See? Told Ya Baseball Is Fun! Reds 5, Braves 4.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star(s) of the Game

With tonight's win, Dusty Baker picked up his 1,600th win as a Major League manager, and that win pushed him past Tommy Lasorda into sole possesion of 18th place on the all-time wins list. Do that, and you get the JNMHSotG honor. Dusty's unconventional in that he's terribly conventional, and it frustrates the living hell out of many of us more often than not (present company included), but he's continued to win while being at the helm of the Reds and, ultimately, that's all that really matters. Dusty has almost become a personal representation of a bygone era of looking at the game of baseball to some, and in many ways that's true.

He's basically the RBI of the modern-day game: descriptive rather than predictive, influential but not mainstream, but ultimately one of the larger correlations to winning baseball that exists. Props, Dusty, for being a part of creating a winning atmosphere for us Reds fans. Keep on keepin' on.

Very, very, very awesome honorable mentions to both Devin Mesoraco and Shin-Soo Choo are in order, too. The two went back-to-back off of Braves closer Craig Kimbrel in the Bottom of the 9th to give the Reds a 1-run win, and that's just twelve shades of awesome. Thanks for the fireworks, guys!

Key Plays

• Things got off to a rather rocky start for Homer Bailey tonight, and despite striking out the side in the Top of the 1st he allowed 3 runs and had to throw 41 pitches to escape. Future/Current superstar Andrelton Simmons led off with a bloop double over Zack Cozart's shoulder, and after B.J. Upton struck out, his brother Justin walked, as did Freddie Freeman. Brian McCann then singled to score two, and Dan Uggla then followed with another single to score Freeman. Reds trailed, 3-0.
• Shin-Soo Choo put the Reds on the board in the Bottom of the 3rd with his first solo HR of the evening, but Atlanta got that run back in the Top of the 5th following a B.J. Upton single and subsequent single by Freeman. Reds trailed, 4-1.
• In the Bottom of the 5th, Jack Hannahan walked for the Reds, and Corky Miller hit a Stache Bash off the top of the wall for a single to move Hannahan to 3B. Donald Lutz then pinch hit for Homer Bailey, and he singled up the middle to score Hannahan. The Reds also plated another crucial run in the Bottom of the 8th when Cozart singled, Votto singled to move him to 3B, and Brandon Phillips hit a sac fly to score Cozy. Reds trailed, 4-3.
• After Jonathan Broxton retired the Braves in the Top of the 9th, things seemed rather bleak as the only reliever comparable to Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel, took the mound for the Braves. This is 2013, though, not 2012, and things seem to have changed. After Kimbrel got Jack Hannahan and Corky Miller with strikeouts, Devin Mesoraco stepped in to pinch hit, and after working a 3 ball count he smoked a liner over B.J. Upton's head into the right-center seats to tie the game. Choo immediately followed with a moon-shot to left-center, and all of Reds nation went buck loco. Reds win, 5-4!

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-05-07&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=2013-05-07&team=Reds&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>

Other Notes

• Somebody take a picture of that Fangraph. I want to look at it again sometime soon...like, I dunno, 5 minutes from now. And again in 10 min.
• Somehow, the Cubs managed to beat the Cardinals today and both teams emerged as losers. Just when you think some things don't add up, you realize they really do.
• Y'know that feeling you get when the Reds win in epic fashion and you get to have that all the way until the next game? Well thankya tons, Choo the Revelator.
• Who said Choo would lead the Reds in HR this year with 34? Hmm. Write that down...signed, sealed, delivered.