Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL – 12 innings
Cincinnati 3
Philadelphia 4
WP: Figueroa (2-1)
LP: Smith (2-2)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Another nice outing by Johnny Cueto: 7 innings, four hits, one earned run. Cueto’s ERA is down to 3.42. He is having a breakout season and no one is noticing.
–New National League All-Star Joey Votto introduced himself to the NL manager with two hits, including a HR in his first at-bat. He also led of the ninth with a single, getting the game-tying rally under way.
–Corky Miller’s mustache went 2-4. This guy is the quintessential backup catcher.
–Good work by the bullpen, with the exception (of course) of Nick Masset.
–Miguel Cairo had a clutch double in the ninth to tie the game. He’s had a few of those. Cairo is definitely my favorite Red; or, at least, he’s in the top 25.
—This guy.
NEGATIVES
–None really, other than the usual suspect.
–Oh yeah, Cueto got hit in the family jewels. That was a negative for him, and for any guy who saw it happen.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–I agree with Chris’s assessment in the game thread:
Contrary to Jim Day, I don’t see this as a tough loss. They played well, came back twice, and the team with the last ups won. I wouldn’t hang my head about this one. Not a lot of missed opportunities.
You’re going to lose some of these to the defending National League champions in their ballpark. Just gotta go out and get ’em tomorrow, and the Reds have been great at doing that all year long.