The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

I feel pretty comfortable tabbing Mat Latos here. For the first time since 1999, the Reds are 24 games over .500, and it's almost all thanks to Big Game Mat. 7 1/3 shutout innings, five sad Pirates with their bats on their shoulders, and, to top it off, a two run partridge in a pear tree to put the game out of reach.

Honorables to Chris Heisey (1-3) for his inside the parker parkour, the Gold Glove infielders who made a number of incredible defensive plays, and of course, Chappy and the Fat Man out of the pen. Oh yeah, and Marty f'in' Brennaman for being a man of his word and the people of Cincinnati for raising money for a good cause.

Key Plays

- In the bottom of the 2nd, Chris Heisey hit one over Sterling Marte's head, off the wall, and into centerfield. A real MVP would have thrown Heisey out at home, but instead Chris beat the throw, and the Reds were up 1-0.

- In the bottom of the fifth, the Reds rally with two outs. Ryan Hanigan singled, and Mat Latos made us no longer doubt the trade. Reds up 3-0

- In the top of the eighth, the Pirates managed singles sandwiched around a pop out, and that was the end for Latos. Newly acquired Red Jonathan Broxton (him?) coaxed a double play out of their newly acquired Pirate Gaby Sanchez. We win the trade deadline!

- In the top of the ninth, Chapman threw a hundo into the arm of McCutchen. No blood was shed, and Chappy K'd Garrett Jones on three pitches totaling 303 MPH. Reds win!

Other notes? I'm hungry now and want to eat dinner. Discuss interesting factoids in the space provided below.