Last Game
Despite coming from behind to tie it twice, the Cincinnati Reds fell in extras to the Philadelphia Phillies last night, 4-3. Johnny Cueto pitched very well again, even after getting racked by a ball Joey Votto through to him in a crazy play in the 3rd. Votto contributed a home run and scored the tying run in the 9th.

Next Game
In game 2 of the 4-game series, Mike Leake will take the mound for the Reds, while the Phillies will send out Joe Blanton. Game-time is 7:05pm EDT.

Vote Votto Campaign Rights Egregious Wrong
I’ve written about it plenty, but I wanted to take a moment to enjoy how the Reds community came together to rally around Joey Votto during the Vote Votto campaign. It’s been fun, and our work paid off in getting the National League’s best first basemen the honor he has worked so hard for.

“I worked very hard at this individual game within a team concept,” he said. “I did my part to earn an All-Star berth. It means a lot to me. I always wanted to be an All-Star one day. Today, I was finally selected.”

Yes, you were. And deservedly so.

Joey received 13.7 million votes in the Final Vote, beating out all the other National League contestants. He was invited to the Home Run Derby, but turned it down.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
With Joey Votto’s election by the fans, the Reds will be sending four players to the 2010 All Star game. This snaps a streak of sending the required one player that dates back to 2004, when the Reds also sent four, Ken Griffey Jr, Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, and Danny Graves.