As part of their “11 Days of Larkin” celebrating the enshrining in Cooperstown of Cincinnati Reds’ shortstop Barry Larkin, the Reds will be holding a meet-and-greet opportunity at the Reds Hall of Fame Museum this Thursday, August 23 at 5pm.

The Reds Hall of Fame welcomes Reds and National Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin for an exclusive fan meet and greet on Thursday, Aug. 23.

The newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame will greet and take photographs with fans in the Reds Hall of Fame’s Great Teams Room from 5 to 7 p.m.

Mr. Larkin will not be signing autographs during the event.

Pricing for this unique opportunity to meet a true Reds legend is $11 for Reds Hall of Fame members and $16 for non-members.

All proceeds from the event benefit the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Cincinnati Reds and baseball history.

The Barry Larkin Meet & Greet is one of the events held during the “11 Days of Larkin,” a series of celebrations from August 16-26 that include the retirement of his uniform number 11 on Saturday, Aug. 25.

Tickets for the meet and greet are available at the Hall of Fame box office or by calling 513-765-7923.

Barry Larkin Meet & Greet at the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum
Thursday, August 23, 2012 from 5 to 7 p.m.
$11 for Reds Hall of Fame members; $16 for non-members
www.redsmuseum.org or 513-765-7923
**Photos only, no autographs please.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cubs (46-71)	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	11	2
Reds (72-47)	0	1	0	5	1	0	0	0	-	7	10	1

Boxscore

And just like that, the Cincinnati Reds are on the verge of another winning streak.

The Reds opened a 4-game series with the Chicago Cubs yesterday, facing their old teammate Travis Wood. The last time they faced Wood, he held them to 1 run over 7 innings. This time, things were different.

The Cubs took the early lead in the second inning, but the Reds tied it in the bottom of the inning when Wood misplayed a ground ball off the bat of Ryan Hanigan. Hanigan was safe at first, and Todd Frazier scored.

Then in the 4th inning, the offense exploded. Ryan Ludwick lead off the inning with his 23rd home run. Wood hit Jay Bruce and then served up a pitch to Frazier that he deposited in the seats in left field for his 16th home run. That gave the Reds a lead they would not relinquish, but they weren’t finished. Bronson Arroyo reached on a double, and was knocked in by Zack Cozart. Drew Stubbs drove in the 5th run of the inning with a triple that scored Cozart.

Arroyo wasn’t at his best in his start, but he kept the team in it and turned in a quality start. In 6 1/3 innings, he allowed 3 runs on 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. When the bullpen entered, the Reds had a 4-run lead, and Jose Arredondo, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman kept the Cubs off the board the rest of the way.

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, keeping the Reds’ lead at 6 games.

Today, the Reds play a double-header. Johnny Cueto will take on Jeff Samardzija in the first game at 1:10pm EDT. And then in the second game, the Reds’ streak of using only 5 starting pitchers this season will be broken when Todd Redmond is called up to start against Brooks Raley at 7:10pm EDT.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mets	0	0	0	3	0	3	0	0	2	8	9	0
Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	4	8	3

Boxscore

There’s almost no part of the game last night that doesn’t qualify as an all-out stinker as the Reds broke their 5-game win streak in the final game of the series against the Mets.

Homer Bailey’s performance certainly qualifies. In just 5.2 innings, he allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and 3 walks. I was on the road last night so I didn’t see the game on t.v., but I did hear part of it on the AM band. Marty was talking about how much better Bailey’s numbers are on the road than at Great American Ball Park, and he suggested that that fear of giving up home runs has Bailey pitching differently at home. That might be it, I suppose. He might also just be tired. Either way, really crummy performance last night.

Alfredo Simon did well in his 1.1 innings of relief, not allowing any runs or hits, just a walk. Logan Ondrusek was even better; he didn’t allow any baserunners at all in his perfect 1.0. Jose Arredeondo, though, dragged the collective bullpen performance into the stinker category by allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on a hit and a walk in the ninth.

The defensive contribution was certainly a stinker. Brandon Phillips (of all people) had a throwing error in the fourth that allowed Jason Bay to get into scoring position and come home 2 batters later.

Scott Rolen committed a fielding error in the sixth. There was only one out, and the next out was a sac fly, so it’s hard to know how it would have gone down without the flub, but I think we can guess that probably 3 runs wouldn’t have scored that inning.

Zack Cozart completed the trifecta of errors in the ninth, allowing Justin Turner to reach and Ike Davis to score. Hmm…three errors, one in each of the three innings in which the Mets scored. Go figure.

It’s hard to call the offense a stinker when they scored 4 runs, but it gets an honorable mention at least. They made it look like more of a game than it really was with 3 runs in the ninth. The RBI belong to Cozart, Ryan Ludwick, Jay Bruce, and Miguel Cairo. Bruce was the only one with more than 1 hit: he was 2-for-4. Ludwick got on twice with a hit and an HBP.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 71-47. They start fresh tonight when they open a series against the Cubs. Bronson Arroyo (RHP, 8-7, 3.95 ERA) will take the mound for the Reds against Travis Wood (LHP,
4-8, 4.52 ERA) for the Cubs. First pitch at 7:10 p.m.