Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Cardinals (46-42)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	8	1
Reds (49-38)	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	3	10	1

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds finally won a 1-run game, and they did it in dramatic, walk-off fashion, thanks to left-fielder Ryan Ludwick and his just-barely home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

The journey to that exciting ending was entertaining, too. Mike Leake started and did very well, shutting out the Cardinals for the first six innings of the game. The offense had given the team the lead, too, with Jay Bruce doubling in Brandon Phillips in the 5th inning to plate the first run. Then in the next inning, Scott Rolen singled to start the inning, moved to third thanks to a single from Devin Mesoraco and a sacrifice by Mike Leake, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Zack Cozart.

When Leake went back out for the 7th, though he was suddenly not as effective. He was unable to retire anyone, giving up a solo home run to Yadier Molina and a couple other hits. Sean Marshall relieved him, but couldn’t keep the Cardinals from tying the game thanks to a safety-squeeze bunt from Rafael Furcal. Leake’s final line: 6 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts. His 5th straight quality start.

From then on, the bullpen pitched scoreless baseball. Lodan Ondrusek, Bill Bray, Aroldis Chapman, and Sam LeCure combined for 3 shutout innings, sending the game to extras and giving the offense enough time to come back. Ludwick provided that with a solo home run on the 9th pitch of his at-bat against Victor Marte to lead off the 10th inning.

The win returns the Reds to 11 games over .500 and keeps them tied for first place with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who beat the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday.

Today, the Reds will be nationally televised again, as a part of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Jake Westbrook will start for the Cardinals, while the Reds will send out Homer Bailey to start in place of Johnny Cueto, who has a blister on his right finger. The Reds will be going for the sweep at 8:00pm EDT.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cardinals (46-41)	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	9	1
Reds (48-38)	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	1	-	5	7	0

Boxscore

For the first baseball game after the All Star break, the Cincinnati Reds started their first series at home in more than two weeks and took on the St. Louis Cardinals. After that wretchedly late West Coast trip before the break, it was really nice to have baseball back.

A decent pitching duel seemed possible, with Adam Wainwright going against Mat Latos. Unfortunately, Mr. April showed up for the Reds. Latos allowed 2 runs, 4 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 5. After 5 innings, his pitch count was at 97, and he was done.

Wainwright was better than he’s been in the past, but he’s clearly not fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery. Not everybody returns to 100% from that, and his inconsistent year, coupled with Chris Carpenter out for the year and Jaime Garcia out for who knows how long, that can’t have the Cardinals feeling too good about their rotation.

The wagon-maker was strong early, allowing just 1 run and 2 hits over the first six innings, but his wheels fell off in the 7th. Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce both singled to start the inning. Ryan Ludwick bunted both runners over first the first out–a play I’m convinced was a stupid waste of an out. Then Ryan Hanigan swung at the first pitch he saw and beat out a poor underhand toss from the first baseman to Wainwright covering at first base. Both Phillips and Bruce scored on the play, giving the Reds a 1-run lead. Zack Cozart finished the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly.

Alfredo Simon was the pitching savior for the Reds, pitching two scoreless innings and allowing the offense time to come back. Jose Arredondo struggled to get through the 8th, having to be relieved by Sean Marshall, but the two got the job done. And Aroldis Chapman closed it out for his 12th save. Sadly, there were no somersaults afterwards.

Today, the Reds and Cardinals will go at it again, with Cincinnati sending out Mike Leake to face off against former Red Kyle Lohse. The first pitch is at 4:05pm EDT.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
National	5	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	8	10	0
American	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	-

Boxscore

Last night’s mid-summer classic was almost a little boring after the first inning or so. By that time, the National League had already established a 5-0 lead that would turn out to be more than enough. By the time it was all over, the National League had shut out the American League 8-0.

Matt Cain of the Giants started the parade of pitchers with 2.0 innings of 0 run, 1 hit work. Then came the next 10 guys. Aroldis Chapman was in there somewhere. With 2 outs already in the eighth, he walked Mike Trout on seven pitches. But then he struck out Mark Trumbo swinging on merely 98- and 99-MPH pitches, so he managed to keep the runless streak going.

On the offense, the accolades go to Pablo Sandoval who knocked in 3 in the first inning with a triple. He’s a big guy to be swatting a triple, but hits to right field were causing the AL lots of trouble last night. Ultimately the National League ended up with 3 triples: one from Sandoval, one from Rafael Furcal, and one from Ryan Braun.

Joey Votto went 0-for-3 last night with one strikeout and two ground outs. Jay Bruce came in as a defensive sub in the bottom of the fifth and went 0-for-2. He flied out in the top of the sixth and grounded out in the top of the ninth.

The win brings the National League’s record to 1-0, gives the home advantage in the World Series to the senior circuit, and means we can finally say goodbye to Tony LaRussa. The next game will be in 2013. If the stars align, Dusty Baker will be managing it.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	4	10	0
Padres	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	7	0

Boxscore

The Reds wrapped up the first half with a 4-2 win over the Padres last night to take 3 of 4 in San Diego and 6 of 11 in California.

Johnny Cueto was killing it at first, but faltered as the game went on and only ended up serving 5.2 innings. He allowed 2 runs (earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks in that time, but thanks to run support and good relief, he still finished with the win.

Sam LeCure got the next two outs, Sean Marshall the 5 after that, and Aroldis Chapman closed out the last inning. None of the relievers allowed so much as a hit, and Chapman even struck out 2 in the ninth. For the moment, at least, he’s “back.”

The offense was brought to you last night by:

• Jay Bruce, who knocked Brandon Phillips and himself in with a 2-run home run in the fourth inning for half the Reds’ score. If you’re only going to have one run on the night, why not make it this one?
• Ryan Ludwick, who also made the most of his single hit by going back-to-back with Bruce in the fourth.
• Phillips, who broke the 1-hit trend by going 3-for-5 and who also knocked in Zack Cozart in the seventh inning for the Reds’ insurance run.

The win brings the Reds’ record to 47-38. Except for Joey Votto, Bruce, and Chapman, the team is off until Friday when the Reds will host the Cardinals. Mat Latos will take on Adam Wainwright. First pitch at 7:10 p.m.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	1	6	12	0
Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0

Boxscore

Good-royo made an appearance for the Reds last night and we finally saw the kind of game that a team like the Reds ought to be playing against a team like the Padres. Final score: Reds 6, Padres 0.

Bronson Arroyo pitched a complete damn game, giving up all zero runs on 3 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 8, which is very unusual for him. He must have ordered what Mat Latos was having.

Except for Brandon Phillips, the whole line-up contributed hits, even Arroyo. It’s really feast or famine with these guys sometimes. Zack Cozart got the scoring started with the home run to lead off the game. Ryan Hanigan kept it going in the seventh inning with a 2-run shot. Todd Frazier also put in a 2-run home run in the eighth.

Drew Stubbs finally broke his hit drought in the ninth inning with a double to center field. Joey Votto then knocked him in for the sixth run of the game. Before that hit, Stubbs had gone 0-for-32, tying the illustrious Willy Taveras for the greatest number of ABs without a hit. That’s some rarefied air, my friends.

The win brings the Reds record to 45-38. They remain in second place in the NLC, but at least haven’t dropped any further back. The third game of the four-game series is tonight at 10:05 p.m. Homer Bailey (6-6, 4.24 ERA) takes on Clayton Richard (6-8, 3.64 ERA).