Down to the Wire

Lets talk...the series at Wrigley:

It was a series full of close games. Unfortunately, three of those games did not play out in our favor. Say goodbye to the days of old when we used to beat up on the Cubbies. At a season-high seven games over .500, they are a young team here to play. Meanwhile, Cincinnati sadly sits at six games under. Starlin Castro has become the king of game-winning hits, at least against the Reds that is. In two straight games he has drove in the winning run. Last night particularly stung with Castro striking an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th to seal the deal. After a rough first inning, Anthony DeSclafani pitched a decent game going 6 2/3 innings and allowing only one run. It wasn't enough, we just didn't have the run support in the 2-1 loss.

Lets talk...Billy the kid:

FIVE STOLEN BASES! Billy Hamilton was insane last night with a career-high, and I'll say it again, FIVE STOLEN BASES that tied the Reds' record! Granted, Billy's base stealing didn't help in the run production category, but his ability to run is unmatched by any other player. He now leads the majors in the category with a total of 31.  Hamilton told the press, "I finally got on base to even get a chance to steal a couple of bases. Lately I haven't been getting on base. I haven't been doing my job at the plate," he continued, "If I get on base more, I'll have more opportunities to do this." He's exactly right. After last night's game his average bumped up slightly to .224, but we NEED our lead-off hitter to get on base more often.

Lets talk...Bearcat football commitments:

A great snag, LaSalle's star running back, Jeremy Larkin, commits to being a Cincinnati Bearcat. According to Rivals, Larkin was receiving offers from big name schools including Boston College and Northwestern. He helped the Lancers win the Ohio Division II state championship last year. Unfortunately, LaSalle had to defeat my alma mater, the Harrison Wildcats, on the road to their championship. But that's neither here nor there. In the championship game, Larkin rushed for an impressive 104 yards and two TDs. Needless to say, this hometown boy will be a great asset to the team. He tweeted the news out to the public on Sunday night with the picture below:

JEREMY LARKIN @Deuce__8              

I want to say that I am blessed to have officially committed to play football at the University of Cincinnati

Votto Joins Great Company with Three Home Run Game

Lets talk...the record books:

Joey Votto did something yesterday that the average player won't ever do; hit three home runs in a single game. This is the third game in which Votto has gone yard three times, matching Hall-of-Famer Johnny Bench. To be in a category with one of the most prolific players in Reds' history and one of the best catchers to play the game must be something special. Two of the historic homers came off of former Red, Aaron Harang. The final blast came off of relief pitcher, Dustin McGowan. Votto wasn't the only one digging the long ball last night. As a team, the Reds put up five home runs, a season high. Shockingly, Harang had only given up four total home runs all season before last night's game. Ironically, the last time he allowed four home runs in a single game was back in 2007 when he was pitching for Cincinnati.

Lets talk...Bearcats' baseball:

Congrats to Ian Happ! He became the highest draft pick in Bearcat history when he was selected ninth overall in the first round on Monday by the Chicago Cubs. Happ was named the 2015 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He finished his junior season with a .369 batting average. All the best to this young outfielder, even though he will be coming up in the Cubs' system ;)

Lets Talk...familiar faces:

TJ Houshmandzadeh joins the Bengals once again, but this time as a part of their coaching staff. Thanks to the Bill Walsh minority coaching program, Houshmandzadeh will serve as a coaching intern on the staff. You may remember him from his time as a wide receiver with the Bengals, although he was a quiet contributor compared to his counter wide-out, Chad Johnson. He was a great player for the Bengals, and I think he will be an asset to the coaching staff as well as the wide receivers.

Bruce Hits for the Deuce

Lets talk...Bruuuuuuuce:

This is why we gave Jay Bruce that big fat contract, to hit the long ball. Frankly, it needs to happen more often but I'll take two in one game any day. The first homer came in the second inning. Fast-forward to the sixth with Votto and Frazier on base, Bruce jacked another one to right field. That gives him nine on the year. Fun fact; with those two yesterday, Bruce now has 116 home runs in GABP. Second only to former Red, Adam Dunn, who has 126.

Lets talk...Cueto:

What Johnny has been hoping and praying for...run support! Finally he received some help from the offense on Sunday. The main highlights of the game were obviously Bruce's two home runs, but lets not forget, Cueto pitched a heck of a game. He only gave up four hits in seven innings, striking out nine Padres' hitters. Both manager Bryan Price and Cueto wanted to err on the side of caution due to him recently coming off an elbow injury. Price says the next game he pitches will be a full go.

Miraculously, the bullpen did their job! J.J Hoover and Aroldis Chapman came in for relief and combined to retire the last 15 batters, giving Cueto the W. Speaking of bullpen, they did some revamping over the weekend. Jumbo Diaz got a big ol' see ya later and will be headed to Triple A in Louisville. The Reds also picked up the contract of right-handed reliever, Nate Adcock.

Lets talk...Mesoraco:

Big changes are in Devin's future as he can no longer catch due to the aggravation in his hip. The organization has decided to still utilize him, but in left field. The Reds have been making strides to get Mesoraco ready to play left and it has come time for the next step. He's headed to Triple A in Louisville to get some actual game experience in his new position.

Did that Really Just Chapman?

Lets talk...the Phillies' series:

As I'm watching the game last night, I turned the television off in the bottom of the eighth. Mike Leake was pitching a gem, the Reds had a 2-0 lead and frankly, I was dead tired. I thought I'd wake up in the morning and catch some SportsCenter highlights of the Reds getting the win, but of course I should know not to assume anything with this club. For the second night in a row they lose on a walk-off hit. Same score too! After the sweep of the Nationals this past weekend, fans were wondering if it was just a fluke, myself included. They've got one more shot against the Phils to prove that this is not the start of another abysmal losing streak.

Lets talk...pitching:

Mike Leake! Welcome back sir. With his previous three starts leaving all of us grimacing, he was the shining light of last night's game.  His stuff was working, there was movement on the ball and he took a no-hitter into the seventh. Leake gave up to singles in the ninth, but walked away confident with a 4-0 lead under his belt. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the game, and he did everything but; giving up a three-run shot to Maikel Franco. Chapman has always been more reliable than not, but correct me if I'm wrong. Yes, the man can throw insanely hard, but when a pitcher throws that hard, they throw mostly fast balls. It's better odds for hitters because like Franco said, "I know he throws hard and wasn't going to throw many breaking balls, so I waited for one pitch". One fastball right down the pipe is all you need because that thing's coming in so fast if you get even a little bit of the bat on it, it's going to fly.

On the other side, Phillies' pitcher Cole Hamels pitched a decent game, only allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out eight in seven innings. Hamels was not awarded the win, but still remains a flawless 10-0 against our Redlegs.

Lets talk...what's next:

They wrap up a three-game series with the Phillies tonight. Anthony DeSclafani is on the mound for the good guys, with a familiar face on the opposing mound. Aaron Harang gets the start for the Phillies. Yes, he's still hanging around the majors, and not doing too shabby. Not a stellar record at 4-5, but a decent ERA, 2.02. The Harangutang was a heck of a guy and gave eight great seasons to the Reds' organization, but we need a win tonight so I'm kind of hoping he bombs! No hard feelings Aaron. First pitch goes out at 7:05PM, go Reds!