Reds Pretty Sweet But Still Fall Out of First Place, Rockies 1-0

The offense still remembers that game against the Mets where they gave Wood many runs but he couldn't get out of the 5th. So, they continue to withhold the run support, pushing it to 15 straight innings. Regardless of the offense's dedication to its principles, Wood looked strong again, giving up only a lone run on a Chris Iannetta bomb in the 6th. He threw many pitches over his 6-inning outing, so hit the showers after the 6th. But the bullpen, even including Masset, was equally disrespectful to the Rockies' bats. Had Heisey or Phillips unsheathed their sticks in the 9th with Stubbs on 3rd, Wood wouldn't have received his first career decision in the form of a loss. But, they didn't. Tough break. During the Sportcenter recap, Stuart Scott stated, insightfully, that today was the first time that the Rockies have ever beaten the Reds 1-0. That's some solid research, especially for a guy with one functional eye.

However, the two preceding games ended on a much more positive note. Arroyo looked strong Friday after his vacation with his pony and his boat and his acoustic guitar. He left with some runners on base and nobody out but Arty bailed him out with a weak pop-up to right and back to back strike outs. That guy knows what he's doing. Coco worked in a walk but pitched an otherwise uneventful 9th. Then yesterday, Volquez made his triumphant return to the big leagues and looked just as good as we all remember. He showed up with a sharp-looking haircut and pitched 6 very solid innings. After allowing a run on two hits in the first, he gave up only 1 additional hit and struck out 9. Those "fertility" drugs appear to be working. The Reds Rocket is going to have to work some of those into its daily supplement regiment to increase the quality of the posts that it runs out there on a semi-regular basis. But, the strong pitching performance was largely unnecessary because the offense was in the mood to hit some bombs. Phillips hit one with two runners on base, Gomes hit one with a runner on and Stubbs out did them all with two big ones of his own.

So, on come the Nationals. The Reds aren't terribly interested in giving them any of the four games of the series. Cueto starts things off tomorrow looking for his 9th win of the season and, of course, a substantial reduction in his ERA. Now that his good pal Edinson is back, he's all jacked up. Those two can drink green tea all day long. We'll have to see if Bruce can remember how to swing the bat and even Votto has been cool this month with only 5 runners driven in. Rolen is still quarantined in his bubble but is heading in the direction of good and strong health. As much as everyone has grown to love Miguel Cairo he offers a little less in the offensive department. And who knows what's up with the Cardinals, 4 straight over the Dodgers? Come on guys, let's get serious. Reds! Reds! Reds!