I gotta say I was very impressed. Many say he had trouble early on.........I beg to differ. Soriano hit a hard double to left, I'll give you that. But the hit batter on the bunt attempt was bogus and just bad luck. It was a high fast ball that Theriot should have been able to get out of the way of. I thought that was just bad luck. Sure, Dickerson made a good catch, but it was a bloop single type hit, which just happened to fall in a tough place, but still a nice play. Maloney pitched well considering all the drama in the 1st inning.

Same for the 2nd inning. Another bloop double that feel short in left field and bounced into foul territory. A throwing error on Hairston. Another nice play by Dickerson to throw out the runner. Maloney stayed composed the whole time, even striking out Dempster and then Soriano with bases loaded to still allow no runs. Impressive, despite the drama. Good test of his composure.

After all that, I thought he settled down and pitched a really good game. Giving up only 2 runs in 6+ innings is a quality start. And he doesn't have overpowering stuff.

He definitely gave the organization something to think about. I hope he gets another start while Volquez is out. I'd like to see him a second time.

The lack of offense continues to frustrate big time. With Votto out, Bruce isn't getting anything to hit and he still swings. Bruce should be walking 4 times a game with the lack of pitches to hit. And now Nix is starting to see no pitches to hit. I think this team is becoming overagressive at the plate and needs to get back to being more selective. I see guys swinging at alot of bad pitches.