Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 4
Tampa Bay 3
W: E. Volquez (5-3)
L: J. Shields (8-5)
S: F. Cordero (16)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Ryan Hanigan was 2-3 with a walk and a three-run homer in the fourth inning that gave the Reds a lead they would never surrender.
–Joey Votto was 2-4 with a run scored. Fred Lewis singled in the seventh, scoring Jonny Gomes, and giving the Reds an extra run that, it turns out, they needed.
–The bullpen — Logan Ondrusek (getting back on the horse after last night’s meltdown), Bill Bray, and Francisco Cordero — shut down the Rays over the last two and two-thirds.
Ryan Hanigan is the greatest catcher in the history of the universe (Enquirer photo)
–None.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Nice win! The victory today gave the Reds two out of three in this series, and it’s always a good thing to win an interleague series on the road…especially when you are playing a good club like the Rays. Not only that, they beat a really tough pitcher today (James Shields).
–Edinson Volquez was, well, adequate. He went 6.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks. Volquez struck out seven. I’ll take it.
–Getting the win was a great way to celebrate my birthday…but on the other hand, today was the first time all season that I wasn’t able to watch or listen to any part of the game. Some birthday….
I’ll take the win.
–You shouldn’t underestimate how good CoCo has been this season. Cordero now has 16 saves and a 1.53 ERA. I doubt anyone expected this performance, after what we saw from him last year.
–Cincinnati has now won eight of nine games against Tampa Bay all-time.
–No game tomorrow, then back home to face another interleague foe: the Cleveland Indians.