Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game
Travis Wood. No really superlative efforts today, so we'll give it to the guy who pitched quite well in his major league debut. Wood went seven scoreless innings before giving up some baserunners in the eighth that Nick Masset allowed to score. The Cubs only managed two hits off of Wood, who struck out four and walked three. Honorable mentions go to Jordan Smith and Scott Rolen.
Key Plays
- Carlos Silva has been having a great year for the Cubs, but the Reds got to him early. Showing him how well they hit with two outs, Joey Votto singled and Scott Rolen drove him in with a triple in the first inning. Reds lead, 1-0.
- The Reds had multiple runners on in the second and third innings, but couldn't break through again until the eighth. Orlando Cabrera led off with a double and moved to third on Joey Votto's fly out. Scott Rolen also flew out, but Cabrera didn't tag and try for home. No matter, because Jonny Gomes singled to left field and Lando scored, ending Silva's day. Reds lead, 2-0.
- In the bottom of the eighth, Wood walked Geovanny Soto and Starlin Castro, the first two batters he faced. Nick Massett came in to relieve him, and pinch hitter Kosuke Fukudome sacrificed pinch runner Ryan Theriot and Castro to third and second, respectively. Then Tyler Colvin singled to right field and both runners scored. Colvin went to second on the throw and to third on pinch hitter Mike Fontenot's single before Derrek Lee grounded into a double play to end the inning. Game tied, 2-2.
- Late rallies have been the Reds' stock in trade this season, and they looked set to pull off another ninth inning win. Drew Stubbs led off with a single off of Carlos Marmol, but Corky Miller popped up a bunt attempt. Had Miller been successful, Stubbs might have scored on Laynce Nix's single, but could only content himself on getting to third base. Brandon Phillips walked, and the bases were loaded with one out, but Orlando Cabrera and Joey Votto both struck out on full counts.
- Instead, the comeback came in extra innings. In the tenth, pinch hitter Miguel Cairo hit a one out single, and Jay Bruce also singled, sending Cairo to third. Drew Stubbs hit a ground ball to second, but Bruce ran hard and barreled into the shortstop to prevent the double play, allowing Cairo to score the winning run. Reds lead, 3-2.
- Francisco Cordero allowed two baserunners with one out, but Tyler Colvin couldn't reproduce his heroics from two innings before and instead grounded into a game-ending double play.
Other Notes
- The Reds are a season high 10 games over .500, matching the mark they achieved on May 29.
- The Reds have won nine extra inning road games in a row. They haven't lost in extras on the road since May 16, 2009, the 16 inning game against San Diego. Their nine game winning streak is the most since Atlanta also won nine from 1999-2000.
- The Cubs are trailing the NL Central-leading Reds by 10.5 games. It's the most they've been back since 2006, the year they fired Dusty Baker.
- Counting July, the Reds have not had a month with a losing record.
- Joey Votto Streak Tracker: 39 games reaching base safely via hit and/or walk.