Let’s recap today’s titanic struggle….
FINAL
Arizona 1
Cincinnati 2
W: M. Latos (13-4)
L: E. De La Rosa (0-1)
S: S. LeCure (1)
BOX SCORE
POSITIVES
–Mat Latos. Mat Freaking Latos. That was a great start. 8 innings, one run, six Ks, and no walks.
–Sam LeCure answered the call today against the heart of the Diamondbacks order and did a fine job closing out the game.
–Shin-Soo Choo reached base twice. Joey Votto reached base three times. Not much offense otherwise, though.
–The Reds took three of four from Arizona, effectively clinching a playoff spot.
NEGATIVES
–Hits, where art thou?
NOT-SO-RANDOM THOUGHTS
–Jonathan Broxton’s season is over as he’ll need surgery. Yet another illustration of why you don’t drop money on relief pitching.
–As of this moment, the Reds are seven up for the Wild Card, one back of the Cards and two back of the Pirates. If one or both of those teams looses tonight, it’s going to be really interesting. The NL playoff teams are basically set now (yes, I know it’s August, but the odds of Arizona making a comeback are tiny), the only question now is who wins the Central and who hosts the Wild Card game.
–That was a rough series to sit through, but the result was fantastic. Now it’s on to Milwaukee. After the Brewers, the Reds will play 9 of 12 against the Cardinals and Dodgers. I’d guess that’s the stretch that will tell us if the Reds might win the Central.