Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Cincinnati 8
Atlanta 4
W: L. Ondrusek (3-0)
L: J. Teheran (7-5)
POSITIVES
–Shin-Soo Choo isn’t ready for a break; he’s on fire. Choo reached base four times in five at-bats today: 2-3 with a homer, two walks, three runs scored.
–Jay Bruce was 3-5 with a double, a homer, and three RBI. Joey Votto was 1-3 with a double, two walks, an RBI and two runs scored. Brandon Phillips had a double, and three RBI.
–JJ Hoover and Logan Ondrusek tossed three innings of scoreless relief.
NEGATIVES
–A loss today would have been tough on the mindset of the fan base, given Cincinnati’s lackluster play today defensively. And I’m not just talking about Zack Cozart’s error that allowed a run to score in the third inning. (That one was a terrible throw, but one that Votto probably should have been able to stop.)
–Todd Frazier owes Tony Cingrani something. Cingrani was pretty much out of the second inning, having recorded two quick outs when he elicited an easy pop up from Reid Johnson. Frazier completely botched it. Thus, the inning continued, with Cingrani being forced to throw 24 more pitches and allowing a run on a very easily-hit popup that found some open ground behind first base.
So Cingrani wasn’t able to reach five full innings to collect a win, because his pitch count was too high. He also got charged with an earned run in the second inning when he could not have pitched any better, in many respects.
–Aroldis Chapman allowed another run in his one inning of work.
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–I’m definitely ready for the All-Star break, but going into the break with a split in this series against the Braves on the road is a good thing.
–So the Reds go to the break with a 53-42 record. It wasn’t always pretty, and it was often frustrating, but that’s a pretty good first half. I’ll take it.
–Always good to see the bats make an appearance on any road trip.
–Todd Frazier should probably buy some sunglasses over the All-Star break. Do they sell sunglasses in New Jersey?
–I’m kinda disappointed that Mike Leake wasn’t named to the NL All-Star team today when a replacement pitcher was named. Leake has had a great first half.