Last night, the Reds somehow managed to pull off the win by a mere 3-1 against the Chicago Cubs. A win is a win, but the RedLegs still struggled behind the plate. Cincinnati ended the game with just 4 hits. That was all they needed though, after the Catcher Ryan Hanigan cleared the bases on a 6th inning double. Homer Bailey also did his part to win the game, pitching 7 1/3 innings, allowing 0 runs. Once again the team is coming together to pull out a tough win, but this game could have easily gone the other way. Cincinnati was 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded six guys for the night. This has been an issue for the Reds all season. They did get a little help from the Cubs starting Pitcher, Justin Germano. He walked all three batters, Votto, Ludwick, and Bruce in the 6th inning that eventually led to Hanigan's double that inning and the win.
There is no slowing down now, with the magic number shrinking every game. The new magic number after last night's win is 4. The Reds are also just one game behind the Washington Nationals for first place in the National League, whose game was postponed last night due to weather against the Dodgers. If they were to catch up and beat the Nationals in the standings, they would be the number one seed in the playoffs and receive home field advantage throughout.
In other Reds news, Dusty Baker managed his 3,000th career game last night. The record night for Baker came and went mostly unnoticed but the team "got just enough offense to win," according to to the Reds manager. So it is still a happy ending for him. Zack Cozart sat for the 12th straight game last night due to a strained left oblique muscle. The team believes though, that it won't be much longer before his return to the line-up. He has felt great in batting practice and he believes he can be back for this weekend's series against the Dodgers.
Tonight the Reds square off against the Cubs again at 8:05 pm EST in Chicago. Mike Leake will take the mound against rookie Chris Rusin. Leake is currently sitting on a record of 8-9 with a 4.69 ERA. Rusin brings a 1-2 record with a 5.06 ERA.
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