Game 96: The Redlegs Are Astronomical Right Now!

Reds Have Hit Parade In Houston, Gain Bigger Lead in Central

Cincinnati   8   17   0
Houston      3   11   2

By Ryan Bramwell

After the All-Star Break the Reds were hammered with some bad news regarding the knee of Joey Votto.  Their pitching and defense had kept them at or near the top of the division all season, not their offense.  Joey Votto was the offense.  Sure, that's a little over-the-top sarcastic, but not by much.  The Cincinnati fans began holding their breath and gritting their teeth as they braced for the impending meltdown.  ...and then?  Well, the Reds had suddenly made believers out of us all by going a major tear.  They have now won five in a row and 12 of their last 14 games overall.  Most importantly, they have done the majority of this winning without Joey Votto, and the portion they completed with him in the lineup was when he was ailing and not batting like the MVP he is.  To top off all this recent success, Barry Larkin was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame (along with the Cubs late and great Ron Santo).  It has been a tremendous--no, glorious time to be a Reds fan. Let's recap last night's game down in Houston, Texas.

• Mat Latos was looking better than decent through four innings last night.  He had scattered some hits and prolonged some at-bats but was still good up to that point.  Then came the 5th inning.  After Latos came up limp after apparently slipping on his plant foot during a pitch he was visited by the coaches and a trainer.  He stayed in the inning and gave up a pair of runs.  Most likely he would have given up those runs anyhow as the Astros had loaded the bases for the third time in five innings against Mat and were overdue for something to happen.  In the end, Latos pitched five innings, gave up two runs on eight hits with three strike outs and two walks.  Not pretty, but good enough for a win last night.
• The Reds piled up 17 hits in what turned out to be nearly a four hour affair at Minute Maid Park.
• The 3-4-5 hitters for Cincy were 9-for-18 for the game:  Phillips was 3-6 with a double and a run scored.  Ludwick was 3-6 with two RBI, two runs and two doubles.  Frazier was 3-6 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI.
• Heisey and Stubbs both had two singles.
• Stubbs and Phillips both had a stolen base.
• Hanigan reached base three times with a single and a pair of walks.  He also knocked one run in.
• Rolen reached twice with an RBI double and a walk.
• Cozart had a hit.  He nearly had an extra-base knock and RBI but was robbed on a great diving catch at 3B.
• Bruce came up big off the bench with a pinch-hit RBI.
• The bullpen (Arredondo, Bray, LeCure, Marshall) combined for four innings of work and allowed one run on three hits.  Very admirable.

The Reds are now 16 games over the .500 mark!  56-40 is the record.  ESPN lists the Reds as #4 in the MLB Power Rankings.  And that was posted before the win last night!  The Yankees, Rangers and Nationals are #'s 1-2-3.  Yes, sir.  Things are exciting in Reds country.  Tonight's game will begin a 8:05pm ET and will feature Mike Leake (3-6, 4.25) against Lucas Harrell (7-7, 4.24).

*Special thanks to J and his Cubbies for defeating the Pirates in shutout fashion last night to help the Reds gain much needed ground atop the division.  The Dodgers also defeated the Cardinals making them a full six games back of the Reds.