Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Pittsburgh 0
Cincinnati 3
W: Mat Latos (10-3)
L: W. Rodriguez (7-10)
S: Chapman (24)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–The Cincinnati Reds pushed their major league best record to 65-41 and are out to a 4.5 game lead in the National League Central.
–Mat Latos had a great start tonight. He had a two-hit shutout going through 7 innings and finished with an overall line of 7.1 innings, 4 hits, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts.
–Jonathan Broxton made his second appearance with Cincinnati in a crucial 2-on, 1-out situation in the 8th inning. He looked pretty good again tonight, bailing Latos out by inducing Gaby Sanchez to ground into an inning-ending double play.
–Latos also got the job done with the bat. A 2-run line drive homerun to left field off Wandy Rodriguez in the 5th inning that put the Reds up 3-0.
–Zack Cozart was back in the leadoff spot after being down in the order yesterday, and had a 3-for-4 day at the plate.
–Chris Heisey had an inside-the-park homerun on a very close play at the plate to put the Reds on the board in the first inning.
–Aroldis freaking Chapman!
—[UPDATE] “We spotted ‘em Votto, Phillips and Bruce and still won.” – Steve Mancuso in this thread at 9:50pm.
NEGATIVES
–None.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Latos’ homerun was caught by a disgusted Pirates fan in the front row of the left field seats. He caught the ball, and with utter disgust tossed it over his shoulder to the fans behind him.
–Is it really fair to pitch Chapman with a 3 run lead?
–The Reds announced that tonight game was the 10th sellout of the season (40,829 in attendance) and that tomorrow’s game is already sold out!
–The Pirates newest offensive additions (Snider, Sanchez, and Marte) went a combined 0-for-8 with a walk and two strikeouts.
–The Reds just guaranteed a winning homestand and go for the series win against the Pirates tomorrow night. The air is electric in Cincinnati!