Interleague Play is mercifully done until October. The Reds fared okay, but they were a bit unlucky. They finished with a 7-8 record, though they scored 74 runs compared to the 65 they allowed. I hope all them one-run losses don't end up hurting too much in the end.

Mat Latos straddles the tortoise for the Redlegs tonight, looking to rebound from his last outing against the Indians. He lasted only four innings, giving up seven runs and three homers. Much has been made of Latos' rough start so far, but much of it can be attributed to a home run rate that is out of whack. He's given up 1.8 dingers per nine innings so far this season, which is twice his career rate. One can probably expect a slight bump in HR rate moving from San Diego to Cincinnati, but not like this. His other numbers are pretty much in line with the ace-like numbers he put up for the Padres, so I'm still fully confident that he will finish the season as a strong #2 starter.

The Brewers...hmmmm, the Brewers. They are six games under .500 and just lost two of three from the White Sox. I'm not sad to see them struggling as much as they are, but I do wish it was the Cardinals who were stinky instead. If things don't improve, this team has several players who could be traded for big prospect hauls.

Yovanni Gallardo has been his normal self this season, piling up the strike outs and being almost great. He handled the Reds back on May 8th when he pitched a strong six and fanned eight.

Drew Stubbs is back in the lineup for the first time in three weeks. It was supposed to only take three or four days. /shrugs. Willie Harris was shipped back to Louisville to make room.

Lineups and 'pen log after the jarng:

LINEUPS

Everyone is well-rested and should be available. Chapman threw 30 pitches in yesterday's blown save/loss, but he had a number of days off before that so he should still be able to get back out there if necessary. Billy Bray took J.J. Hoover's spot in the 'pen since the last time we checked in here, and he blew a save himself. My boy Alfredo Simon has been slicin' up eyeballs, putting up goose eggs in 14 of his 18 appearances so far this season. He has closer experience too, so maybe we could see him pitching in some more high-lev sitches.