Dan Straily shuts down Giants, Reds win 2-1 to take series

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Dan Straily allowed a solo dinger in the Top of the 3rd inning and a big pile of absolutely nothing afterwards, as the Cincinnati Reds righty was nails in the Wednesday rubber match against the San Francisco Giants.  He finished having allowed just 3 hits in 7.2 IP, with 5 Ks and just a lone walk allowed after 90 pitches.  Conor Gillaspie's homer was the lone extra base hit he allowed on the day, and his stellar outing lowered his season ERA to a dang solid 3.84.

With the non-waiver trade deadline coming up on Monday, there's at least a chance this is his final start with the Reds, should they choose to cash in on a player they stumbled into for almost nothing at the beginning of the season.  If so, what a damn fine stint it has been.  Have a trophy, Dan Naily.

Honorable Mentions are due to:  Jay Bruce, for blasting yet another homer; Adam Duvall, who singled (which likely would've been a double had the umpiring crew not erroneously called it a catch initially) and made a great diving catch in LF; Joey Votto, who singled twice; and Tony Cingrani, who picked up a save with a clean 9th.

Key Plays

• Straily breezed through the first two innings on Wednesday afternoon, but Conor Gillaspie jumped on an off-speed pitch in the Top of the 3rd and launched it just over the tall wall in right-center for a solo homer - one that was reviewed and confirmed.  Reds trailed, 1-0.
• The Reds finally equalized in the Top of the 5th thanks in part to an error in LF by Angel Pagan.  Phillips poked a 1-out single into CF, and Eugenio Suarez then followed with a hard-hit liner deep into LF that Pagan let bounce off his glove.  The runners ended up on 2B & 3B, and a subsequent sac fly from Tucker Barnhart brought in BP to score.  Game tied, 1-1.
• Bruce then put the Reds on top when he turned on an inside fastball from Madison Bumgarner and sent a laser over the wall in RF for his sixth homer in the last five games.  The solo shot put the Reds ahead, 2-1.
• Straily turned the ball over to Raisel Iglesias for an out, who then handed things to Tony Cingrani for the save, and the Reds wrapped up an impressive road victory, 2-1!

Tony Graphanino

Source: FanGraphs

Other Notes

• Today's win wrapped up the team's fourth consecutive series victory to open the second half of the season.  Not bad.
• Bruce's dinger put him in rather elite team company, as he became just the seventh player in Reds history to homer in five consecutive games.
• Votto's single in the Top of the 4th extended his hitting streak to 12 games.  Brandon Phillips then singled in the Top of the 5th to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.
• Votto's previous 11 games:  .500/.620/.889.  Phillips previous 14 games:  .354/.392/.417.  Not all 'hitting streaks' are created equal.
• The Reds will have a West Coast off-day tomorrow before tangling with the San Diego Padres in southern California over the weekend.  Friday's first pitch is set for 10:40 PM ET, which is only late if you allow it to be. Brandon Finnegan will look to right his ship as the starter, and he'll be opposed by scrap-heap extraordinaire Edwin Jackson.
• Tunes.