This afternoon, the MLB Network announced that Cincinnati Reds center fielder Drew Stubbs had won the National League Player of the Week award for July 23 – July 29. He shares it with Carlos Gomez of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Stubbs, who helped lead the Reds to a 6-0 mark last week, hit .370 (10-for-27) and tied with Gomez for the N.L. lead in RBI (10) and stolen bases (3). The eighth overall selection in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft ranked second in the N.L. with nine runs scored and was tied for second in hits while finishing third with three home runs and 21 total bases. On July 24th, the Texas native went 3-for-4 with a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning off Houston closer Francisco Cordero en-route to a 4-2 victory at Minute Maid Park. The following night, Stubbs paced the Reds offense, going 2-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI as the Reds capped a four-game sweep at Houston with a 5-3 victory. The right-handed-hitting slugger notched his 12th homer of the season in Sunday’s 7-2 win over the Rockies while collecting his team-leading 21st stolen base as the Reds completed a three-game sweep at Colorado. This is Drew’s first career weekly award.

Does that make it easier or harder to trade him by the deadline tomorrow? On the one hand, he’s increased his trade value a bit by showing how good he can be, but on the other hand, in showing the Reds how good he can be, maybe he doesn’t need replacing after all.

None of the options that the Reds have been linked to–Juan Pierre, Denard Span, or Shane Victorino–strike me as so much better than Stubbs that the Reds should obtain them no matter the cost. With Joey Votto about to return, I might not be too upset at Walt Jocketty for doing nothing again.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (60-40)	0	2	1	0	4	1	0	1	0	9	9	2
Rockies (37-62)	3	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	7	13	0

Boxscore

After having just one home run in the last five games, the Cincinnati Reds had five home runs in one game to defeat the Colorado Rockies 9-7.

Johnny Cueto started for the Reds and was uncharacteristically bad, allowing 3 runs in the first inning. And he was lucky. The first four batters reached base via 3 straight singles and a double. After that, Cueto struggled, but managed to battle through and give the Reds time to come back. Cueto’s final line was 6 innings, 10 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Thanks to the offense, he even got his 13th win.

In the top of the second, Ryan Ludwick and Todd Frazier both hit solo home runs to bring the Reds within 1. In the very next inning, Drew Stubbs tied it at 3 with his own solo shot. The 5th was when the Reds took the lead, never to give it up again, thanks to a 4-run outburst, this time without the help of homers. Zack Cozart and Drew Stubbs singled in a run apiece, and Brandon Phillips drove in 2 with a double.

The bullpen was a little shaky last night, with Jose Arredondo allowing a couple to score in the 7th, but Scott Rolen added his own solo home run in the 6th, and Ludwick hit his second solo shot in the 8th.

Aroldis Chapman finished the 9th for the save and the Reds won the series while extending their winning streak to 9. The Pittsburgh Pirates won, so they remain 2 games behind Cincinnati. The Reds are 20 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2010 season.

The Reds go for the sweep against the Rockies this afternoon. Mat Latos will face Jonathan Sanchez at 3:10pm EDT.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (59-40)	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	3	9	0
Rockies (37-61)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0

Boxscore

It was the Bronson Arroyo show for the first 6 2/3 innings last night when the Cincinnati Reds arrived in Colorado to take on the Rockies. Arroyo picked up his 6th win–evening his record at 6-6–and propelled the Reds to their longest winning streak of the season: 8.

Over his 6 2/3 innings, Arroyo allowed 6 hits, no runs, and struck out 3. He lowered his ERA to 3.76 and is pitching like last year was the aberration everyone hoped it was.

The bullpen maintained the shutout, with Alfredo Simon and Aroldis Chapman contributing a scoreless inning. Chapman struck out the side in the 9th–again–to record his 20th save.

On the offensive side, the Rockies kept the Reds off the board until the 4th inning. Brandon Phillips singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a fly-out by Jay Bruce. Ryan Ludwick continued his hot hitting by lining a double down the left-field line to score Phillips. A sacrifice fly by Todd Frazier allowed Ludwick to score to give the Reds a 2-0 lead.

They added another run when Ludwick, on base again, scored thanks to a wild pitch by Rockies’ reliever Adam Ottavino.

The Reds needed only one run for the win, thanks to another strong pitching performance, but the 3 made it easy.

They go for another series win tonight at 8:10pm EDT. Johnny Cueto goes against Christian Friedrich.

Today is the day when the long-time shortstop of the Cincinnati Reds Barry Larkin is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Larkin was never my favorite player during my fandom. I always enjoyed the smaller guys who lacked the amazing talent and athletic ability that Larkin possessed. Yes, I enjoyed the Nick Esasky’s and Hal Morris’s more.

But I always knew Larkin was one of the best shortstops in the history of the game. And it was always a pleasure to watch him. I definitely took special notice of him anytime I caught a Reds game in person in his last few years. It was something special to see Larkin on the field with Ken Griffey Jr and know I was watching two future Hall of Famers.

And Larkin is a Hall of Famer. A no-doubt-about-it one for me. He was overlooked in the small-market of Cincinnati, but he was amazing, balancing excellent defense with excellent offense. He contributed mightily to the 1990 World Series win and the playoff appearance in 1995, when he won the National League MVP.

There’s been a lot written about Larkin, by many who knew him better and watched him play more than I did–I missed 1995, having given up on baseball after the horrendous strike–and it’s really cool to see the Reds get some positive attention.

I’ll raise a glass to Larkin for his induction into the Hall. And I’ll hope he can return to the Reds sometime in the future and pass on his knowledge.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Brewers (44-48)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	6	1
Reds (53-40)	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	-	3	8	0

Boxscore

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Cincinnati Reds had a good start. And this one from Homer Bailey was great.

For the third time in his last 4 outings, Bailey went 8 innings. He dominated the Milwaukee Brewers of that time, allowing just 6 hits, walking none, and striking out a career-high 10. In short, it was an amazing performance. And it’s one that’s becoming more and more customary from Bailey.

So far in 2012, Bailey is turning in the best year of his career. He has his lowest ERA at 3.74 (and highest ERA+ of his career at 112). He’s got his lowest WHIP at 1.271, and is approaching career highs in games started, innings pitched, and strikeouts. Wins aren’t the best measure of a starter, but with the win last night, Bailey did tie his career-high of 9 wins. Oh, and did I mention he’s just 26 years old?

Despite how long it feels like Bailey’s been with the Reds, he’s still young. And more and more, it’s looking like the year he really puts things together. He’s come a long way from looking like Keanu Reeves’ grandmother.

Of course, Bailey couldn’t win the game by himself. The offense had to score some runs. All 3 of the Reds’ run came from solo shots. Zack Cozart hit his 10th, Jay Bruce hit his 19th, and Scott Rolen hit his 4th.

Bruce broke a bad 0-19 slump with a 2-3 game. With Joey Votto out, this would be an awesome time for Bruce to go on one of his patented Player-of-the Week tears. And Rolen was playing with more energy than I’ve seen all year. He went 2-3, as well. The fastball he hit for his homer was hit with more authority than I’ve seen him swing with since 2010. If Bruce, Rolen, and Brandon Phillips–the hero of the previous game–can keep stepping up, this stretch without Votto could turn into a big positive for the team.

The win keeps the Reds in first place, 1/2 game ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Reds look to increase that lead when they play their second game against the Brewers tonight. Bronson Arroyo will start against Yavani Gallardo. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm EDT.