Again. Cardinals 8, Reds 6.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Zack Cozart has been hot of late, and tonight was no different.  Cozy tripled, doubled, drove in 3 runs, and played his typical stellar defense.

Unfortunately, it was the Cardinals, and they won because of whatever it was that caused them to win this time despite good play from the Reds.  Baseball is amazingly fun to watch in an objective setting, but when you become too emotionally invested in a certain outcome, it can become a bear to absorb, and that's where my current mental state sits in regards to Cincinnati vs. St. Louis games these days.  It's like a simulation that's set with 52/48 win percentage odds but continues to give one team 9 out of 10 victories.

Whatever.

Honorable Mentions are due to:  Jay Bruce, who perfect-hair'd his 25th HR of the season, and Todd Frazier, who tripled in 2 runs to break out of his 1 for 38 slump against the Cardinals.

Why does it feel like we're all in a 1 for 38 slump against the Cardinals?

Key Plays

• The Reds jumped in front early tonight as they moved & shaked their way to 4 runs in the Top of the 2nd.  Jay Bruce led off with a single to RF, and an out later Devin Mesoraco moved Bruce to 3B on what could've been scored a single but was scored an error on SS Daniel Descalso.  Cozart followed with triple to the wall in the gap between LF and CF, and both Bruce and Mesoraco came around to score.  Mike Leake then drew a walk, and after Shin-Soo Choo struck out, Todd Frazier followed a funky swing with an opposite field triple to the wall that scored both Cozart and Leake.  Reds lead, 4-0.
• The Cardinals closed the lead to one in the Bottom of the 3rd, however, as Matt Carpenter singled, John Jay walked, and Matt Holliday launched one of the longest HRs I've ever seen.  Reds led, 4-3.
• Cozart doubled in another run in the Top of the 5th, and then UmpShow UmpShow'd, blahdy blahdy hoo-ha, Allen Craig hit a grand slam when the inning should've been over and we all cried.  Again.  Because this crap is getting to be ridiculous.  Ridiculous.  Ri-freaking-diculous.  I mean, Matt Adams is making amazingly athletic defensive plays against the Reds it's so ridiculous.  I've never, ever, ever seen a team be simultaneously great and also dominated by a single opponent.  This pains my loins.  Reds lose, 8-6.

FanGraphs Section That Makes Me Want to Stick My Head in a Blender

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-08-26&team=Cardinals&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=2013-08-26&team=Cardinals&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>

Other Notes

• I'm not sure I can keep getting as excited for games vs. the Cardinals as I have in the past.  I stopped doing that for UK/Tennessee football games years ago because it just wasn't emotionally worth it.  It's depressing as hell.  I'll follow them, I'll watch them, but I'm not going to be excited about them for awhile.
  
• I dunno.
• Whatever.
• I miss Corky Miller.
• Logan Ondrusek hit 97 mph.
• #UmpShow
• fartsticks.
• Poor Aaron Harang and Edinson Volquez.
• ESPN finally showed a K-Zone for a pitch, and it was in the Top of the 9th for a Cardinals pitcher because he didn't get a strike called on a pitch out of the zone.  Convenient that they didn't show any of the borderline pitches in the 7th, huh.
• Watching the Reds play baseball in St. Louis has been disgusting for years now.  The Reds have to get out of this place.
• How hilarious is it that I now wish the Cardinals had kept Albert Pujols?  I don't wish they had him so his albatross contract would hamstring their performance, I just wish they had him because he's worse than every other position player on their 25 man roster right now. 
  
• Time to put in some work.