Time for a recap of today’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 7
Chicago (NL) 5
WP: Rhodes (1-1)
LP: Marmol (2-3)
S: Cordero (34)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Drew Sutton hit a pinch-hit, two-run, two-out double in the ninth inning for the winning margin. It was the only extra base hit for the Reds today.
–Brandon Phillips and Darnell McDonald had two hits each.
–Johnny Cueto was great until the sixth inning.
–CoCo bounced back from recent troubles to post a perfect 9th inning, recording his 34th save.
NEGATIVES
–You just can’t give up five-run leads. Period.
–Cueto gave up three runs and only recorded one out in the sixth inning, after holding Chicago scoreless through the first five.
ETC.
–I couldn’t watch the game (thanks, Fox/MLB blackout rules!), so I don’t know whether Dusty Baker’s decision to keep Cueto in the game for the sixth inning was a good one or not. Cueto only threw 86 pitches, but there was some talk in the game thread that he was clearly tired.
Those of you who watched the game: what do you think?
–The Cubbies made three infield errors in the third inning that led to two Cincinnati runs.
–Arthur Rhodes appeared in his 777th career game, tying him with Gaylord Perry for 46th on the all-time list.
–The Reds almost blew this game, but it’s still deserving of a sombrero:
