Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (60-63)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	9	2
Nationals (58-63)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	7	0

Boxscore

Johnny Cueto pitched another great game Wednesday night, further cementing his status as the team’s ace pitcher. That extension he signed in the off-season is looking mighty fine right now!

Cueto pitched 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 5. His lone run actually came in the bottom of the 9th, after which he was promptly removed for Francisco Cordero, who got the shaky save he’s patented in his time with the Reds.

The Reds’ offense in the 2-1 win was provided by Joey Votto’s 20th home run and an RBI groundout from Ramon Hernandez. And that was enough. Cueto picked up his 9th win and his ERA now stands at 1.89. That’s right: 1.89. Not too shabby.

The Reds and the Nationals are now tied in the series and go for the series win Thursday.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Bats	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	9	0
Indians	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	0

Boxscore

As RHM mentioned, we headed to Victory Field to catch as much of the game between the Louisville Bats and Indianapolis Indians as a school-night would allow. Thankfully, we saw a little bit of offense in the hour and 30 we were there.

Chad Reineke started for the Bats and had decent results. In 5 innings, he allowed 2 runs and struck out 5. Of course, he also allowed 7 hits, which indicates either goof luck in not allowing more runs or bad luck in the defense behind him. And since most of the Reds’ best infield prospects are with the major league club or injured, I’m leaning towards the latter.

The offense was provided by lots of Bats batters, but none was more impressive than power-hitter Juan Francisco.

Francisco had what appeared to be either an accidental swing, or at least a half-hearted one, and sent a ball over the right field berm area. It was a power shot, and it looked like he barely swung. It’s the best display of his power I’ve seen. He’s almost always looked over-matched in the majors.

The rosters are set to expand for the Cincinnati Reds at the beginning of next month, but it’s hard to see who might be called up. Francisco, sure. But the only other position player who seems likely is catcher Devin Mesoraco. He went 1 for 4 on the night, but that one hit did lead to the eventual run scoring. Considering, he’s got a .291 average, a 37% on-base percentage, and is slugging .484, he might not have much left to prove in AAA, anyway.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rockies (55-64)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	1
Reds (57-61)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	2	6	0

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds split the 4-game series with the Colorado Rockies Thursday, thanks to another amazing start from Johnny Cueto.

Remember back in the playoffs last year when Baker picked Edinson Volquez to start the series against the Philadelphia Phillies? And then when he chose Volquez again to start the 2011 season? Yeah, he was wrong about Volquez being an ace. It was the other guy with dreadlocks.

Cueto has been amazing this year. This latest start is no exception. Over 7 innings, he allowed 3 hits, walked 2, struck out 9, and allowed no runs. That got his ERA back under 2.00 at 1.94. He leads the league in ERA and has clearly been about the best starter in the majors this year. And his record is only 8-5. The poor guy has had more blown saves than I care to look up.

But not this time. This time, the bullpen was there for him. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless 8th, and Francisco Cordero picked up his 22nd save. Although he did allow one run. I think he was just doing his part to improve the Reds’ horrible record in games decided by one run.

The offense was the only thing that wasn’t strong for Cueto. It scored 2 runs in the first, thanks to an RBI from Jay Bruce and an error by the Rockies. In the end, it sure was nice to see the Reds not lose a series to a below-average team for a change.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (55-59)	0	1	0	3	2	0	0	2	0	8	11	0
Cubs (49-66)	0	0	2	0	0	2	3	0	0	7	8	0

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds finished a disastrous road trip today. Before it, they were fresh off sweeping the world champion San Francisco Giants and looking at doing about the same to two of the worst teams in the majors in the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs.

That didn’t happen. The Reds barely won 1 of the 3 against the Astros. And today, they were looking at the very real possibility of being swept by the Cubs.

Bronson Arroyo started and made it all the way until the 3rd inning before giving up a home run. He would give up another in the 6th, but at that point the Reds actually had a 6-2 lead. The second homer made it 6-4.

Not a problem. Turn it over to the bullpen, right? Not so fast. Since the All Star break, sending relievers Logan Ondrusek and Nick Massett into games has been the equivalent of throwing gasoline on a fire. They continued their suckage today and gave up the lead.

But then there was a miracle. The Reds actually got a hit when it mattered. In the top of the 8th, Ryan Hanigan had a one-out hit to drive in the winning run.

Aroldis Chapman held the lead in the bottom of the 8th by striking out the side, and Francisco Cordero didn’t screw things up in the 9th.

Dave Sappelt made his major league debut, hitting leadoff in the lineup, and went 1-5 with a run scored. He also had a couple great defensive plays, including one where he didn’t search for a ball in the Wrigley outfield ivy. That move cost the Cubs 2 runs.

Drew Stubbs, Todd Frazier, and Edgar Renteria all contributed home runs in the 8-7 win.

I have a bias when it comes to baseball: I favor the young guys.

To me, it feels like they have more drive, more desire, more to prove, and a higher potential ceiling, if only because time hasn’t cemented their position in the majors. So I was in favor of Paul Janish over Alex Gonzalez last year. And this year, when Janish failed to be demonstrably better than Edgar Renteria, I wanted Zack Cozart called up.

Walt Jocketty did call up Cozart, albeit two weeks too late–he’s really been just a horrible general manager this year–and it proved very successful. Until tonight, when he hurt his left elbow in a bang-bang play at second base. The throw from Joey Votto arrived at the same time as the runner, and Cozart exploded from the base in pain with his left elbow hyper-extended.

The Reds won, but are still wondering what the final prognosis will be on Cozart.

Renteria came in off the bench and helped power the Reds to the win over the Atlanta Braves. But you know who also helped? Freshly called up Todd Frazier.

Frazier was called up when 3rd basemen Scott Rolen was placed on the disabled list officially for a case of a sore shoulder, but really a case of the olds and can’t hit for shit anymore. Frazier, with the bases loaded, did what few Reds has been able to do this year, doubled off the top of the wall and cleared the bases.

I don’t know, but I feel more excited when the younger guys are playing. The Reds won tonight. Todd Frazier was playing, as was Zack Cozart and Chris Heisey. Play the young guys. They’re the ones with passion and a real desire to win that seems to come through the two-dimensional television screen.

Heck, play them on Sunday. Maybe the Reds will stop sucking and actually win 2 in a row.