Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	11	1

Boxscore

The score remained 0-0 in the bottom of the ninth until Jay Bruce came through with the 4th walk-off homer of his career to give the Reds the win in the series opener with the Mets.

Mat Latos started for the Reds and was lights-out. In his 7.0 innings of work, he allowed 0 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 4. Unfortunately for him, though, he left the game before the Reds put any runs on the board and only got a no-decision for his efforts.

Sean Marshall pitched the eighth and didn’t allow a hit, but did walk a guy. Jose Arredondo pitched the ninth, allowed 1 run and 1 walk, and was in the right place at the right time to get the win.

Offensively, the Reds threatened several times, but just couldn’t get a guy across the plate. Zack Cozart, Brandon Phillips, Ryan Ludwick, Jay Bruce, and Ryan Hanigan all got on base 2 or more times, but when the team leaves 14 on base over the course of the game, even that might not be enough.

But it all worked out in the bottom of the ninth. Phillips led off the inning with his third walk of the night, followed by Ludwick singling to left field. The Mets’ pitching change at that point backfired on them, as Jay Bruce hit one over the left-field wall.

The win brings the Reds’ record to 70-46. They have a 4-game win streak going and lead the NLC by 6 games over the Pirates. Tonight the series against the Mets continues at 7:10 p.m. Mike Leake (RHP, 4-7, 4.51 ERA) tries his hand against R.A. Dickey (RHP, 15-3, 2.72 ERA).

The Hardball Times is today celebrating the 10 year anniversary of one particular inning of infamy for Jason LaRue. This was before the days when “Jason LaRue” was synonymous with “career ended by Johnny Cueto’s boot to the head.” (Though, frankly, his career was already over, and I suspect all that hype was a machination of Tony LaRussa.)

But that’s neither here nor there. No, this post is about LaRussa committing the heinous act of three passed balls in a single inning when catching knuckleballer Jared Fernandez:

Two pitches after the walk, a knuckler got away from LaRue for a passed ball. Williams went to second. On the very next pitch, it happened again. Williams scooted to third and LaRue now had three passed balls on the day – and it was still just the first inning.

Two pitches later the ball made it to the backstop again, allowing Williams to score. At least this time it wasn’t a passed ball. This time it was a wild pitch, so LaRue was still at three passed balls on the inning. But in a single five-pitch plate appearance, three balls went to the backstop allowing a runner on first to score. Yeesh.

You’ll want to read the whole post on The Hardball Times. It’s a nice narrative. Plus it contains lots of other Reds-related anniversaries and day-versaries to satisfy your inner history geek.

Twitter trolls (I like to think of them as “twolls” for that Elmer Fudd ring) can be a serious annoyance. You’re going along, trying to contribute in a positive way to the Twitter-verse, and up pops some jackass who gets his jollies by poking you in the eye and seeing if you cry.

In light of recent events, the crack staff here at RHM thought it would be a good public service to offer some techniques for dealing with twolls.

For the sake of purely hypothetical argument, let’s say a twoll were to attack you with a tweet such as:

Now, you might reasonably want to beat the hell out of this guy, but telling him so just plays into the twoll’s desperate emotional need for validation. Ignoring the twoll is better, but it misses an opportunity to undercut the aggressiveness and establish yourself as dominant.

The best twitterers balance sarcasm (to show they have the wit to take you down) and self-deprecation (to show you’re not even important enough to use their wit on), but there are many techniques available. Here are a few for you to try:

The “I know you are, but what am I?” technique

The “it’s almost as bad as you said, but not quite” technique

The “yo’ mamma” technique

The “don’t talk to me about life” technique

The “redirection” technique

The “ironically focusing on the wrong clause” technique

OR

OR

The “misinterpreting a word” technique

The “damn straight” technique

Twolls are pathetic creatures, more worthy of pity than scorn. But just like grubs in your lawn or the Chicago Cubs, they still have to be dealt with. Go get ’em, tweeps!