Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle… 
FINAL
Cincinnati 9
San Francisco 0
WP: J. Cueto (7-4)
LP: B. Zito (3-4)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
-Johnny Cueto was his spectacular self once again. Cueto pitched his third complete game of the season, but his first in a winning effort. Cueto allowed only 3 hits and walked 1 while striking out 6. He threw 111 pitches and 82 of those were for strikes.
-Drew Stubbs had 4 hits and scored 3 runs in the game. I’ll take that every game.
-Joey Votto had a 3-run homer in the 7th inning that blew the game wide open. Votto ended the game 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 4 runs batted in.
-Jay Bruce had 2 RBI in the game while Brandon Phillips and Edgar Renteria had 2 hits apiece. Renteria scored 3 runs, meaning the 1-2 slots in the Reds lineup combined for 6 runs total.
-Todd Frazier only had 1 hit, but I am sure it will be one he’ll remember for a long time. He’ll remember it because it was his first career homerun in the Major Leagues! Yonder Alonso came in to pinch hit for Votto in the 8th inning and all he did was collect an RBI single. Chris Heisey went 0-3 and Alonso continues to rake. Which can only mean one thing: we’ll see Fred Lewis in the lineup tomorrow.
NEGATIVES
-Absolutely none!
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
-Has anyone figured this team out yet? We take 2 of 3 from the Braves, get swept by the Mets in 4, and then sweep the defending champion Giants in 3 for a 5-5 home stand.
-As mentioned early in the game thread, this upcoming stretch of games will decide whether the Reds can get back into the race. We play at Houston and Chicago before welcoming Colorado and San Diego into Cincinnati. It may be crazy to think this, but the Reds really need to take 10 of those 13 games in my opinion if they seriously think they can get back into the race. That would mean the Reds would go 13-3 over a 16 game stretch if that were to happen. That would definitely be the run we’ve all been waiting for!
-Johnny Cueto is pretty good.
-The Reds did not make a single move this deadline. I am not terribly disappointed in that. Based on what the price was for the big names, I am fine with us not acquiring any of those guys. I would not have minded seeing us trade a few veterans since I feel we have just as good, if not better, youngsters to fill those spots, but oh well. Let’s all sit back and see if these next 13 games can get the Reds back into this thing!