Cincinnati 4 11 1
Houston 2 8 1
By Ryan Bramwell
Ecstatic. Elated. Enthused. These are the adjectives that best describe how I am feeling right now about my streaking Redlegs. Excited. There's another one. Boys and girls, Cincinnati has now won six in a row and 13 out of their last 15 overall. Our good buddy and fellow author J. Dant? His Cubbies once again defeated those sneaky Pirates which has set them 2.5 games behind us in the Central. Leake pitched outstandingly. The Reds provided one run of protection for Mike thru eight innings. Then, Drew Stubbs, like a masked hero in the night, cracked a two-run shot over the left field wall at Minute Maid Park in the ninth inning to give the Reds the lead. Didn't he read my article on finding his replacement? I said he wasn't producing and I was willing to part ways with him if the net return was worth it. And now, here I am trying to get the taste of crow out of my mouth. Thanks, Drew. Let's go over the game highlights:
- Mike Leake got a considerable confidence boost after this one. Dusty surprisingly let him pitch thru eight full innings and if he hadn't, then Mike would not have recorded the victory. All in all, Leake allowed two runs on seven hits with six strike outs and one walk in those eight innings. In his last 13 starts, Leake is 4-1 with a 3.02 ERA. He's our number five starter. Those are solid numbers for the 5th man in any team's rotation.
- The hero of the night was obviously Drew Stubbs. With the Reds trailing 2-1 in the 9th inning a runner on first, Drew tagged a bomb to left that gave the Reds a 3-2 lead. Drew was already having a good night however. He finished 3-for-4, reaching base four times with a walk, two singles, two RBI, a run scored, and a game-winning homer. Way to prove me wrong, Drew. It could not have come at a better time.
- The allowed homer and blown save went to none other than former Reds closer, Francisco "Coco" Cordero. Ah, it's so good to see you again, Coco. Glad you haven't let the change in scenery affect your abilities to hold leads in the 9th inning.
- All the Stubbs excitement make us nearly overlook the night of Xavier Paul. Paul was getting his first start (LF) as a Redleg and he sure made the most of it. The X-man went 3-for-5 with two RBI. The only bad play I recall him making all night was a sac-bunt attempt that was bunted in the wrong direction causing the lead runner to be thrown out at 3B. Otherwise, it was a good night for Paul and I'd expect to see more of him while he is on the 25-man roster.
- Brandon Phillips had two hits including a double. Don't look now but the Reds are sneaking up on having their second .300 hitter on the club. Brandon is now batting .298 after the recent tear he has been on.
- Cozart, Rolen, and Frazier all had a hit apiece. Bruce walked three, count 'em, three times!
- After Chapman didn't cover first base on a routine play that led to the Astros getting a runner aboard in the bottom of the 9th, he got mad at himself. He took it out on the next three batters. He struck them out with ease. All of them. He hit 100, 101, and 102 mph on the radar gun. You know, nothing out of the ordinary. That is now something like 31 of his last 37 outs recorded coming via the strikeout. Incredible.
- This just in: The Cincinnati Reds are a good baseball team.
- We are 17 games over .500! 7-2 without the greatest pure hitter in baseball in our lineup! How 'bout them apples?
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