Homer Bailey! Hey guys and gals, Homer Bailey is back! Ol Hoss, back on the roster at the expense of Carlos "Swiffer" Fisher, finished his most recent rehab outing with over 100 pitches, saying his "velocity was the same at 100 pitches as it was at 10 pitches," which is apparently what rehab outings are going for. It was a good day for pitching yesterday, at least for the Reds. Despite a rare "Mediocrroyo" sighting, it was nice to see the pen toss 2.2 innings of straight zeroes, with a combined 6 strikeouts. Mr. Pitchy was on his game, striking out the side in the ninth on 12 pitches. It goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway: if he can get back on track for the rest of the season it'd be huge.
Bailey faces off against hopefully not-future Red Jeremy Guthrie, who got semi-rocked his last time out. He gave up 6 runs on 11 hits to the Pirates, who inexplicably jumped the Reds in the standings, despite an identical winning percentage and a name that starts with a letter that is closer to Z than Cincinnati is. Someone must have felt sorry for them. At some point it might be wise to begin calling it a 4 team race, but I'm not willing to declare them contenders just yet.
Lineup after the jump
Chris Heisey 9
Brandon Phillips 4
Joey Votto 3
Jonny Gomes DH
Fred Lewis 7
Drew Stubbs 8
Ramon Hernandez 2
Miguel Cairo 5
Paul Janish 6
Homer Bailey 1
It's definitely a getaway day lineup, with the sadly slumping Jay Bruce and Old Man Rolen getting a day off, but it's nice to see the hot hands of Chris Heisey and Fred Lewis in the lineup, with Heisey occupying the leadoff spot again, even with Drew Stubbs playing. Depth is fun when it's hitting, eh? Here's to a series win against an AL team!