The Reds offense came alive, scoring early and often in route to a 9-5 win over the Cardinals. The win ended the Reds two game losing streak, and was the Reds first win over the Cardinals since May 23rd (had lost 6 straight games to the Cardinals).

Biggest Play of the Game

According to Fangraphs WPA statistic (winning percentage added), the most important play of the game was Devin Mesoraco’s 2-run HR in the first inning off Michael Wacha. The HR increased the Reds chances of winning by 19.4% (from 56.6% to 72.6%).

Other important plays (+/- indicates how much each play increased or decreased the Reds chances of winning):

• +10.6% – 4th inning – Leake’s RBI double. Reds lead 3-1. Runner on 2nd, 2 outs.
• +10.4%: 1st inning – Leake gets Holliday to ground into a double play. Runner on 3rd, 2 outs.
• +8.0: 7th inning – Diaz gets Pierzynski to line out to end the inning. Cardinals strand the bases loaded.
• +6.9%:  5th inning – Mesoraco’s RBI double. Reds lead 4-1. Runners on 2nd & 3rd, 0 outs.
• +6.8%: 8th inning – Parra gets Wong to ground into a double play. Bases empty, 2 outs.
• -10.5%: 3rd inning – Peralta’s double off Leake. Runners on 2nd & 3rd.
• -6.3%: 1st inning – Carpenter doubled off Leake to leadoff the game

Player of the Game

Devin Mesoraco: 2 for 3, HR, 2B, 2 BB, 3 RBI, 0.24  WPA

Mesoraco hit his 23rd HR of the season in the first inning. That homer moved Mesoraco even further up the list of most HR’s in a single-season by a Reds catcher (min 50% of games played as a catcher). I honestly thought Mesoraco would slow down a little bit in the second half, but he really hasn’t. Mesoraco is now hitting .287/.370/.557 with 23 HR, 73 RBI, and 156 wRC+. As a side note: can you believe Dusty Baker continuously refused to play Mesoraco?

Positives

Mike Leake pitched a strong game tonight, allowing 3 runs in 6.0 innings (two of them crossed the plate after he left the game). Leake also added an RBI double in the 4th inning. It was nice to see Leake bounce back from a tough outing in Baltimore, where he allowed 7 ER. Leake’s final line on the evening: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1.62 FIP. The number that sticks out is the “0 BB.” Leake does a great job not hurting himself.

Chris Heisey had two hits, including a 2-RBI single in the 8th inning. Heisey is hitting .381 with 4 HR and 7 RBI in his last 21 at-bats.

Zack Cozart had two hits tonight, including a triple. He also made his usual great defensive play tonight too.

Brandon Phillips hit a 2-run double in the 5th inning to give the Reds a 6-1 lead. It was just Phillips 5th & 6th RBI since returning from the DL, and just his 4th extra-base hit.

Brayan Pena walked three times tonight. It was the first time in his career that he has ever done that. Pena entered tonight’s game with just 16 BB in 337 PA. Pena also made a brilliant catch on a rocket hit by A.J. Pierzynski to end the 7th inning. The Cardinals had the bases loaded at the time, and the score was 7-4.

Negatives

Jumbo Diaz struggled to say the least in relief tonight. Diaz allowed 3 hits and walk in an inning.

J.J. Hoover couldn’t even get out of the 9th inning, when he entered with a 9-4 lead.

Not so random thoughts……..

Jayson Stark of ESPN wrote a terrific piece called The mind-blowing stats of Aroldis Chapman today. What is truly mind-blowing is that Aroldis Chapman has now only pitched 46.0 innings this season. The Reds and Bryan Price have wasted a lot of bullets from Chapman this season, by saving him nearly exclusively for save situations.