Last Game
Edinson Volquez blew away the last of the cobwebs from his Tommy John surgery recovery last night, pitching 8 innings of 1-run baseball against the Milwaukee Brewers. The 4-3 win increased the Reds lead over the losing Cardinals to 8 games and the elimination number to 4. Volquez also made an excellent claim to a postseason start with his excellent outing. The game would have been almost drama free, had it not been for Francisco Cordero and the defense being less than solid in the 9th. Cordero did pull himself together to strike out Carlos Gomez to end the game.

Next Game
Johnny Cueto goes to the mound tonight to try to decrease the magic number further. His opponent will be Randy Wolf. Game-time is 8:10pm EDT.

Edmonds and Dickerson Tied Together Again
During last night’s game, Jim Edmonds was a late replacement for Joey Votto, who was taken out of the lineup thanks to a sinus infection. Edmonds hit a solo homerun, but injured himself running the bases. He may be out for the rest of the season.

In the trade that brought him from the Brewers to the Reds, Cincinnati sent Chris Dickerson. In a nice bit of symmetry, Dickerson also left last night’s game with a leg injury. He strained a hamstring.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Dusty Baker won his 1,400th game as a manager last night. He’s 238-238 with the Reds, and 1400-1279 overall.