Homer & Colon Are Bad Names for Pitchers. Reds 6, A's 5.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The Greatest Mustache in all of Sport had quite the game today, and that's the kind of excellence that can't go unnoticed. Corky Miller had 3 hits on the afternoon - 2 doubles and a Callaspo - before exiting the game to be a team player and give Paul Lessard, who was worried his lack of use was making him rusty, some reps and a pep talk in the training room. Corky had RBI doubles down both the 1st and 3rd baselines, and ricocheted the boom that Alberto Callaspo attempted to lay on him at the plate in the Top of the 4th inning, and if he's truly set to be sent back to Louisville as Ryan Hanigan returns, this was a heck of a game to go out on. Big props, President Abraham.

Honorable Mentions are due to: Jay Bruce, who homered, had 3 RBI, and continued his stellar defensive season with an OF assist; Zack Cozart, who was 1 for 2 with a walk, a sacrifice, and 2 runs scored; and the bullpen combo of Manny Parra, Sam LeCure, J.J. Hoover, and Aroldis Chapman, who picked up the pieces left by David DeWitt and turned it into a solid outing.

Key Plays

• The Reds jumped on Bartolo Colon early, as Shin-Soo Choo led off with a single to RF in the Bottom of the 1st. Todd Frazier, batting 2nd for the first time all season, followed with a walk, and Joey Votto hit a laser single to RF that was hit a bit too hard to score Choo but managed to load the bases with nobody out. After Brandon Phillips popped up, Jay Bruce hit a grounder the the SS that scored Choo, and Bruce beat out the relay throw to prevent the double play. Xavier Paul lined out to CF to end the rally. Reds led, 1-0.
• Homer Bailey was victimized by the short porch in RF in the Top of the 2nd, as Josh Donaldson ended his 2nd half slump with a line-drive HR that barely cleared the fence. The Reds struck back in the 2nd, however, as the bottom third of the order came through. Zack Cozart continued his hot hitting with an opposite field single, and Corky Miller followed with an opposite field double down the line that scored Cozart. Reds led, 2-1.
• The Bottom of the 3rd saw the Reds continue their onslaught, as Votto led off with a single and Jay Bruce smashed a bomb way over the RF wall to score them both. Cozart then drew a 2 out walk, and Corky doubled down the LF line to score the Reds' SS. Reds led, 5-1.
• Oakland plated a run in the Top of the 5th when Brandon Moss, who had reached on an infield single, scored from 3rd on Stephen Vogt's single to RF. Jay Bruce came up with a beautiful throw to Corky at home, though, and that managed to nail Alberto Callaspo for the third out of the inning (and subsequently knock both Callaspo and Corky out of the game). Reds led, 5-2.
• Devin Mesoraco's sharp grounder to 3B in the Bottom of the 5th got him a single and scored Xavier Paul, who had led off with a ground-rule double to RF, to give the Reds a 6-2 lead. Unfortunately, the wheels came off for Homer in the Top of the 6th. Jed Lowrie doubled to lead things off, and he moved to 3B on a Moss single two batters later. Donaldson then singled to score Lowrie, and Eric Sogard bunt-tripled to the wall in RF to clear the bases and chase Homer. Manny Parra put out that fire, and the combination of LeCure, Hoover, and Chapman shut down the A's offense from there on out. Reds win, 6-5!

FanGraphs Section that Accurately Depicts a Pretty Damn Fun Game to Watch

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-08-07&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=2013-08-07&team=Reds&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>

Other Notes

• Today's win evened the season series with the A's, who swept the Reds in the previous 2 game set in Oakland. Oakland is now 0-2 in team history in Great American Ball Park.
• Homer Bailey labored through 5.1 innings today, didn't strike out many (3), and never looked to have his best stuff...so of course he picked up the win. Cue Brian Kenny tweet.
• Jompson tunes? Jompson tunes!
• Another freaking off-day tomorrow, and then the San Diego Weezes breeze into town for three games of sleaze.