. San Francisco counters with Todd Wellemeyer. Game-time is 12:35pm EDT.

Rehab Roundup Time
There are several Reds pitchers working their way back from injuries.

Homer Bailey made a rehab start for the Louisville Bats the other day, and despite his displeasure with not being activated to the big club, didn’t pitch like he was ready to return. At least, he did nothing to displace Sam LeCure from the Reds rotation. Bailey allowed 5 runs over 4 1/3 innings.

Edinson Volquez, coming off Tommy John surgery in August 2009, will make a rehab start for Single-A Lynchburg. His suspension does not prevent him from rehabbing.

In reliever news, Jared Burton has been struggling as he builds up arm strength and gets back in the swing of things for Louisville. Over his last 3 outings with the Bats, he’s allowed 5 runs on 4 innings pitched. It would be nice if he became effective and forced the Reds hand with Nick Masset.

Also, did you know the Reds still had one player left over from The Trade? I didn’t, but apparently Bill Bray plods along in the system. He’s rehabbing from a Tommy John surgery in Single-A, as well. I wonder if Cincinnati continues to invest in him because they think he has value or because they’re still attempting to save face.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Heading into last night’s game, the Reds were hitting .293 with runners in scoring position. That’s second in the majors to Arizona. Last season, the Reds hit .251.

Last Game
In the very first game after the bullpen blew a lead that required the over-worked offense to come back yet again, last night, the same bullpen blew another one. It’s ugly in there. Unlike the previous time when Francisco Cordero was the culprit, yesterday the goats were Daniel Ray Herrera and Enerio Del Rosario. It’s a tough time to be a Cincinnati reliever, unless your name happens to be Arthur Rhodes. Although, just because the bullpen is struggling, I wouldn’t advocate trading 1/4 of the offense in a misguided attempt to fix it. But surely no Reds GM would be foolish enough for that.

The Reds went on lose the 4-game series opener to the Giants, 6-5.

Next Game
Game 2 between the Giants and Reds starts tonight at 7:10pm EDT, with the Reds sending out Sam LeCure against Matt Cain.

Draft Day
The 2010 amateur draft started yesterday. With the 12th pick, the Reds selected Yasmani Grandal, a catcher from the University of Miami.

“All week, we didn’t think he’d get down to us,” scouting director Chris Buckley said. “When he did, we couldn’t pass on him. Switch-hitting catcher, power from both sides of the plate. He’s very polished.”

The Reds are weak at catcher throughout the minor leagues. And with the description of his abilities from the scouts, it sounds like he was the best player available. Now the fun of trying to sign him. Thankfully, he’s not represented by Scott Boras.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have won 7 extra-inning road games in a row, which dates back to June 2009. The most ever by the Reds was 8 over the course of the 1944-45 seasons.