Bruuuuuuuuuuuce! Latoooooooooooooos!

Positives

Mat Latos had an outstanding start today. He had himself a little no hitter going for a while, but settled, in the end, for eight innings of two-run ball on only 96 pitches. Latos has been really excellent since coming back from the DL and he continued that today.

Jay Bruce also had himself a game. He grilled up three rib-eye steaks, including a two-run homer in the eighth that proved the decisive stroke. 

Billy Hamilton and Brandon Phillips both flashed the leather today. Hamilton made an excellent throw to nab a runner at second and Phillips made one of the more impressive catches you’ll see look easy. I love how well the Reds play defense on a nightly basis.

Negatives

Some idiot interfered with a Ramon Santiago fly ball and turned what was likely a base hit or maybe even a home run into an out upon review. That was the only lowlight in an otherwise very nice game.

Not so random thoughts …

The Reds continued their domination of the Brewers. The Reds are now 7-3 against the Brewers. I continue to believe the Brewers will come back to the pack. The Reds need to keep playing them close. As of this writing, the Pirates are winning and the Cards are losing, so it looks as though they may swap places in the standings. The Reds win has them six back of the Brewers for now.

Joey Votto needs to go on the DL. It certainly seems as though that’s coming. It’s been a rough year for the superstar first baseman. Fortunately, the Reds managed without him today.

The Reds now host the Cubs for a five game series and the Pirates for three before the All-Star break. They need to take at least five of those, and it would be nice if they managed six. It’s going to start getting late fast and the Reds need to beat teams like the Cubs and Pirates who, despite the separation between them in the standings, have very similar (negative) run differentials.

See you tomorrow, kids. Let’s Cub it up.