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Ugh, I almost hate doing these things and seeing pitchers with great strikeout to walk ratios because it almost invariably means the Reds will come out swinging at the first pitch. And no, swinging at the first pitch ain't an automatically bad thing, but it sure would be nice to make a starting pitcher throw a bunch of pitches early on. Even the best pitchers don't throw strikes on every pitch. I wouldn't be surprised if the Reds score only one or two runs tonight.
That just means that Johny Cueto will have to continue to be on his game. Cueto's given up just 3 earned runs over his last 5 starts. He got beat around the last time he faced the Nationals (and coincidentally Martin), giving up 7 runs over 2.2 innings and taking the loss. Cueto hasn't started in 11 days, so I'm a bit fearful that he'll come out rusty. Hopefully I'm wrong.
After taking 2 of 3 from the Rockies, 3 of 4 from the Nationals would be nice. The easiest way to do that is with a win tonight.
Adam Dunn and Rob Dibble are both back in town this week. Marty Brennaman must be beside himself. Thankfully, Leatherpants isn't with the organization anymore.
Go Reds!