Let’s recap tonight’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Pittsburgh 4
Cincinnati 0
W: C. Morton (1-1)
L: M. Latos (6-1)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–The Reds had four hits; Joey Votto had two of them, including a double (Cincinnati’s only extra-base hit).
–Manny Parra struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect inning. JJ Hoover did him one better, striking out the side in the ninth.
–After the first inning, Mat Latos was pretty good…
NEGATIVES
–…unfortunately, Latos’ first inning was bad. Mat gave up three runs in the first, which were the only three he permitted all day. Latos went five innings, giving up three hits and three walks, while striking out nine.
–The Reds had only four hits.
–Curtis Partch gave up a run on a hit and three walks in two innings.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–What can I say? Not much of a game.
–That was the first loss for Mat Latos since last August. Latos had won 21 consecutive starts before this one.
–Pirates starter Charlie Morton hit Shin-Soo Choo with a pitch in the first, satisfying the Pittsburgh fan base/dugout’s blood lust. Can we get back to baseball now?