Boxscore

First place, bitches!

That’s right. The Cincinnati Reds won for the 6th time in a row last night, sweeping the four game series against the Atlanta Braves. And thanks to the St. Louis Cardinals losing 10-9 against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Reds moved into sole possession of first place by half a game.

Boy, this team is playing well right now. The pitching is awesome, the defense is awesome, and the hitting is…getting the job done.

Homer Bailey started and turned in a better-than-quality start. He pitched 6 innings of 2-run baseball, striking out 6 along the way.

The game was scoreless until the 4th when Todd Frazier doubled in Chris Heisey. But the very next inning, Bailey gave up the lead thanks to a 2-run shot from Michael Bourne. The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the 6th when rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco came to the plate with the bases loaded and hit his first career grand slam home run. That gave the Reds a lead they wouldn’t give up, as well as Bailey’s 3rd win.

The bullpen trio of Sam LeCure, Sean Marshall, and Logan Ondrusek closed the game out. Ondrusek made it interesting in the 9th when he allowed 2 hits to bring former Red Juan Francisco to the plate as the potential tying run. But a sharp grounder to Joey Votto at first base lead to a nice double play to end the game.

The Reds continue their homestand when the Colorado Rockies come to town tonight. Johnny Cueto will go against Christian Friedrich at 7:10pm EDT.