Third Bat of Brados says "Not Today" - Reds win 3-2

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Brandon Phillips has been moderately beleaguered so far this year, and it was quite a dinger to go 1-4 in the game. The Reds need a .270/.330/.440 stretch from him without Votto or a healthy Bruce, and this is at least a start.

Honorable mentions to Todd Frazier (2-4 with 2 doubles), Brayan Pena (3-4 with a double) and Billy Hamilton (1-4 with a double). Homer Bailey's 7IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 6K performance is also worth a fair amount of dap.

Key Plays

• The Reds were eager to draw blood, and Todd Frazier batting second meant a one-out double in the first. Brandon Phillips followed that with a home run, but that musta killed the rally because those were the only two runs, putting the Reds up 2-0.
• In the second, the Reds had Brayan Pena on 3rd with one out. Unfortunately, the two batters after him were Zack Cozart and Homer Bailey, so no run to be had.
• Justin Turner led off the fifth by being his Annoying Little Self, getting a double. A Butera grounder brought Turner to third, and Mesoraco let the ball slip through his wickets to allow Turner to score, making it 2-1 Reds.
• However, the next half-inning saw a leadoff double by Frazier. BP moved him to third with a grounder, and a Kershaw wild pitch got Todd to Pull a Turner. Reds up 3-1.
• Homer gave up a dinger in the 7th to Puig. Dingers! Reds up 3-2, where it would stay.

Fangraph of tenseness

Source: FanGraphs

Reposter Links I missed yesterday

• Own a $1.5M house in Covington (or better, make it the site of the new Red Reporter Villa)
• C. Trent looks at which Reds have trade value, and yeah, it's the pitchers.
• The Reds Notebook on Lutz and Pena's opportunities includes one of the many great strikeout faces of Ryan Ludwick.
• What does Brisbee have to say about the new Braves stadium? "This is one of the great transparent civic boondoggles of our generation, and as someone mostly unaffected, I can't get enough." Great fun in that article co-written with the mothership's Atlantans. Also: NOT ALL SOUTHERNERS
• Can't get enough Brisbee? These gifs from a 1980s blooper video will cure what ails.
• "I pity heterosexual boys who are into baseball." Early-season Zan McQuade stuff to lead us into the summer (she promises that she's gotten way more into baseball since then (but probably still pities heterosexual boys)).
• An interesting history of Cincinnati's Mercantile Library. Any of y'all ever go there?
• Some dude on imgur made new logos for all 30 baseball stadiums, if that's your sort of thing.
• Uproxx, which I still sometimes like even though I often hate, has an Indy retrospective, including 15 Neat Things from Last Crusade and A Brave Defense of Temple of Doom.
• When given the opportunity -- which I am giving you -- read Supriyan on the World Cup.