Impact Bat Impacts! Reds 8, Cardinals 3.

One More Saturday Night!

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Maybe, just maybe, we may be seeing the full-scaled, well-hyped emergence of Devin Mesoraco. Mesoraco hit 2 HRs of some largesse tonight, and with news that Ryan Hanigan still has soreness in his ailing wrist and received a cortisone shot, this may be more of an emergence of necessity than one of convenience. Regardless, Mesoraco is becoming more and more important the the Reds lineup by the day, and it couldn't happen at a better time.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Joey Votto, who went 1 for 2 with a billion walks and 2 runs scored; Shin-Soo Choo, who made his only hit count via a 2-run HR; and Brandon Phillips, who went 2 for 4 with a walk.

Hat-tips, salutations, and graffiti-throws are due to Manny Parra, Alfredo Simon, and J.J. Hoover, too, as they've quietly put their early struggles behind them in exchange for churning out consistent, dominant performances out of the bullpen, tonight included.

Key Plays

• Things appeared to be ugly early yet again, as Tony Cingrani struggled to get out of the Top of the 1st. The Cardinals saw John Jay reach via walk to start the game, and he scored when Carlos Beltran doubled right after him. Cingrani's wild pitch moved Beltran to 3B, but he buckled down to get two strikeouts and a fly out to limit them to just one run. Reds trailed, 1-0.
• Despite the fact that Jake Westbook had shut down the Reds' offense completely in their last encounter, the Reds got to him early this evening. After an extremely questionable called strike three to Shin-Soo Choo, Chris Heisey followed with a single, moved to 2B on a passed ball, Joey Votto walked, Brandon Phillips hit a grounder to advance both runners, Jay Bruce walked to load the bases, and Jack Hannahan - yes, that Jack Hannahan - hit a soft single just over the outstretched glove of Pete Kozma to plate two. Reds led, 2-1.
• The Reds did some more damage in the Bottom of the 4th, as Zack Cozart MVP/GG'd his way into a 2-out walk, and Devin Mesoraco followed with an IMPACT BAT'd homer. One inning later, Joey Votto drew a 2-out walk, and Phillips followed with a deep double off the wall in CF to drive him in. Reds led, 5-2.
• Hooo Weee Spaghetti had struggled with command all evening, and that inflated his pitch count and ran him into trouble in the Top of the 6th. Cingrani allowed a leadoff double to Matt Holliday, walked David Freese, and saw Daniel Descalso single to load the bases before leaving in favor of Alfredo Simon. Simon saw Johnson hit a sharp grounder up the middle that saw Phillips make a phenomenal stop, and his flip to Cozart got one at 2B, but Cozart's throw to 1B was wide to prevent the double play. LH Matt Carpenter was brought in to PH, so Manny Parra was summoned, and he got a grounder from Carpenter to get one, but it unfortunately wasn't for the third out, so Freese scored, too. Reds led, 5-3.
• Devin Mesoraco stepped to the plate to lead off the Bottom of the 8th, and he proceeded to launch his 2nd HR of the game over the fence in LF. Todd Frazier promptly walked, and Choo followed with a thunderpump to RF. Aroldis Chapman was summoned for the 9th inning, and he did what he does. Reds win, 8-3!

FanGraphs Section That Makes Me and You Feel Infinitely Better About the General State of Affairs

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-08-03&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=2013-08-03&team=Reds&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>

Other Notes

• That sinkhole got fixed, or something. Rumor has it Corky Miller was seen with some Quikrete and a wheelbarrow.
• The next 5 minutes of your ears' lifetime will be the best they've ever had.
• Jam...because why not? My work is personal. I'm a working person, I put in work, I work with purpose.