Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Aramis Ramirez. He was 4-5 with a HR and 3 RBI. New rule: don't pitch to hitters named Ramirez.
Key Plays
- In the first inning the Reds had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out and the middle of the order up, but Brandon Phillips hit into a double play to kill the rally.
- In the second inning, the Reds had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out, but couldn't score until Aaron Harang came up and hit a home run, giving the Reds a 3-1 lead.
- With the wind blowing out, the Cubs decided that they weren't done scoring. The Reds sent the scoring question to committee. The Cubs had homers from Ramirez, Mike Fontenot, Jeff Baker, and Derrek Lee. The Reds had 3 base runners in the 3rd through 8th innings.
- Down 8-3 in the top of the 9th, the Reds decided it was safe to start swinging the bats without fear of actually getting Harang off the hook for the loss. A two-out, bases loaded single by Willy Taveras plated 2 runs and brought Joey Votto to the plate as the tying run. The ump decided the game should end there by calling two questionable strikes off the plate, including the last pitch of the game to ring Joey up.
Other Notes
- Harang's home run was the first of his career. It has to be frustrating when you hit a 3-run home run and only give up 4 runs on the day and your teammates can't do a single thing to keep you from getting tagged with the loss.
- Edwin Encarnacion has reached base in all but 3 of the 18 games he's appeared in since returning from injury.
- Taveras has a hit in 9 of his last 10 games.
- The Reds have lost 4 games in a row, matching the longest losing streak of the season that they have accomplished twice before.
- They've lost 6 games in a row on the road as well as 9 of their last 11. They are just 7-13 overall in July.