Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (96-63)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	10	3
Pirates (77-82)	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	7	0

Boxscore

A day after losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 9th, the Cincinnati Reds returned them the favor.

Of course, having the offense show up early enough in the game to provide Johnny Cueto with his 20th win of the season would have been too easy. No, the Reds had to keep all of that scoring until the end.

Still, Cueto finished the year strong. In his final start, he went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, and 1 walk. He struck out 6. If he’d pitched a scoreless 8th or the offense had woken up before the 9th, he would’ve had the win. Heck, if the defense hadn’t screwed the pooch and allowed so many unearned runs, he would’ve gotten the win. I guess that just shows you how meaningless of a statistic wins can be.

As for that offense, they started the game off by getting on base, but not being able to knock in any runs. Both of the first two innings ended with runners in scoring position. But in the third, Joey Votto was given a pitch he could hit, and hit a double that scored Brandon Phillips. The next batter, Todd Frazier, hit a ground-out to the shortstop that scored Wilson Valdez.

After that, the Reds’ bats were silent until the 9th. Then, Xavier Paul, the very first batter against the Pirates’ closer Joel Hanrahan, hit a pinch-hit home run to right field to tie the game. And instead of being a rally killer, this got the offense going. Eventually.

The next two batters recorded out, but when Ryan Ludwick hit a pinch-hit double, I started feeling that this would turn into a win. With two outs, Zack Cozart was the hero, driving in the go-ahead run with his own double.

Aroldis Chapman pitched the bottom of the 9th for the save. He was a little shaky, but he got the job done. Hopefully, he can get an appearance or two before the playoffs start. I don’t want him rusty.

The Reds next travel to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. If Cincinnati can sweep, there’s a chance they’d knock the Cardinals out of the playoffs. I’m hoping for that. Bronson Arroyo will go against Jaime Garcia at 8:15pm.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (95-62)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	1
Pirates (76-81)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Boxscore

In case you missed it yesterday, Homer Bailey pitched a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates last night.

It’s the first no-hitter in PNC Park history, and it’s the first that a Cincinnati Reds pitcher has thrown since Tom Browning threw his perfect game back on September 16, 1988. Bailey accomplished his feat with 115 pitches. Over the 9 innings, he allowed no runs, no hits, walked one, and struck out 10.

The offense was again not really present. The Reds scored early, in the top of the first, but their bats fell silent after that. Thanks to Bailey’s flirt with flirtation, the 1 run was all they needed.

Phillips started the game off by singling to left. Zack Cozart followed with a single, providing Joey Votto with a rare opportunity to bat with runners on base. So of course, the Pirates walked him. But clean-up hitter Todd Frazier kept the bases-loaded, no-out situation from being a total loss by hitting a sacrifice fly to drive in Phillips.

It was all pitching after that, for both teams. In the end, the Pirates couldn’t score, and the Reds doomed them to their 20th season in a row without a winning record.

The Pirates still have a shot at a .500 record, but they’ll have to win all their remaining games. They’ll send out Kyle McPherson to attempt that, while the Reds will counter with Mike Leake, a man on the bubble of being included on the playoff roster. The game starts at 7:05pm.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	R	H	E
Pirates (72-68)	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	9	0
Reds (85-57)	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	8	0

Boxscore

That was a very, very long game.

In a game that took 5 hours and 22 minutes to play, the Cincinnati Reds finally came away with a win after a grueling 14-inning affair.

The Reds had plenty of chances to win the game, but it took until the bottom of the 14th. Devin Mesoraco lead off the inning with a screaming line drive that my tired eyes were hoping would just clear the wall. It didn’t, but it put the winning run on with no outs. Brandon Phillips reached next when he hit a ball that the catcher fielded. The catcher attempted to throw Mesoraco out at 2nd, but the throw was late. With 2 on and no outs, Chris Heisey showed bunt for the first two pitches before lining out to left field.

That brought Joey Votto to the plate. It would’ve been a nice storybook ending for him to have the walk-off hit on his birthday, but it was after midnight: his birthday was in the past. He struck out on a foul tip. Ryan Ludwick came to the plate next, and after a wild pitch that advanced both runners, he singled the winning run in on a ground ball that the shortstop couldn’t handle. The Reds players and fans could go to sleep, tired but happy.

The game wasn’t without drama. Brandon Phillips was hit by a pitch in the 8th inning. When he tossed the ball back to pitcher Jared Hughes, Hughes shouted something at Phillips and the umpires quickly intervened. Then after the game, Phillips tweeted this.

#RealTalk… Not really surprised by what I heard come outta another player’s mouth tonite but DAMN… Still PISSED bout that $h¡+!! #Racism

— Brandon Phillips (@DatDudeBP) September 11, 2012

If Phillips’ charges of something racist being said are true–and I think that would be easy enough to prove with all the recording equipment on the field–then something should be done. There’s no place for that.

Following that, Aroldis Chapman began pitching the top of the 10th. Like his last appearance, his velocity was way down and he had less control. In his 2/3 of an inning, he struck out 1, but walked 3 before being removed for Sam LeCure. One bad outing isn’t a big deal. But two in a row becomes a trend, and that dip in velocity is especially troubling.

Overall, it was an ugly game that saw both teams leave 13 men on base. But the Reds won and their magic number has dropped to 12, thanks to a St. Louis Cardinals loss.

Mike Leake will try to eat some innings for the tired bullpen tonight when he starts against Kevin Correia. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm EDT.

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.

Here are several pictures from the game the RHM clan attended on Memorial Day in Pittsburgh at PNC Park. The Cincinnati Reds started their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and lost 4-1 thanks to a bad outing from Bronson Arroyo and a no-show by the offense.