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Well, I guess the saying is right, you can't win them all. Now that they've proven the maxim, I say they should go out and win the rest of them. They may not make the playoffs, but 90 wins and a 34-game win streak would certainly make this season memorable.
The Reds are throwing their ace-by-default out on the mound today. I guess it's proper to call him the ace as his teammates have been treating him like the ace of late. Despite having a 2.90 ERA and averaging over 7 innings a start over his last 7 starts, Bronson Arroyo has gone just 1-4 in those games. Maybe this will let him have a little more sympathy for Aaron Harang. Arroyo's been particularly strong of late, giving up just 2 runs in his last 25 innings pitched. I sure wish there was some way to get him to put together 2 good halves in one season. If he could do that next year, missing Edinson Volquez sure would hurt a lot less.
This will be Clayton Kershaw's first career start against the Reds. The 21-year old has nearly unhittable stuff - he leads the NL in H/9 - but his wildness can get him into trouble. His 5 walks per 9 innings are the highest in the majors for qualified starters this year. There is no question that patience is the primary means to success against Kershaw. Find out if he's going to be pitching in the zone before you start hacking. I hate that this is the strategy against so many opposing pitchers because it clearly is not the Reds strong suit.
I'd love to see them take 2 out of 3 from the Dodgers. It doesn't suddenly make the season a success or anything, but it would be a bit of progress, and that's all I'm looking for at this point - progress.