Last Game
Unlike the first game at GABP, where Homer Bailey rocked but the team lost, last night Mike Leake sucked and the team still lost. Giants 8, Reds 3.

A lot of people are putting the blame on Dusty Baker, who probably gave Leake too long of a leash and who also saw fit to bring in Jose Arredondo at a moment when the team really needed to not give up 3 more runs, but Baker isn’t the one who stranded 10 runners.

Next Game
For the first time in the postseason, today the Reds face elimination. It will be a redux of the first game with Matt Cain going against Mat Latos, though Latos starts in the first inning this time. First pitch at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Learn to Protect Yourself
We were riding high in the first two games of this series, but with our ace not even on the roster anymore and our offense off in that alternate dimension it likes to disappear into for weeks at a time, we’re forced to face the minute possibility that this might not be the year after all.

Some will say that a true fan believes 100% until the it’s all over, but not everyone can handle getting their heart torn out of their chests right now. Some of us need to batten down the hatches, just in case. So here are my five tips to prepare yourself for the possibility of elimination today:

#1. Appreciate all the good stuff you have.
Even if the Reds’ season ends today, no one can take away how much you enjoyed those first 2 games. Plus, you probably have your health, right?

#2. Think of all the fun things you’ll be able to do with your spare time and money.
Cheering on a team takes a big investment of time (and cash, if you’re going to the games in person). Once elimination happens, you’ll be able to dedicate that time and money to things like decorating the house for Halloween and storing away all your summer clothes.

#3. Remember that everything that doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
An early post-season exit would encourage the Reds’ brass to keep strengthening the team. Maybe we’d have 5 closers by this time next year, or 4 aces. If you’re in the anti-Baker camp, remember that losing is the best way to get a manager fired.

#4. Focus on something else.
One way or another, the baseball season is going to end. It’s just a matter of when. So why not start scheduling time to vote for Todd Frazier for the the Roberto Clemente award or planning your trip to Redsfest? There are plenty of other activities that can keep your mind off elimination.

#5. Don’t forget: it could always be worse.
At least when you say, “there’s always next year,” there’s some truth in it. Not all teams are so lucky.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds haven’t lost 3 games in a row at home all season. But there’s a first time for everything (#6. Keep your expectations low.)

Last Game
Homer Bailey was great in game 3 of the NLDS series with the Giants, but the Reds failed to give him the run support he would have needed for the sweep. They ended up losing in 10 innings, 2-1.

Bailey struck out 10 in his 7.0 innings of work. Even though he earned a run thanks to a hit-by-pitch and sac fly, he actually had a no-hitter going in the sixth. He was well short of 100 pitches when they pulled him, but that makes sense with a well-rested bullpen.

So on came the closers. Sean Marshall struck out 1 in the eighth. Aroldis Chapman struck out 2 in the ninth. Jonathan Broxton struck out 3 in the tenth, but not before he gave up up 2 hits and the run that would turn out to be the game-winner.

Next Game
Game 4 is at 4 p.m. in Great American Ball Park. Barry Zito will be pitching for the Giants. And that’s all we know.

Dusty Baker isn’t prepared to say who’s pitching for the Reds. The options are:

1. Johnny Cueto, if his oblique is feeling better. The official word is still day-to-day, but rumors are floating that Cueto actually has a mild strain (not just a spasm) which is the same injury that had Zack Cozart out for a month.
2. Mat Latos, who would be going again on short rest. Again, the team isn’t saying it, but the scuttlebutt is that Latos has the dreaded flu-like symptoms.
3. the bullpen.
4. Mike Leake, but another pitcher would have to be taken off the roster to make room for him, and that person would be ineligible for the NLCS series, should the Reds make it that far.

In a post-game conference, Homer Bailey said that Mike Leake is starting tomorrow as if it were common knowledge. He also said “shitty” on t.v. Tee-hee.

So Many Chances
The Reds lost last night, but it wasn’t for lack of chances. Several people made blunders that probably had them kicking themselves. That list includes, but is not limited to:

• Brandon Phillips getting caught stealing in the first inning. Had he just held his position at second base, he would have been knocked in by Ryan Ludwick, plus Scott Rolen’s strike out wouldn’t have been the one to end the inning.
• With 2 on and 2 out in the tenth inning and Joaquin Arias at the plate, Ryan Hanigan let a ball get past him, which put Buster Posey on third.
• Later in that same at-bat, Arias hit a grounder to Rolen, which he bobbled. Rolen couldn’t get the ball to first in time to get Arias out, so it counted when Posey crossed the plate.

That’s not all, of course. Bailey might have beat himself up over the HBP or Broxton might have been unable to sleep thinking about what he might have pitched differently.

The great thing about this team, though, is that while guys might be putting the pressure on themselves, you know they aren’t pointing the fingers at each other. As a group, they’d put this loss behind them before they left the part and are ready for today. On the bright side, they get an extra NLDS game to hear all of Cincinnati cheering for them.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Today we have another tidbit from everyone’s favorite source of baseball history trivia, Elias Sports Bureau. They say that Dusty Baker (who managed the Giants to the World Series in 2002) is only the third manager in MLB history to face a team in a postseason game that he previously led to the World Series.

The other two were 1) Joe McCarthy, who faced the Cubs as the manager of the Yankees in 1932 and 1938, and 2) Billy Martin, who managed the A’s against the Yankees in 1981.