Unfortunately, the Offense. Brewers 2, Reds 0.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Considering the offense amounted to a few groundballs, a bloop single, and an infield hit courtesy of a bad throw, Mat Latos gets the nod tonight despite not being quite as dominant as he has been of late.  Latos had a bit of a hard time locating his pitches, but he still managed to grind through 7 innings, allowing just two ER, three walks, and striking out 6 in 111 pitches.

Honorable mentions are due to:  Brandon Phillips, who was 2 for 4, one of which was the 2nd hardest hit ball of the Reds' evening - a jammed line drive that barely cleared the infield; Ryan Ludwick, who was 2 for 3, a bloop and a stubby grounder that resulted in said infield hit; and Jay Bruce, for getting a line drive single that actually showed the kids in attendance what a major league hit looks like.

Key Plays

• There were only two real instances where the Reds threatened to threaten, and the first came in the Top of the 4th.  Joey Votto drew a 2 out walk (with nobody on base...DRINK), and Phillips followed with a single.  When Yovanni Gallardo threw a pitch in the dirt, Votto astutely moved towards 3B in case the ball kicked away, and he broke back to 2B when he saw that catcher Jonathan Lucroy had it under control; Phillips, on the other hand, saw Votto's initial move, put his head down, and broke for 2B, and Lucroy gathered the ball, threw to 1B, and nailed Phillips in a rundown.  Blergh.
• The Brewers offense got their swerve on in the Bottom of the 4th, as three consecutive 2 out hits doomed Latos.  Khris Davis ghot thhe hhit pharty shtarted with a single, Scooter hooted another, and current former future Bill Hall All Star Logan Schafer broke out of his 0 for since he last played the Reds streak with a 2-run double to the wall in RF.  Reds trailed, 2-0.
• Phillips started a 1 out rally in the Top of the 7th with a single up the middle, and Brandon Kinzler was brought on to replace Gallardo.  Bruce promptly lined a single to put runners at first and second, and Ryan Ludwick followed with a well placed bloop to advance the runners.  Xavier Paul was then brought on to hit for Zack Cozart, and he promptly rolled over on a grounder to start a 4-6-3 double play.  That was all the Reds could muster, unfortunately.  Reds lose, 2-0.

Fangraph Section that Reminds Me of the Nap I Took After Lunch Today

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-08-17&team=Brewers&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=2013-08-17&team=Brewers&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>

Other Notes

• Losing two games in a row in a series against what had been the last place team in the division is no way to catch the leaders of said division, especially when your two best pitchers toe the rubber in those games.
• If you watched this game, you probably fell asleep, or you wanted to.  If you didn't watch this game, you probably had more fun for 3 hours than those of us who did.
• It's 8:10 pm my time on a Saturday night, and I'm apparently about to have to go to Home Depot.  This is my life.
• Never fear!  The Reds will win tomorrow's contest by 4 runs and take the Pythagorean series victory!
• Satuneday?  Satuneday!
• Mas tunin'.