Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 3
Tampa Bay 4
W: K. Farnsworth (3-1)
L: L. Ondrusek (3-3)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Until the bitter end, Johnny Cueto was dominant again. His final line: 7.2 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 6 K, 1 BB. Two of those three runs came in the eighth inning, when he was pulled.
–Drew Stubbs had two hits, including a triple. Of course, he was thrown out stealing in the ninth, representing the go-ahead run.
–Jay Bruce hit a homer in the 9th that tied up the game, after the Rays had come back to take the lead.
NEGATIVES
–Logan Ondrusek did not retire a batter in the bottom of the ninth, giving up the walkoff homer to Evan Longoria on his second pitch.
–Scott Rolen: 0-4. Now hitting .252/.290/.411 on the season.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–That was a heartbreaker. The Reds were within shouting distance of a series win against a quality opponent, on the road. The good guys had battled back, and took the lead in the eighth, thanks to Drew Stubbs, Edgar Renteria, and Joey Votto.
Then, after tying up the game again on the Bruce homer, the wheels fell off. So sad.
–Well, the Reds can still win this series tomorrow afternoon. If you trust Edinson Volquez to do the job, that is.