Last Game
Through 4 innings, the Reds were being no-hit. After 5 1/2 innings, the Reds were down 6-0. But then Brandon Phillips and his 3-run homer happened and before you knew it the Reds were on the smiling side of the scoreboard. They managed to split the 4-game series with the Diamondbacks yesterday afternoon by winning 6-7.

Next Game
Goodbye Diamondbacks; hello Brewers. The Reds open a 3-game series with the Brew Crew tonight at 7:10 p.m. Homer Bailey (RHP, 8-6, 3.93 ERA) defends against Marco Estrada (RHP, 0-3, 4.13 ERA).

Phillips wants you to wait longer to boo
Apparently there was some displeasure among the fans at Great American Ball Park yesterday afternoon early in the game while the Reds were being pinned down and given a purple nurple by the Diamondbacks resulting in some booing. It hurt Brandon Phillips’ feelings. From John Fay’s blog:

I love my fans. I love the fans period. I feel like all the booing was unnecessary. We’re in first place. We’re playing good baseball. I know we didn’t do our jobs early in the game. It’s not like we’re doing it on purpose. I feel like if you’re going to boo somebody, wait till the end of the game because you never know when guys come up in key situations.

But if we don’t boo, how will the players know to change what they’re doing?

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Barry Larkin, 12-time All-Star, 1995 NL Most Valuable Player, and the last captain the Reds ever had will be inducted in to the National Baseball Hall of Fame at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The ceremony will be on MLB Network, so you can watch the festivities for yourself.

Last Game
The Reds suffered an old fashioned walloping last night at the hands of the Diamondbacks, losing 7-1. You’d like to think that it was just the lack of Joey Votto, but unpredictable performances from Mat Latos and an offense unable to string hits together have been hallmarks of this team all year.

Next Game
The best the Reds can hope for is a split in the 4-game series if they win this afternoon. Mike Leake (3-6, 3.96 ERA) defends against Joe Saunders (4-6, 3.52 ERA) at 12:35 p.m. There’s no television coverage for this one.

Unpredictable Performances from Latos
I heard a lot of people talking about the fact that, before last night, Latos hadn’t notched a Loss since April 18, but that didn’t ring true to me. Has it really been since the first month of the season since Latos has put in a rocky start?

Yeah, no. The imperfection of the Win/Loss stat strikes again. In fact, Latos has been relatively solid for the last month, but while he’s gotten Ws in his last 7 decisions, he’s also gotten 8 no-decisions in that time, and only 3 of those were blown saves. It was as recently as June 18 when he gave up 7 runs on 8 hits in only 4.0 innings to the Cleveland Indians. The offense take the lead before the eventual loss to bail him out.

He followed that particular performance up with back-to-back complete games, though. We sure could use a couple more of those about now.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The last person to get more than 7 decisions in a row in their favor was Danny Graves. He won his first 8 decisions in 2000.

Last Game
A strong outing from Johnny Cueto and a 3-run home run from Ryan Ludwick were too much for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Reds win 0-4.

Next Game
The third of the four-game series between the Reds and the Diamondbacks is tonight at 7:10 p.m. Mat Latos (7-2, 4.10 ERA) takes the hill against Ian Kennedy (6-8, 4.55 ERA). Both pitchers have the potential for greatness but have had up-and-down seasons and are coming off rough outings.

Right Handers Everywhere
Joey Votto had his (successful) arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday, and Jay Bruce was out of the line-up for a routine day off after he didn’t really get an All Star break. That left the Reds’ line-up devoid of left-handers, and, lo, there was a righty on the mound.

Even if you didn’t care about the match-ups, just the sheer number of left-handed hitters and switch-hitters in baseball makes that seem pretty surprising. And, in fact, it is quite unusual. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a team started an all-right-handed line-up against a right-handed pitcher was over 7 years ago, April 22, 2005 when the Astros did it against the Cardinals’ Jason Marquis.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Arthroscopic surgery, the kind that Votto had done on his knee yesterday, is most often an outpatient procedure. It can be performed using general, spinal, regional, or local anesthetic, and if the local anesthetic is used, there may be no pain immediate after the procedure. After the procedure, the patient is left with several quarter-inch long incisions on either side of the joint.

Source: MedicineNet.com

Last Game
The Diamondbacks weren’t really bad enough to be swept by the Cubs last weekend, so maybe it’s no surprise that they busted out against the Reds last night. They touched Bronson Arroyo for 4 runs in the first inning, and that’s all they needed.

With the Diamondbacks’ All-Star Wade Miley on the mound, the Reds’ All-Star Joey Votto out of the line-up, and an ejection-happy Dan Bellino behind the plate, missing foul calls and taking it out on Miguel Cairo, it just wasn’t the Reds’ night. Final score: Diamondbacks 5, Reds 3.

Next Game
The Reds host the Diamondbacks again tonight. Johnny Cueto (RHP 10-5, 2.39 ERA) faces off against Trevor Bauer (1-1, 5.40 ERA). It looks like a pretty favorable match-up with our “ace” against their “guy making his fourth appearance,” but don’t get too cocky. Cueto’s still recovering from that blister problem.

Woe is me! Votto’s knee!
Joey Votto will undergo arthroscopic surgery today on his knee and will be out of the line-up for 3-4 weeks. The roster move to “replace” him will be announced later today. Heaven help the front office if they call up Willie Harris.

The good news is that you couldn’t ask for much more minor surgery than knee arthroscopy, unless you’re removing skin tags or something. The bad news is that the offense is shaky even WITH Votto. He’s not the hero every day, but would the other guys have the chance to be the hero if not for his consistent production? There’s going to be a lot of stepping up to do over the next month.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
This season the Reds’ have lost three as many games as they win when someone other than Joey Votto starts at first base. Maybe that’s not too meaningful when the actual record is 1-3, but there’s a good reason that sample size is so small.

Last Game
The Reds beat the Cardinals last night to sweep the 3-game series in Cincinnati: Reds 4, Cardinals 2. It’s the Reds’ sixth win in a row, and that’s what it took to wrest first place in the NLC back from the Pirates. The Reds are now in sole possession of first place in the division by 1.0 games.

Next Game
Tonight, the Reds host the Diamondbacks at 7:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park. Bronson Arroyo (4-5, 3.73 ERA) will defend against All-Star Wade Miley (9-5, 3.04 ERA). This could be a rough match-up for Arroyo, but he’s also coming off a great outing in San Diego.

The Other End of the Spectrum
With all the jockeying for the first three positions between the Reds, Pirates, and Cardinals, it can be easy to forget about the rest of the NLC, but the Cubs have recently pulled themselves out of last place. They’ve gone 12-4 in their last 16, which has brought their overall record to 36-52 and 3.5 games ahead of the Astros.

Their most recent accomplishment is a 3-game sweep of the Diamondbacks, which, as you may remember from the last section, is the team coming to visit the Reds tonight.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have had 6-game winnings streaks twice this season, most recently June 12-June 16. If they win tonight, though, the 7-game win streak will be the highest of the season.