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Aaron Harang hasn't gotten credit for a win since May and I think I know why. His last win came on May 25th against Houston. If that game doesn't stick out for you, let me refresh your memory. That was the game that Harang came out after a 2 hour rain delay and finished the 5th inning so that he could get credit for the win. It worked that day, but when you deal with the devil, it will always bite you in the ass later on. Since that day, the Reds have gone 4-4 in Harang's starts, but Harang has only gotten the decision in the losses. I have little doubt that if he had just sacrificed the win in that Houston game, he would have gone 8-0 in the rest of the games. That's just how mystical beasts work.
The Reds faced Mike Pelfrey back in the second game of the year and jumped out for 4 runs in the first inning off of him, including Joey Votto's first home run of the season. They failed to score another run in next 4 innings he pitched, while the Mets took the lead and gave Pelfrey the victory in a game that finished with a 9-7 score. Pelfrey's never been a big strikeout pitcher and when he's going good he doesn't walk too many either. The thing he does really well though is keep the ball in the ballpark. Of course, it helps that he pitches in the cavernous Citi Field.
As the FanPost put up by Caleb suggests, the Reds are probably just going to bring someone up for Sunday's game and then figure out what needs to happen on the roster during the break to fill in for Jay Bruce. I suspect we'll see Adam Rosales since Jerry Hairston Jr. can play the outfield if needed. No idea what the longer term solution is for the outfield right now. My initial guess is that we'll see Darnell McDonald filling out the bench with Chris Dickerson, Laynce Nix, and Jonny Gomes getting the majority of the playing time in the corner outfield spots. Obviously, that doesn't really improve the offense a whole lot. I'm just not sure they'd bring up Drew Stubbs or Chris Heisey without playing them everyday, and I could see Dusty Baker preferring to play the other three guys more. That's just a guess at this point though.
It's an afternoon ballgame and then a 3-day break for the All Star game. Then a whole new season starts on Thursday, right? Please?