Last Game
The Reds dropped the series opener to the Pirates in spectacular form, 8-4. Homer Bailey, who previously owned the Pirates, got totally lit up.

Next Game
Tonight Johnny Cueto (5-3, 2.54 ERA) goes out for revenge. He’s facing off against Brad Lincoln (3-0, 1.04 ERA). Cueto’s been good and Cueto’s been bad the last few starts, but we really need good Cueto tonight after the small number of innings Bailey ate through yesterday.

Mirror, Mirror
The Cardinals/Astros game mirrored the Pirates/Reds game for much of the evening last night:

• The Reds and Cardinals both struck first
• The Pirates and Astros both came back quickly and authoritatively
• The score was 8-4 in both games at approximately the same time

The most notable difference is that the Cardinals actually made a late-inning attempt to come back. Whereas the Reds only managed to put 1 on the board in the ninth, the Cardinals managed to put up 4. It wasn’t quite enough, though, and the Cardinals lost, 8-9. This put the Pirates firmly and solely into second place in the NLC, 2 games behind the Reds and 1 game ahead of the Cards.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Homer Bailey was the winning pitcher in the Reds’ 10,000th franchise victory on April 20, 2012.