Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 4
Houston 2
W: M. Leake (4-6)
L: F. Cordero (0-1)
S: A. Chapman (18)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–With the Reds down 2-1, the Astros brought in our old friend Francisco Cordero to close out the game. I think you know what happened next.
Zack Cozart single. Drew Stubbs homer. Save blown. Reds win. Very exciting.
–Excellent outing for Mike Leake: eight innings, two runs allowed on seven hits. He made one bad pitch, but I’ll take it.
–Stubbs reached base four times: 3-4 with a walk. Xavier Paul got his first start as a Red, and he responded with three hits in four at-bats, and two RBI. Brandon Phillips was 2-4 with a double and a run scored.
–Aroldis Chapman had a brain cramp (not covering the bag on a grounder to first), but he was flat-out electrifying afterward. Chapman struck out the next three hitters with fastballs that registered 102, 100, 101.
NEGATIVES
–Please stop bunting and giving the other team free outs, Dusty. Please? It’s almost always a terrible idea.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–The Reds just snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. That ninth inning was just fun.
–Unreal: 17 games over .500; thirteen wins in fifteen games. Since Joey Votto had surgery, the Reds are 7-2. Who expected that?
–Even better, the Pirates lost, so the Reds extended their lead to 2.5 games in the NL Central.
–I know I’m probably the last Reds fan that still has some fond feelings toward Francisco Cordero, but I concede that he was frustrating as a Red.
Thanks for the memories, Francisco Cordero.
— Redleg Nation (@redlegnation) July 25, 2012
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–The Redlegs go for the sweep tomorrow night. Life is still good.
Source: FanGraphs