Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (66-46)	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	8	1
Cubs (44-66)	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	-	5	7	1

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds continued going off the rails on their losing train last night, losing to the Chicago Cubs. Entering the game, both teams had losing streaks. I didn’t expect the Cubs’ streak to be the one to end. This is the Reds’ 5th consecutive loss, and their longest losing streak of the season.

Mike Leake started for Cincinnati and turned in a quality start: 6 innings and 3 runs. He also allowed 6 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. The bullpen was ineffective for a second straight night, though, allowing 2 more runs in the 8th.

The Reds took the lead early, with Zack Cozart leading off the game with his 13th home run. Another run scored when a Ryan Ludwick ground out scored Drew Stubbs. The Reds stopped scoring in the 4th after Todd Frazier hit his 14th home run. But it wasn’t enough to get the win.

Winning streaks gloss over weaknesses of a team. It’s unfortunate that the Reds’ last streak coincided with the non-waiver trading deadline. General Manager Walt Jocketty has already shown his preference of inactivity. That combined with the team playing so well hid the black hole of ineptitude that manager Dusty Baker has available to him every game on his bench. Jocketty has given Baker nothing, and it showed last night, when Wilson Valdez batted in the 9th with a runner on and grounded into a double play to kill any chance of a comeback. That’s not the batter you want in that situation, but the Reds had no one better on the bench.

Joey Votto can’t come back soon enough.

The Reds try to stop the bleeding and maintain their 2 1/2 game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon. Homer Bailey will start against former Red Justin Germano at 2:20pm EDT.

Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman’s hair is no more.

A few weeks ago, Brennaman and bench coach Chris Speier were talking about the Reds ability to win 10 in a row. Brennaman disagreed and off-handedly said he’d shave his head if the team did it. When the team accomplished that feat last week, Brennaman said he’d go through with it. After last night’s game, a barber shop chair was set up on home plate, and Marty’s own personal barber shaved off the poofy white locks.

More than $50,000 was raised for the Reds Community Fund as part of the event last night.

“I’m thrilled that they raised the kind of money they did in four days,” Brennaman said after his historic haircut. “I have no complaints. It’s going to be interesting now to see how quickly my hair grows back, but I’m not going to worry about it.”

Very few left the stadium to witness the haircut after the game. And I’m sure the players enjoyed it, as well. Bronson Arroyo certainly did.

“The guys were pumped because we knew he just said that off-handedly on the bus,” said Reds pitcher Arroyo. “It was kind of a joke at the time, and then it started to get a little more serious. You never get to achieve some of those goals when people throw out those outlandish things. This one’s coming true, so it’s cool.”

Brennaman apparently intends to have it grow back. What I wonder is if he’ll have it shaved the stubble down again should the Reds win 10 more.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pirates (60-45)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Reds (65-41)	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	-	3	7	0

Boxscore

In the first game of the showdown between the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates, Mat Latos dominated from both sides of the plate.

Latos went 7 1/3 innings and shut out the Pirates. He allowed 4 hits, 3 walks, and struck out none. With the shutout assistance from the bullpen–Jonathan Broxton and Aroldis Chapman–Latos picked up his 10th win of the season. He now joins Johnny Cueto as the second starter on the team with wins in the double-digits. Homer Bailey is likely to be next to join them, as he has 9 wins. Bronson Arroyo is a ways away with only 7.

On the offensive side, the Reds took the lead in the 2nd thanks to an inside-the-park home run from Chris Heisey. Latos himself contributed to making things easier for himself by hitting a 2-run home run in the 5th inning. The ball was caught by a Pirates fan who promptly got rid of the ball. It was the first home run of the year for Latos, but the 3rd of his career.

Three runs was more than enough for the Reds’ 65th win. The win increased the Reds’ lead over the Pirates to 4 games and assured Cincinnati of being alone in first no matter what happens in the remaining two games.

Being Devin Mesoraco is tough right now. Following his interaction with the horrible umpire Chad Fairchild on Monday, Major League Baseball handed down a 3-day suspension. And to top off his painful day, he’s also been placed on the 7-day disabled list with a concussion.

Mesoraco will appeal the suspension. As for the concussion, that was a last-minute move 30 minutes before game time.

Mesoraco left Tuesday’s game after six innings, with the Reds at the time saying Mesoraco had dizziness from being overheated. Mesoraco collided with Padres baserunner Cameron Maybin during Monday’s game.

Catcher Dioner Navarro was called up from the Louisville Bats. There wasn’t room on the 40-man roster, so Mike Costanzo had to be designated for assignment to make room for Navarro. Hopefully, Navarro will make it to the park before emergency catchers Wilson Valdez or Miguel Cairo would need to be used.

If you’re wondering about Mesoraco serving the suspension while he’s on the DL, I’m afraid that won’t fly. He won’t be allowed to serve his suspension while disabled. When he is suspended, the Reds will have to go with just 24 players, instead of the usual 25.

As was discussed here leading up to the non-waiver trading deadline, the Cincinnati Reds traded for Kansas City Royals’ closer Jonathan Broxton. The team has now made it official.

The Reds have acquired Kansas City closer Jonathan Broxton for minor leaguers J.C. Sulbaran and Donnie Joseph.

Broxton, a 28-year-old right-hander, is 1-2 with a 2.27 ERA. He struck out 25 and walked 14 in 35 2/3 innings.

The team made several corresponding moves. Bill Bray was placed on the disabled list with a back injury. With a 5.19 ERA in just 8 2/3 innings this season, he could be one of those guys placed on the DL for a case of inflated ERA. Regardless, Broxton is clearly better than Bray.

Todd Redmond was called up to take Bray’s spot. This was likely to have happened without the trading deadline, considering how over-worked the bullpen has been the last couple games. Broxton will not arrive until tomorrow, so I would expect Redmond to be in the majors for one day. Again. I think this will be his third time to have that happen.

The final move was to designate Andrew Brackman for assignment. This move wasn’t necessary to make room for Broxton since one of the guys he was traded for–I believe Joseph–was on the 40 man roster. Trading him opens room for Broxton. However, with catcher Devin Mesoraco facing a suspension and Ryan Hanigan being the only catcher on the 40-man, I imagine this is a pre-emptive step to make room when backup catcher extraordinaire Corky Miller needs to be called up.

A flurry of transactions at the deadline, but just the one trade. It’s surprising to see the Reds strengthen an area that’s already so strong, but there’s always room for improvement. As mentioned, Broxton is better than Bray, and he’s arguably better than Logan Ondrusek and Jose Arredondo.

The price for a 2-month rental seems high, but now the Reds have 3 guys with closer experience: Broxton, Aroldis Chapman, and Sean Marshall. It may be unlikely, but in the back of my mind, I can’t help but wonder if this move might strengthen the starting rotation. Does this allow Chapman to move back into the starting rotation?