Frazier Doesn't Hit Homers; He Hits Icebergs. Reds 1, Cubs 0.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Mat Latos cruised through 7 innings tonight with 4 strikeouts, no walks, three hits, and no runs. He only really ran into trouble when he came on to pitch the 8th, as he walked the leadoff batter and allowed an infield single. Mostly, however, he was his usual dominant self, pounding the strike zone and being fairly pitch efficient while operating in a tight game throughout. He picked up his first win of the season, and currently sports a tidy 1.05 WHIP, 2.16 ERA, and 33/5 K/BB through his 33.1 IP thusfar. If his 2013 season follows his established career arc of being a slow starter who's nails late in the season then, well, we're going to be in for a treat this summer and fall.

Honorable mentions are due to Todd Frazier, of course, who took a walk and also created the only run of the game with the 7th longest HR in GABP history; and Jonathan Broxton, who came on for Latos with none out and 2 on in the Top of the 8th and wiggled out of the jam allowing none to score.

That's right. I just made you imagine Broxton wiggling. Words are powerful tools, folks.

Key Plays

• Both teams were scoreless thru 5 innings today as both Latos and Jeff Samardzija were pitching like their ace selves. The Reds managed multiple baserunners in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th, but couldn't manage to get anyone in due to poorly executed hit-and-run calls and double plays. That changed in the Bottom of the 6th, though, when Frazier hit a pitch so hard it flew like a golf ball into the boat above the batter's eye in CF. Reds led, 1-0.
• The Cubs were punchless until the 8th, when Latos walked former Red Dioner Navarro to lead things off. Former Red Travis Wood came on to pinch run for Navarro, and he went to second when not former Red Luis Valbuena hit an infield single to current Red Zack Cozart. Broxton came on and put out the fire, thankfully, after a sac bunt, an Alfonso Soriano strikeout, and a marvelous play by Cozart on a grounder up the middle by David DeJesus. Aroldis Chapman handled the Cubs in the 9th, and that was that. Reds win, 1-0!

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-04-24&team=Reds&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-04-24&team=Reds&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>

Other Notes

• Our own Grahamophone was on 1450 The Sports Buzz today to talk Reds baseball on their Afternoon Drive segment. The link to the podcast is here, and Grammy is on a few minutes in and kicks tail. Fast forward through all of the stoopy domb Louisville basketball stuff and you'll find him. Check it out, and tune in on Wednesdays in the future to hear what our actual voices sound like when we blabber about the Reds!
• Shin-Soo Choo was a ho-hum 2 for 4 today. Dude didn't even get hit by a pitch. That lowered his season's OBP, too. Let that sink in for a minute.
• I'm exhausted today. Pump-up tunes.