Reds Dominate a Bunch of Drunken Miswesterners, Reds 7-6

The Reds Rocket's endorsement of LeCure prior to yesterday's game was perhaps a bit misplaced but the Reds won anyway, so credit can be broadly spread around. Like manure. LeCure wasn't really terrible but did fail to hold a 4-0 lead in what was, in all likelihood, his last big league start for a while. Cueto is just about done getting shelled at AAA and who knows about Bailey. I'm sure if you asked him he would tell you he's been ready to go since January and the people running this circus are "idiots", though his comments to the media lately have been pretty benign. Pretty soon the Reds are back to the position everyone was talking about in the off-season, too much starting pitching. So far this season there has been plenty of starting pitching, just not much that's been very good.

The offense was better yesterday, as it tends to be against Gallardo. They jumped on him in the first making it all the way through the lineup and putting up four. The big hit was Votto's three-run bomb to left center. He hit that quite a ways. But then the down shifted and coasted for a few innings before they needed to score more runs. They put up 2 in the 6th, which Jordan Smith promptly returned. Then waited until extras to score again with Stubbs taking one over the wall in center for the game winner. With Votto's bomb in the first, he's gotten on base 25 games in a row. That's pretty solid, especially with how regularly the rest of the offense takes days off.

With the exception of Smith, the bullpen wasn't too bad at all. Bray continued his effectiveness, but wasn't helped out by a Renteria throwing error, though that throw didn't look all that bad. You've got to come off the bad Billy. Masset seems to recall that he's dominant. You don't see very many people make Ryan Braun take swings like that, especially lately. That boy's hot like an iron. After Ondrusek put a couple people on base, one, the 8th hitting catcher via walk, the other on a Craig Counsel rocket to short left center, Chapman came in and put the fire out. He hung around for the 9th and in doing so, picked up a relief win. He made Corey Hart look like an even bigger fool that he already looks like, by picking him off first. But Hart, I know he's fresh off the disabled list so he can let himself go a little bit, but it's as if he's made a conscious decision to look like a troll, one that has grown to great height. Maybe that would make him an ogre. Coco was also pretty good yesterday. That four hamburger diet, down from seven hamburgers last year is really working out.

So, Reds take the series and finish the road trip at an even .500. Not too bad. Now its time for the annual Cincinnati fish fry. That will be a lot of fun. Bring the kids. Reds! Reds! Reds!