By this time, Reds fans have heard that injured first baseman Joey Votto made another rehab appearance today, this time in the season-ending game for the AAA Louisville Bats.

Votto went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts, in case you were wondering. He is still expected to rejoin the Reds on Tuesday, which makes sense. The season is over for the minor leagues, so there’s not anywhere else for Votto to go.

Of course, he might be with the team, but there’s still no news on when he might be activated from the disabled list. And really, that’s all that fans care about.

On the one hand, I’m very happy with how the Reds have responded to Votto’s absence.

The Reds are 32-15 since Votto last played. That is the second best record in the majors in that span.

But on the other hand, I really miss him in the lineup. At this point it seems like the team is ready to have him back whenever, but Votto doesn’t feel like he’s comfortable returning. I do want him confident in his ability to help the team, and I’d hate to see him hurt himself returning before he felt ready. Manager Dusty Baker has an excellent point on that.

“We don’t want a (Lance) Berkman situation like in St. Louis, where he goes back on the DL or something happens. We want him right, and we have a bit of a luxury the way guys are playing now where we don’t have to rush him back.”

Everybody wants him back in the lineup as soon as he’s ready, but the most important thing is to have him back, healthy and ready to dominate in the playoffs. That and seeing the fastest ascension of a player ever from A-ball to AAA to the majors.

It’s September, and the rosters have expanded. This year, the Cincinnati Reds called up reliever Logan Ondrusek, infielders Didi Gregorius and Henry Rodriguez, outfielder Denis Phipps, and catcher Devin Mesoraco. In addition, on Tuesday the team will activate left-handed pitcher Tony Cingrani.

With the exception of Ondrusek and Mesoraco, though, don’t expect the other guys to get much playing time.

“It’s a great time to learn how to play, where to play and notice mistakes,” Baker said. “If you pay attention, you learn a lot. They’re all pretty attentive young men. I explained to them some of the perils of being in the big leagues versus in the Minor Leagues.”

All four will be in the majors for the first time. And with the Reds working on wrapping up both a division title and home field advantage in the playoffs, it would be wise to use the rookies prudently. Once the Reds do clinch, I imagine the rookies will give the veterans some time off to rest up for the playoffs. Of course, all the additional players will free manager Dusty Baker up to meddle in the game more in the later innings.

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds continued their winning ways in the first game against the Houston Astros last night, beating the bottom-dwelling team 9-3.

Mike Leake started for the Reds and turned in a quality start, going 6 innings and allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. His good outing netted him his 7th win on the season, giving him a slight chance at joining the rest of the members of the starting rotation with at least 10 wins.

The offense took a few innings to get going against the Astros, but once they started, they didn’t stop. In the 3rd, Zack Cozart broke the scoreless tie with his 15th home run, a 2-run shot that drove in Dioner Navarro. In the 5th, Jay Bruce broke the game open with his 28th home run on the season, driving in Chris Heisey and Ryan Ludwick to make the game 6-2.

The scoring continued in the 7th inning when Brandon Phillips singled in Chris Heisey. And in the 8th, Miguel Cairo had a rare hit to drive in Scott Rolen and advance Navarro to 2nd. A couple batters later, Heisey hit a grounder that scored Navarro.

It was a game that I expected the Reds to win, even with a pitcher in Leake who has struggled at times. Really, I almost expect the Reds to sweep this series. The Astros are that bad of a team. In fact, with this win in Houston, Cincinnati now has more wins at Minute Maid Park since the All Star Break than Houston does: 4-3. That’s some ineptitude that I hope the Reds can take advantage of.

The second game of the series tonight will feature Homer Bailey going against Lucas Harrell. Harrell, who has a record of 10-9, possesses 25% of the Astros’ wins. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm EDT.

The last big baseball holiday of the year is here already and there’s lot of stuff going on for Reds fans.

Friday, August 31

• Reds visit the Astros at 8:05 p.m.
  Mike Leake (RHP, 6-8, 4.51 ERA) faces Fernando Abad (LHP, 0-1, 3.62 ERA)
• Joey Votto makes one more rehab appearance with the class A Dayton Dragons. The game is at home and starts at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, September 1

• Reds continue the series with the Astros at 7:05 p.m.
  Homer Bailey (RHP, 10-9, 4.24 ERA) takes on Lucas Harrell (RHP, 10-9, 3.92 ERA)
  (Wait, the Astros have a 10-game winning pitcher? That means he has 1/4 of the team’s total number of wins.)
• Rosters expand
• Watch out NLC: Joey Votto returns to the Reds’ line-up! …or does he?

Sunday, September 2

• Last home night game for the Louisville Bats at 7:05 p.m.
• Reds finish out the series with the Astros at 2:05 p.m.
  Bronson Arroyo (RHP, 11-7, 3.84 ERA) against Bud Norris (RHP, 5-11, 5.01 ERA)

Monday, September 3

• Last home game for the Louisville Bats at 1:05 p.m. Time to call some guys up!
• Phillies visit the Reds at 1:10 p.m.
• FS Ohio is doing something special. Here’s the press release:

The Cincinnati Reds play host to the Philadelphia Phillies this Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 3rd at 1pm. As part of the network’s Labor Day Salute, FOX Sports Ohio will showcase those who work behind-the-scenes at Great American Ball Park.

Feature reporter Brian Giesenschlag will highlight various hard working staff members at the ballpark, including the grounds crew, cleaning crew, ushers and more.

Tune in at 1pm on Monday for the Reds v. Phillies and FOX Sports Ohio’s Labor Day Salute. Reds Live pregame show will begin at 12:30pm.

Quick! Take in as much baseball and summer fun as you can before football gets its inexorable grip on society. Happy Labor Day, everyone!