With the Reds’ record being what it is, some of you are wishing for Bryan Price’s team to lose their way to a better draft pick. I understand the logic in rooting for losses now. And I often find myself tempted to pull for rock bottom with the hope it might be the catalyst for the imperative of fundamental organizational change.
But ultimately, I’m not wired that way. So I continue to cheer for and savor every Reds win. Besides, I could never hope for good things to happen for the Cardinals.
A four-game sweep would have been wonderful. But the three wins over St. Louis were great. As we turn over the grimy rocks of this season, searching for any positives, there’s this: If the Cardinals continue their downward spiral and eventually fall short of their self-anointed destiny of winning the World Series, our Cincinnati Reds played a part in it this weekend.
Reds 2 Cardinals 9  |  FanGraphs  | Your daily schadenfreude
• Raisel Iglesias gave up a couple runs on 5 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 3 and shut the Cardinals out over the first four innings. Bryan Price lifted Iglesias after five, perhaps signaling the leading edge of concern for Iglesias’ workload. The score was tied 2-2 when Iglesias left the game.
• Todd Frazier hit his 33rd homer for the game’s first run.
• Marty Brennaman called it “one of the great double plays we’ve seen all year.” It was started by Joey Votto who happened to be laying flat on his back at the time (video).
• Billy Hamilton had been 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts against Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, until the 7th inning today.
• Guys named Greg Garcia and Tommy Pham combined for the two winning runs off Sam LeCure, who gave up two hits and a walk on 12 pitches. LeCure set the tone for a poor effort by the Reds bullpen. Ryan Mattheus gave up a hit, a walk and committed and error in one inning. Carlos Contreras gave up two hits, a walk, a wild pitch and three runs in less than an inning. And Josh Smith surrendered a single, double and home run in his first 10 pitches. After a little searching in the thesaurus for antonyms of nasty (as in The Nasty Boys), these results seem apt: easy, facile and obliging. Yes, The Obliging Boys.