Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 3
Pittsburgh 5
W: T. Watson (1-2)
L: A. Chapman (2-1)
S: J. Hanrahan (31)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Another outstanding day for Brandon Phillips out of the leadoff spot: three hits, a walk, and two runs scored.
–Another classic Joey Votto day: 2-2, 2 walks, 2 RBI. This guy just isn’t human. He even stole a base.
–Drew Stubbs had two hits, with a stolen base, and he scored a run.
–Sam LeCure had his first good outing in some time, going an inning and a third, allowing no hits or runs, and striking out three.
NEGATIVES
–On the other hand, Aroldis Chapman had his first rough outing in a while, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Sure, a couple of the hits were little bloopers, but he wasn’t good.
–Paul Janish: 0-4, .223/.266/.276. Not good.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Another loss to the Pirates and the Reds drop back to four games under .500. The good guys are having trouble getting back to the .500 mark, and that’s really all I’m hoping for out of this season, frankly.
–Dontrelle Willis wasn’t sharp, but he battled through six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. He struck out five and walked three.
–I’m sick of Charlie Morton, who has a 0.93 ERA in 29 innings against the Reds this season.