Boxscore

That was a great game last night, wasn’t it?

Johnny Cueto was awesome. Again. And the offense actually showed up. It felt like it was the first time in forever that the offense wasn’t rained out. How nice that it gave the Cincinnati Reds their first time above .500 since April 8.

Cueto continues to show himself as the best home-grown Reds pitcher since Tom Browning. Granted, that may sound like damning him with faint praise considering the team’s horrendous track record at developing starting pitching. But Cueto’s pitching like an ace. His complete game effort against the Pittsburgh Pirates was just another exhibit in that case. On the night, his line was 9 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, and 4 strikeouts.

The offense was lead by three home runs, one each from Zack Cozart, Drew Stubbs, and Jay Bruce. Of course, by that point, the Reds were already ahead 3-1 thanks to some timely hitting that we haven’t seen the team do much of this year.

Hopefully that will continue tonight when Mike Leake faces James McDonald at 7:05pm EDT.

Boxscore

The Reds’ offense, after being absent for the first eight innings, finally made an appearance yesterday afternoon. They changed a 3-0 score to a 3-3 score and took the game into the tenth, where they finally won the split in the shortened 2-game series.

It was Homer Bailey on the mound, celebrating his 26th birthday, facing off against Ryan Dempster, who was celebrating his 35th. Bailey put in an Arroyo-like performance, giving up 3 runs (earned) on 9 hits and 1 walk through his 6 innings of service. He also served up three home run balls to various Cubs. The Cubs, as a team, had 9 home runs for the season before coming to Cincinnati this week. That wind blowing in must be a bitch.

Jose Arredondo, Aroldis Chapman, Sean Marshall, and Logan Ondrusek each put in a scoreless inning of relief. Marshall gave up a hit and Ondrusek walked a guy, but the pitching continues to not be the problem. Chapman, of course, struck out 2.

On the offensive side, Joey Votto was the only one doing anything for the first couple times through the order. All-in-all, he ended up going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

It was a drastically boring game through most of it. I even fell asleep for a while during the fourth inning. But then the ninth inning and Carlos Marmol happened. Willie Harris got thing started (!!) by taking a walk, and Votto followed suit. Brandon Phillips reached on an error that also scored Harris. Score 1-3.

Jay Bruce got the first proper hit of the inning with a single to right, which loaded the bases for Ryan Ludwick, who worked a walk. Score 2-3, thanks, and goodbye Marmol.

The Cubs brought in Rafael Dolis. Dolis got Mesoraco to ground into a double play, which normally would be a great thing, except the Reds had three outs left in the inning and so it turned into a sac double play that allowed Phillips to score. Score 3-3. Dolis also got Wilson Valdez to strike out swinging. Induce a GIDP and a K and get the loss: what a raw deal for Dolis.

In the top of the tenth, Scott Rolen replaced Willie Harris and Zack Cozart took over for Valdez at SS. Remember: both Harris and Valdez batted in the bottom of the ninth. I find Dusty Baker’s decisions so baffling so much of the time.

But the top of the tenth isn’t the point; it’s the bottom that matters. Cozart singled, Chris Heisey laid down the sac bunt, and then Rolen sent the sac fly to right field. Reds win 3-4, and all those folks who left in the 7th to go back to work missed the only interesting part.

The win brings the Reds’ record to 12-12: back to .500. Tonight they visit the Pirates–who have just finished being beaten up on my the Cardinals–at 7:05 p.m. Johnny Cueto takes on Kevin Correia.

Boxscore

I apparently have lost the ability to enjoy baseball games that the Cincinnati Reds lose. Either that, or when the Reds lose–to the Chicago Cubs, of all teams–they play the most boring, uninspired baseball I’ve ever seen.

Hell, I’d rather be removing my old, leaky kitchen faucet than watching this game. Granted, the leak was causing issues in the basement ceiling and a bit more immediate of a concern than the baseball game. But you can bet I would’ve been checking the game more often had the Reds shown any life.

Bronson Arroyo started for the Reds and continued to perform well. So far, he’s been the most surprising starting pitcher of the season, and in a good way. Arroyo turned in a quality start, going 6 innings and allowing 3 runs on 9 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts. He did allow a couple home runs, though, which did remind me too much of last year.

It almost didn’t matter how good Arroyo pitched, though, as the Reds’ offense didn’t get the memo that today’s game wasn’t rained out. The only run they scored didn’t even result in an RBI. With one out and Joey Votto on third base and Brandon Phillips on first, Jay Bruce hit a grounder to the first baseman. The first baseman tapped the bag to force Bruce and then threw to second to get Phillips tagged out. But Phillips forced a rundown for long enough for Votto to score.

And that was it. In total, the Reds managed 3 whole hits. The pitching was good again, and the bullpen turned in 3 shutout innings. But Dusty Baker better wake this team up or the team will have to find someone else to do it.

486QV5C2JSK2The Cincinnati Reds primary shortstop from 2011 Paul Janish, often referred to as “Soft J” around the RHM household, has broken his left wrist while playing for the Louisville Bats.

Janish was hitting very well with the AAA affiliate of the Reds, with a batting average of .315 and an on-base percentage of .390. He’s expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks.

Of course, the worst part of this is what will happen to him when he comes back. It’ll take a year before he recovers his power.

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Houston Astros today 6-5, taking the weekend series. That is the Reds’ third consecutive series win and has their record back at .500 at 11-11.

Mat Latos started for the Reds and was bad again. He pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing 5 runs from 10 hits, including 2 home runs, and struck out 4. On the season, Latos has started five games, but only one of them was good. His last start against San Francisco resulted in a shutout, but so far, all of his other starts have been a disappointment.

While I’m not too concerned about Latos–I’m confident he’s just having a slow start to the season and will improve–the bad starts do grow tiresome. Thankfully, the Reds’ offense has improved and were good enough to bail out Latos today.

Joey Votto tied the game twice with his awesomeness today. Once in the 4th inning when he hit a two-run home run–his second on the season and two more than Albert Pujols–to tie the game at 2-2. And then again in the 5th inning when he lined a double down the right field line to drive in two and tie it at 5-5.

The game stayed tied until the bottom of the 8th when Jay Bruce came to the plate and hit his fourth home run in four days. That gave the Reds the lead for the first time all day and allowed closer Sean Marshall to enter and absolve his last save failure with a 1-2-3 save.

The Reds finished the month of April with a record of 11-11. They have an off day on Monday before the Chicago Cubs come to town. Bronson Arroyo takes on Jeff Samardzija at 7:10pm EDT.