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Reds play worse than this headline, lose. MIL 5, CIN 1.

There's no game tomorrow, and sadly that may be a good thing.

By Wick Terrell
"Just out of reach" may be the official 2014 theme.
"Just out of reach" may be the official 2014 theme.
Mike McGinnis

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Billy Hamilton went 1 for 3 with a single, the lone Cincinnati Reds RBI, and his 40th stolen base of the season.

That wins.

I award no Honorable Mentions, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Key Plays

  • The Reds took a lead - A LEAD! - in this one thanks to what 'tHom Brennaman referred to as "the perfect scenario" in the Top of the 5th.  I'll walk you through that real quick since I can sense your excitement.  The 7th hitter in the lineup, Skip Schumaker, singled to RF, and the 8th hitter in the lineup, Ramon Santiago, then walked behind him.  That meant that there were runners on 1B and 2B with the pitcher coming to the plate when 'tHom got super excited because, of course, that meant that the Reds could bunt.  Bunting is perfect, you know.  Well, the Reds bunted the bunt out of that bunt, with Leake "perfectly" moving the runners over while conceding an out and a chance for a big inning, but Hamilton's sac fly brought in Skip and the Reds had the one run they'd so specially played for.  Reds led, 1-0.
  • That promptly lasted about four seconds, however, as the Brewers then got a 1-out hit from their pitcher (who didn't bunt), and Kyle Lohse came around to score when Carlos Gomez hit a looper down the RF line that landed just out of reach of a diving Jay Bruce.  It rolled to the wall, Gomez earned a triple for his efforts, and two batters later the Brewers CF scored when Ryan Braun* beat out an infield single hit softly to Skip's left.  Reds trailed, 2-1.
  • Rickie Weeks then did what Rickie Weeks does to the Reds (or at least to Leake, against whom he was 5 for 12 with 2 dingers entering play today) by smashing a double off the wall to lead off the Bottom of the 6th, and he scored two batters later when Mark Reynolds mashed a Leake meatball well into the seats in LF for a 2-run dinger.  Reds trailed, 4-1.
  • Reynolds then smacked a solo dinger off Jumbo Diaz in the Bottom of the 8th, and that wrapped the scoring.  Reds lose, again, 5-1.

FanGraph Pretty Accurately Depicting the Mountain the Reds will Have to Climb to Reach the Playoffs This HAHAHA they're not making the playoffs

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2014-07-23&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=2014-07-23&team=Brewers&dh=0&season=2014">FanGraphs</a></span>

Other Notes
  • The Reds have gone 0-6 since the the All Star break after going 16-7 immediately before the break.  The NL lost, Aroldis aggravated his hamstring, and neither Frazier nor Mesoraco got a hit.  I hate the All Star break.
  • It won't show up in the box score, but Brayan Pena had himself a hell of a day at 1B today.  I'm beginning to think that playing him at 1B everyday is the most logical thing to do under the current circumstances, with Tucker Barnhart called up to be the catcher stuck on the end of the bench.
  • I should probably add that I'm not a huge fan of the logical solutions or the current circumstances.  I miss you, Joey Votto.
  • The Reds are apparently talking to the Philadelphia Phillies about Marlon Byrd, which is a pretty terrible idea.  That means it'll happen.
  • The Competitive Balance lottery was today, and it went predictably terrible.  The St. Louis Cardinals of course got one of the Round A picks (the round after the 1st round and before the 2nd), the Reds got a Round B pick (the round after the 2nd round and before the 3rd round), and the Tampa Bay Rays did not get a pick.  It's a stupid way to combat a problem that doesn't really even exist, and if you'd like an expanded view on why that's the case, check out what Grant Brisbee had to say about it.
  • That's 9 straight losses on the road.  The Reds have an off-day on Thursday before welcoming the NL East leading Washington Nationals to Great American Ball Park for a three game weekend series.  They'll miss facing both Jordan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg, though, and with Alfredo Simon, Johnny Cueto, and Mat Latos set to take the mound there's at least a tad bit of optimism.  Maybe.
  • Tunes.

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