Reds leave their Homers at Home, lose to Pirates 4-1.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

A day after the most homeriffic day in GABP history, the Reds looked mostly futile against the Pirates' pitchers today. Though he only got three ABs (because he was batting 8th...again), Ryan Hanigan went 2 for 3 with a double, raising his season line to .320/.383/.402 and picking up the JNMHSotG. Meanwhile, Drew Stubbs and Wilson Valdez (and their respective season OBPs of .293 and .174) hit leadoff and second, and managed a collective 0 for 8 with 4 K's in front of Joey Votto. Pre-game, I believe I set the over/under on number of runners on base for Votto today at 1, and said it would likely be Arroyo...dang.

Honorable mention to Chris Heisey, whose 9th inning single plated Votto for the only run of the game; Alfredo Simon, whose 3 IP as the little used long-man from the bullpen kept the Reds within striking distance; Joey Votto, for being awesome; and J.J. Hoover, for putting up yet another scoreless inning.

Key Plays

• Badroyo wasted little time in making his presence felt. The Pirates got rolling in the bottom of the 1st, as Neil Walker singled, moved up on a wild pitch, and scored when Pedro Alvarez hit an opposite field double off the Left field wall; Garret Jones then singled to score Alvarez. Pirates lead, 2-0.
• The Bucs kept the wheels rolling in the following frame. Rod Barajas singled, but was thrown out at second on a bunt by McDonald. Arroyo then walked Jose Tabata, and allowed a Walker double that scored McDonald. Pirates lead, 3-0.
• The Pirates scored in the 3rd, too, as Pedro Alvarez doubled and later scored on another single by Barajas, giving the Bucs a 4-0 lead. The Reds failed on two separate occasions to score with runners on first and second with no outs, and it wasn't until the 9th when they scraped across a run, when Votto walked, took second, and scored on Heisey's single. Miguel Cairo lined out to Andrew McCutchen, and that was that. Reds lose, 4-1.

Other Notes

• A day after the record-breaking HR explosion, the Reds tied a centuries-old MLB record for fewest HR in a game. That's the kind of sleuthy stat-finding you can only find from this writer.
• The Pirates have won a season high 4 games in a row.
• Homer Bailey will take the mound tomorrow evening against Charlie Morton at 7:05 EST.