Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds rolled into Texas to face the Houston Astros, and the great starting pitching the Reds rediscovered in Chicago continued. Travis Wood almost made it through the 7th inning, but couldn’t get the final out and had to settle for 6 2/3 shutout innings. The strange lineup manager Dusty Baker put together–no Joey Votto and both catchers–came through and gave the Reds an easy 6-1 win.

Next Game
Homer Bailey will make his second start of the season for the Reds, and everyone would love for him to be as dominant as his first time out. The Reds will be facing Brett Myers of the Astros. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:05pm EDT, and it will be televised on FS-Ohio.

Rolen Close to a Return
Scott Rolen traveled to Houston to rejoin the team and participated in batting practice.

“It went good,” he said. “No pain, no harm, no foul, no blood. We’ll trying again tomorrow.”

He’s been on the disabled list with shoulder issues since April 24. His appearance prompted questions about his return from the disabled list and whether he’ll rehab.

“He’s been doing a lot of treatment,” Baker said. “We’ll see day-to-day. It depends on how he looks. Some guys need it and some guys don’t . . . It depends on his stroke. It depends on the person. It depends intricacies of their swing. The more moving parts you have the tougher it is.”

Given the Reds’ caution in returning banged up players to the lineup so far this year, I tend to think Rolen will still be out for a while. But considering their record without him playing–it’s not good–I can’t see the team sending him to Louisville for a rehab assignment.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Thanks to their two home runs last night–one from Travis Wood–the Reds now have the most home runs in the National League with 41.