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I know this is an odd statement given the year that he has had so far, but could it be that Mike Leake is pitching for his rotation spot? Would it be possible, if he continues to get hit hard over the next couple of starts, that the Reds would move him to the bullpen temporarily to make room for Edison Volquez? While the most likely scenario is that Travis Wood will be sent back down to AAA, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Reds would move Leake to the bullpen to lighten his inning count and bolster the bullpen. It's not the most likely scenario, but it's still a possibility if Leake performs like he has in 3 of his last 4 outings.
Left-hander Ted Lilly may be auditioning for a future team in this start. Lilly is a free agent at the end of the year and there has been some talk by clubs about trading for the 34-year old. Despite a 3-6 record, Lilly is having another stellar year to follow up the best season of his career last year. He's been especially good over his last 9 starts, posting a 2.44 ERA, posting a quality start in all but one of those nine. He faced the Reds twice in 2009 and didn't allow an earned run in 13 innings against them, though the one unearned run he surrendered was enough for the Reds to win on April 22.
Despite the dominance last season, the Reds actually have a few hitters that have hit Lilly well over the years. Joey Votto (1.122 OPS) and Ramon Hernandez (1.286 OPS) in particular have had success off of Lilly in their 20 or so plate appearances, but with a couple of home runs each. As a whole, the current crop of Reds hitters are batting .270/.364/.482 against the Cubs lefty. If they can keep that up, it should be a good day at the ballpark for Reds fans.
Happy July 4th everyone! The Reds are 85-74-2 on July 4th since 1901. I can't think of a better way to spend the fourth than with the Reds beating up on the white and blue! Go Reds!