Boxscore

That was an awesome way to end a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cincinnati Reds first baseball game after the All Star break started well. Johnny Cueto was cruising and mowing down the Cardinals. Even with some shaky defense behind him, he emerged with 7 innings of 3-run ball, 2 of them earned. He left with the lead, but the bullpen failed again.

This is where the game took a turn for the ugly. Aroldis Chapman entered the game and was unable to record an out. Two runs ended up scoring in the 8th before Nick Massett was able to finish the inning.

The Reds had lots of scoring opportunities, but were never able to break the game open. They continued to fail to achieve that 2-out hit.

Until the 9th. Down by 1 run, Zach Cozart got a one-out single. It was his third hit of the game and set the stage for Joey Votto to do something great. Sadly, his best pitch was a line drive straight into the right fielder’s glove.

But that was okay. The next batter was Brandon Phillips, who took a big swing and sent a ball into the seats in left field. The Reds had won their first game in what felt like an age. I mean, the Harry Potter movie series finished since the last time the Reds won.

The win moves the Reds to 3 games back of first and 1 game under .500. The Cardinals losing drops them into a tie for first with the Pittsburgh Pirates. (That was a weird thing to type. The Pirates in first place after the All Star break? What a strange season this is shaping up to be.)

Remember when Albert Pujols went on the 15-day disabled list with a wrist fracture? He was activated today on his first day of eligibility.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Reds manager Dusty Baker said he thought Pujols might be back early.

“I didn’t think it was going to take as long as they said originally, knowing Albert,” Baker said. “With modern medicine, and he’s probably working on it around the clock, no it doesn’t really surprise me.”

That’s interesting. I’ve never heard of working out helping broken bones.

What does Pujols have to say about his quick recovery?

“Does it surprise you?” the star first baseman asked. “It doesn’t surprise me. A lot of people praying for me and I believe all the prayers are being answered.”

Well, that settles it. God is a Cardinals fan.

The St. Louis Cardinals lost another player today.

Before the season even started, they lost their best starter, Adam Wainwright, to Tommy John surgery. And now, they’ve lost Albert Pujols for 4-6 weeks due to a fractured left forearm.

Pujols was hurt on a play at first base in the sixth inning. He was fielding a long throw and Kansas City’s Wilson Betemit collided with his glove hand as Pujols was pulled toward home.
The Cards’ three-time MVP went down to the ground in pain.

Obviously, this greatly weakens the Cardinals. Sure, Pujols was having the worst year of his career, but even that’s still quite above average. Plus, he’s been warming up.

But there is one silver lining I can think of. Now manager Tony LaRussa the opportunity to meddle with the lineup on a daily basis. It’s been years since he got to play around with that third spot!

Boxscore

Two Sweeps in Two Days

A day after the Cincinnati Reds swept the Los Angeles Dodgers, the St. Louis Cardinals were swept by the Washington Nationals. It’s been a good few days to be a Reds fan.

What’s interesting is that the Cardinals failed to win in three different ways. In the first game against the Nationals, the bullpen was the culprit after a solid start. Then yesterday, the Cardinals pitching and offense both failed to show up at the park and they lost by the 10-run rule: 10-0.

Today, a third way to lose: the walk-off home run.

Kyle Lohse started and wasn’t very good, allowing 4 runs in 6 innings. But the offense was present enough to keep the game close. In the 9th, the Cardinals tied it on a solo shot by Yadier Molina to send the game into extras.

And in the very first extra inning–the 10th–current Cardinals closer Fernando Salas gave up a 3-run home run to Danny Espinosa for the Washington win.

St. Louis has now lost 6 games in a row and are 3-7 in their last 10. Their wonderful skid has seen them plummet from first place. They are one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers and one game ahead of the Reds.

Like I said, it’s been a good few days to be a Reds fan.

Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds completed their sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday. The series was entertaining every night and especially enjoyable for Reds fans, thanks to the great performances by players the Cardinals have come to hate: Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips. Cueto dominated in the second game of the series, going longer than any Reds starter this year in his win. And Phillips was on fire, going 5-10 with a home run and 6 RBI. The sweep would not have happened without those two.

Next Game
The Reds face another division opponent when the Chicago Cubs come to town tonight. Homer Bailey will start for Cincinnati while Matt Garza has the honors for Chicago. Game-time is 7:10pm EDT, and the game is televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Gomes’ Mohawk Missing in Action
This weekend saw the end of struggling Jonny Gomes’ trademark mohawk.

Gomes had little to say about the new look.

“I just got a haircut,” he said.

Just a coincidence? Or just time for a haircut?

“You could argue that,” Gomes said.

Gomes started off the season well, but has been wretched lately. He’s had just 5 hits this month and hasn’t had a home run since April 17. We’ll see if his reverse-Samson works.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds’ sweep of the Cardinals in Cincinnati was the first time such a thing had been done since September 11-13, 2007.