Who's the King of New York? Jay Hova, of Course! Reds defeat Mets, 3-0.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jay Bruce and his walk-off, three-run He-Man get the nod tonight, and I'm damn happy for him. Bruce was 2 for 5 on the night with his HR and a double, and so far has gone 3 for 9 with 2 HR, 2B, and 5 RBI since his Dusty-approved 2 game hiatus. Worth noting of course, since I'm noting it, is that both of those HRs came against Left-handed pitchers. If Bruce is heating up and seeing lefties better down the stretch, then hold on to your jock straps.

Fist bumps and hugs are in order for Mat Latos, who not only pitched well in his own right, but also watched the offense continually struggle and still came out throwing a gem. On the evening, Latos went 7 shutout innings, allowing only 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Check his splits, amigos and amigas, and once you get past April, tell me what you think. That's why Walt traded what he traded.

The supergrover Memorial Honorary Red Reporter of the Gamethread

First and foremost, on behalf of Red Reporters across the globe, I want to give a big, heartfelt tip of the cap and smile to supergrover, as I'm positively certain that this is the kind of game he loved watching. I'd like to think he had a great view of this one and had a big smile on his face as he watched Nuxy call the walk-off. We miss ya, buddy.

Our very esteemed (yet rarely seen) colleague thevole gets the nod tonight, as he stopped by, kerhyucked it up with us, and let everyone in on the new, remastered Zappa albums that we can track down. You bring that kind of effort and knowledge (and even a picture of the infamous nycredsfan), and you get the nod.

Good to see you around again, voley. I look forward to some solid gamethreads down the stretch as the Reds motor towards the NL Central crown.

Key Plays

• Let's see how to frame this...well, entering the 9th inning, the Reds were threatening to set a record they would not be fond of. Our good friend Joel Luckhaupt informed us that upon leaving the bases loaded in the 8th (for the second consecutive inning), the Reds had tied their team record for most men left on base without scoring a single run. Ouch. Thankfully, that didn't come back to haunt them.
• Fast forwarding to the 9th, the Reds sent Jose Arredondo and his bag of tricks to the mound to face the bottom portion of the Mets' lineup. After getting Valdespin and Andres Torres out on flies to the outfield, Arredondo hit a bit of trouble. Josh Thole walked, Scotty Hudson, Jr. singled with a baseball bat and promptly stole second, but Drew Stubbs made a shoestring catch on a Ruben Tejada liner to get out of the inning.
• The heart of the order was due up for the Reds in the bottom of the 9th, and though they'd struggled to produce over the first 8 innings, they did not disappoint in the last. Brandon Phillips worked a walk, and Ryan Ludwick hit a single down the line afterwards. Josh Edgin, a lefty, was summoned to face Jay Bruce, but that didn't matter. Bruce took a pitch out and over the plate deep the other way, sending Reds fans into an UncleWeez 10,000th comment-like craze. Reds win, 3-0!

via www.fangraphs.com

Other Notes

• Former, Current and, apparently Future leadoff man Zack Cozart was 2 for 4 tonight with a BB. Look, Cozart is not the ideal leadoff guy, but the kid has put up a pretty admirable season by Reds' SS standards. His double, by the way, was his 25th of the season. Not bad.
• Tonight's win moved the Reds to 5-1 on the season vs. the Mets, clinching the 9 game season series. Cy Young contender R.A. Dickey will take the mound tomorrow opposite Mike Leake at 7:10 EST.
• Hey! What do you guys think about Techno Tuesdays? Yeah? Maybe?
• No? Well then...how's about Tupelo Tuesdays? Perhaps? I feel like I'm working the RR Graveyard Shift here, anyway.