Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 7
New York (N) 3
W: B. Arroyo (3-4)
L: D. Gee (4-5)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Four in a row. That works for me. How about you?
–Brandon Phillips hit a homer tonight after Gee intentionally hit Joey Votto had one get away from him. Brandon is hitting like a number four batter lately. Hope he keeps it up.
–Bronson Arroyo was really good for six innings. Good thing that’s all he’s ever allowed to pitch. Yeah, nice six-inning start with one run allowed from Arroyo.
–Joey Votto had a double. That puts him on pace for 72. The MLB record is 67.
–Inexplicably, Cozart and Valdez each got on base twice tonight. If that always happened in front of Votto things would get scary.
–Jay Bruce has an inside-the-park-home-run. Neat!
–The bullpen. Boy, what can you say? The Reds bullpen is just so good. Three perfect innings tonight.
NEGATIVES
–I don’t blame anyone for this, but it’s crazy how Arroyo seems to just lose it about the seventh inning. Still, I’ll totally take what he’s been giving the Reds for the rest of the year.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–The Reds are now nine games over .500 for the first time since 2010. I am now calling for a moratorium on all the griping that’s been going on. As long as the Reds are in first, you are all to smile and enjoy the ride. This is a good team.
–As I type this, the Pirates have lost and it looks like St. Louis is going down tonight as well. That will put the Reds four games ahead of both those teams. See the previous thought for further instructions.
–You know what? I don’t love Wilson Valdez, but he doesn’t say “no” to anything, and you have to respect that. The Reds are pretty banged up in the outfield right now and he stepped up.
–Joey Votto was intentionally hit in such an obvious fashion that it boggled the mind. What, exactly, was being accomplished there? If you’re that scared, walk him. It’s not like he’s stepping into the box with his knees all a quiver next time. Chickens.
–This team just makes me happy right now. I feel absolutely no pessimism whatsoever. Are their holes? Sure. But they have the best player in baseball, all-stars at several other spots, and the pitching has been great. I just need to remember it’s only mid-June.
Source: FanGraphs