Devin Mesoraco’s suspension for contact with umpire Chad Fairchild has been reduced from 3 games to 2 after his appeal. Mesoraco begins serving that sentence immediately.

The suspension forces the Cincinnati Reds to go with a 24-man roster. Since Ryan Hanigan was the only other catcher on the roster, the team decided to make sure that they still had 2 catchers. They activated Dioneer Navarro from AAA Louisville. To make room for Navarro, Logan Ondrusek was optioned to AAA.

Ondrusek has been struggling a little lately, but it’s not exactly worthy of a demotion. Regardless, the rules state he’ll have to remain in the minors for 10 days before being called back up. Unless there’s an injury to another pitcher. And why do I feel that Sam LeCure might be “injured” soon?

As part of their “11 Days of Larkin” celebrating the enshrining in Cooperstown of Cincinnati Reds’ shortstop Barry Larkin, the Reds will be holding a meet-and-greet opportunity at the Reds Hall of Fame Museum this Thursday, August 23 at 5pm.

The Reds Hall of Fame welcomes Reds and National Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin for an exclusive fan meet and greet on Thursday, Aug. 23.

The newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame will greet and take photographs with fans in the Reds Hall of Fame’s Great Teams Room from 5 to 7 p.m.

Mr. Larkin will not be signing autographs during the event.

Pricing for this unique opportunity to meet a true Reds legend is $11 for Reds Hall of Fame members and $16 for non-members.

All proceeds from the event benefit the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Cincinnati Reds and baseball history.

The Barry Larkin Meet & Greet is one of the events held during the “11 Days of Larkin,” a series of celebrations from August 16-26 that include the retirement of his uniform number 11 on Saturday, Aug. 25.

Tickets for the meet and greet are available at the Hall of Fame box office or by calling 513-765-7923.

Barry Larkin Meet & Greet at the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum
Thursday, August 23, 2012 from 5 to 7 p.m.
$11 for Reds Hall of Fame members; $16 for non-members
www.redsmuseum.org or 513-765-7923
**Photos only, no autographs please.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cubs (46-71)	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	11	2
Reds (72-47)	0	1	0	5	1	0	0	0	-	7	10	1

Boxscore

And just like that, the Cincinnati Reds are on the verge of another winning streak.

The Reds opened a 4-game series with the Chicago Cubs yesterday, facing their old teammate Travis Wood. The last time they faced Wood, he held them to 1 run over 7 innings. This time, things were different.

The Cubs took the early lead in the second inning, but the Reds tied it in the bottom of the inning when Wood misplayed a ground ball off the bat of Ryan Hanigan. Hanigan was safe at first, and Todd Frazier scored.

Then in the 4th inning, the offense exploded. Ryan Ludwick lead off the inning with his 23rd home run. Wood hit Jay Bruce and then served up a pitch to Frazier that he deposited in the seats in left field for his 16th home run. That gave the Reds a lead they would not relinquish, but they weren’t finished. Bronson Arroyo reached on a double, and was knocked in by Zack Cozart. Drew Stubbs drove in the 5th run of the inning with a triple that scored Cozart.

Arroyo wasn’t at his best in his start, but he kept the team in it and turned in a quality start. In 6 1/3 innings, he allowed 3 runs on 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. When the bullpen entered, the Reds had a 4-run lead, and Jose Arredondo, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman kept the Cubs off the board the rest of the way.

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, keeping the Reds’ lead at 6 games.

Today, the Reds play a double-header. Johnny Cueto will take on Jeff Samardzija in the first game at 1:10pm EDT. And then in the second game, the Reds’ streak of using only 5 starting pitchers this season will be broken when Todd Redmond is called up to start against Brooks Raley at 7:10pm EDT.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (69-46)	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	3	6	0
Cubs (44-69)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

Boxscore

Johnny Cueto won his 15th game Sunday, giving the Cincinnati Reds the series win over the Chicago Cubs and improving the Reds’ winning streak to 3.

Cueto pitched 8 innings of 3-hit, shutout ball. He walked 2 and struck out 3. Aroldis Chapman was brought in for the 9th to close the game out and succeeded in getting his 28th save. He allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

The game was scoreless until the 5th, with Cubs rookie starter Brooks Raley matching Cueto’s excellent effort. With one out, Todd Frazier singled to left field. Then Jay Bruce stepped to the plate and broke his 0-13 slump with his 22nd home run.

Those two runs were more than the Reds needed with how well Cueto was dealing, but Ryan Ludwick added on another run in the 6th inning. With 2 outs, he homered to left field for his 21st of the season.

The Reds maintained their 4.5 game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who also won. The St. Louis Cardinals lost and are now 7 games back.

The Reds have Monday off. On Tuesday, they start a home stand when the New York Mets come to town. Chris Young is scheduled to start against Mat Latos at 7:10pm EDT.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (67-46)	0	2	3	0	0	3	0	1	1	10	15	0
Cubs (44-67)	1	0	2	0	0	1	2	2	0	8	13	5

Boxscore

In a game that took 3 hours and 56 minutes to play, a game that saw the Chicago Cubs commit 5 errors and a game with 18 combined runs scored, the Cincinnati Reds won to snap their 5-game losing streak.

It was an ugly game.

Homer Bailey started and ended up going 5 2/3 innings before being pulled. He loaded the bases in the first with no outs–an important harbinger of the day to come–and allowed a run before finishing the inning. Still, the 4 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks that he allowed over that time were somehow enough to get him his career-high 10th win.

The wind at Wrigley Field was doing crazy things to the ball yesterday, which contributed to the high-scoring affair. Ryan Ludwick and Todd Frazier were the offensive heros, with Ludwick going 3-5 with a walk, 4 runs scored, and 2 RBI from the game’s only home run. Frazier drove in 4 and scored a run, and had himself a 3-4 day with a walk.

The real star of the game, though, was Aroldis Chapman. After two consecutive losses due to late leads given up by the bullpen, it looked like it was about to happen again.

Jonathan Broxton started the 8th inning, but was again completely ineffective. He allowed 2 runs and the 3-run lead that the Reds had fought so hard for was in danger of slipping away. A 6th loss in a row would have been hard to swallow. Manager Dusty Baker made the right call, though, and with 2 outs in the 8th, he brought in Chapman for the 4-out, 1-run save.

And Chapman did it. He struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced, picking up his 26th save. He’s been amazing this year, and I was very happy to see him enter. It’s hard for the wind in Wrigley to do crazy things to the ball when the batters can’t put it in play.

Thanks to losses from both the Pirates and Cardinals, the Reds’ first win in a week increases their lead in the standings by a game. They try to make this winning thing a streak today when Bronson Arroyo takes on former Red Travis Wood at 4:05pm EDT.