So damn sweet! Reds win, 11-7.

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jay Bruce.  Hova went 4-5 with just about every manner of hit.  A bunt.  A single.  A triple.  A home run.  2 RBI and 3 runs scored.  If this is any kind of indication of things to come during the stretch run (pleaseohpleaseohplease), the Reds will be sitting pretty.  The Reds had 18 hits in the game, so there were lots of stars.  The Honorable Mentions will go to Jim Edmonds and Ramon Hernandez.

Key Plays

• The Reds got out to a quick start in this game.  Brandon Phillips doubled off of Rodrigo Lopez, then took third on a wild pitch.  Drew Stubbs lofted a fly ball that was deep enough for Phillips to tag and score.  Reds lead, 1-0.
• Edinson Volquez walked the first two batters he faced in the second inning, Adam LaRoche and Mark Reynolds.  A groundout by Miguel Montero moved the runners over, and Gerardo Parra's groundout scored LaRoche.  Game tied, 1-1.
• Jim Edmonds hit his first home run as a Red in the third inning.  Reds lead, 2-1.
• Jay Bruce then homered in the fourth.  Reds lead, 3-1.
• The Diamondbacks rallied in the fifth inning.  With one out, pinch hitter Ryan Church singled to left field, and went to second when Jonny Gomes couldn't field the ball cleanly.  Stephen Drew then singled to left, and Gomes threw the ball home even though Church had stopped at third, allowing Drew to go to second.  Then Justin Upton singled and Church and Drew both scored to tie the game.  Drew Stubbs missed the cutoff man and Upton went to second.  After Kelly Johnson flew out, Chris Young hit a home run.  Diamondbacks lead, 5-3.
• Chris Young hit a two out double in the seventh inning off of Jordan Smith.  Then Adam LaRoche hit a home run.  Diamondbacks lead, 7-3.
• The Reds seemed down, but as we've learned this season, they are never out.  With one out in the eighth inning, pinch hitter Miguel Cairo singled off Sam Demel, and then Jay Bruce hit a triple to drive him in.  Then Ramon Hernandez doubled and Bruce scored.  Paul Janish singled and runners were on the corners.  Aaron Heilman came in in relief, and Laynce Nix hit a sacrifice fly.  Hernandez scored and Janish moved to second, which was a great move because Brandon Phillips hit a ground rule double.  Game tied, 7-7.
• Aaron Heilman stayed in to pitch the ninth inning, but after the furious comeback in the eighth, it certainly seemed like the Reds would come back all the way and win.  Jim Edmonds started off Aaron's party with a double.  Before the game, Kevin Mitchell is Batman predicted that Edmonds would have two hits - a home run and a double.  Sure enough.  After a long at-bat, Scott Rolen grounded out to the first baseman and Edmonds moved to third.  Pinch hitter Chris Heisey then dropped a suicide squeeze bunt and both he and Edmonds were safe!  The Reds had the lead, but they weren't at all done.  Jay Bruce singled, his fourth hit of the game, and Heisey went from first to third.  Heilman hit Hernandez with a pitch, loading the bases.  Paul Janish nearly cleared them, hitting a ball deep into the left field corner.  It was caught, but Heisey scored.  Then Laynce Nix doubled and Bruce and Hernandez both scored.  Reds win, 11-7.

via www.fangraphs.com

Other Notes

• After Scott Rolen struck out for the first out in the eighth inning, the Diamondbacks's chances of winning the game were 97.4%.  Of course, that's just according to FanGraphs.  In real life, the Diamondbacks never had a chance to win this game.
• Jonny Gomes was replaced by Laynce Nix in the middle of the fifth inning after popping up three times and making a couple of defensive miscues.
• The crowd of 15,509 was the smallest to ever see a Diamondbacks game.
• The Reds got 18 hits, and Jonny Gomes was the only non-pitcher to go hitless.  All of the pinch hitters got a hit.
• The Reds have won 5 games in a row, matching a season high.  They are also 3 games ahead in the NL Central, also matching a season high.
• Ramon Hernandez has been pretty darn hot.  In his previous five games, he has a slash line of .421/.421/.632.  And that's before he reached base four times tonight, with a double.