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If you haven't heard, Joey Votto "tweaked" his wrist in yesterday's game and will not be in the lineup tonight. Hopefully it doesn't matter, and hopefully he's not out for more than a week (Reds play the Cardinals starting next Monday!).
This series has the potential of being a huge letdown series. After taking 2 of 3 from the first place Braves and winning 9 of their last 11 series (yowza!), the Reds head into Pittsburgh to face the team with the worst record in the NL. You would think that this should be a cake walk of a series, but the Pirates are just 3 games under at home and 29 under on the road, and pitchers like Ohlendorf always seem to give the Reds fits.
Travis Wood has been impressive, eh? The Reds appear to be taking it easy on his pitch count, but it doesn't look like his innings are a concern. He's up to 135 this year after throwing 167 last season. I imagine they're comfortable with him reaching 200 this year, especially since he's much more acclimated to the 5-man rotation than Mike Leake. If he keeps pitching the way he has, I can see him not only being in the rotation for the rest of the season, but possibly in the playoffs since it will give them a lefty in the rotation. It's fun to think about, huh?
Would love to see a sweep since the Cardinals are playing the Astros at home. The Reds have to stay focused on keeping pace right now. Don't let their deficit increase between now and next Monday, and it'd be great to be in the lead when that series starts.
Go Reds!