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Kyle Lohse responded to not being picked to the All Star team by dominating the Padres and beating Jake Peavy, to boot.

Lohse pitched 7 innings, allowing only 2 runs on 7 hits. He struck out 4. That was enough on a day when Peavy was home run happy.

Peavy allowed 4 solo shots. Two to Troy Glaus, who opened the second half with a far stronger bat than he’d shown in the first half, one to Rick Ankiel, and one to pinchhitter Joe Mather.

The Cardinals picked up a half game on the resting Cubs.

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Adam LaRoche knocked in a pair of runs with a double to give the Pirates an early 3-run lead last night, but it wasn’t enough.

Paul Maholm could not hold the lead. Although perfect through the first 3 innings, things derailed quickly, and he ended up leaving the game after pitching 6 innings and allowing 5 runs on 8 hits.

So the Pirates, like the Reds, started the second half of 2008 like they have spent the vast majority of the last two decades: losing. However, I actually have a more positive feeling about the future of the Pirates than the Reds. I mean, the Pirates don’t have Dusty Baker.

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The Reds launched the start of the second half of the year with a loss. So things weren’t really all that different for them.

One thing that was new was the team battled back from deficits multiple times. The most exciting was when Javier Valentin pinchhit with the bases loaded. He launched a double into the outfield that cleared the bases. I haven’t seen Great American Ball Park that excited in some time. Glad to see the LLM get some love, even when it’s not latin.

Of course, the game didn’t end there. The Reds headed to the 9th with a 2-run lead, so they trotted out their expensive closer, Francisco Cordero. As he started pitching, the TV announcers, Jeff and George for those of you keeping track at home, gushed about how he’d been better than expectations and well worth what it took to bring sign him. Really?

Before last night’s game, Cordero had blown 4 saves in 23 chances this year. That’s a success rate of 82.6%. Last year, David Weathers blew 6 saves in 39 chances for the entire year. That’s a success rate of 84.6%.

Weathers earned $2.25 million last year. Cordero is earning $8.625 million this year. Well worth it, indeed.

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Holy crap, was that a long game. The longest All Star game ever, if MLB’s game wrap is to be believed.

Of course, the National League was on the losing end of things, as they have been since Bill Clinton’s first presidential term. You know, back when the economy was rocking along without a .com bubble popping in site.

Now that I think about it, it’s probably all the American League’s fault that the bubble did burst, not the wild speculation on a new way of doing things that didn’t make any fiscal sense whatsoever. No, not that. It was the evil, evil DH.

But back to the game. It was a low-scoring affair, as is often the case when the best hitters meet the best pitchers. Pitchers rule, hitters drool, as they never say.

The National League did take an early lead, scoring runs in the 5th and 6th, but the Reds’ Edinson Volquez promptly gave them up. The Astros Miguel Tejada scored on a sacrifice fly to return the lead to the National League, but it was the last run they’d score.

Billy Wagner came in and allowed a tying run to score, which plunged the game into extra innings. The Pirates’ Nate McLouth extended the game by throwing out the winning run at the plate in the 11th, but there were no more runs in the National League’s bats. Probably the fault of the maple tree.

In the bottom of the 15th, former Astro Brad Lidge came on. Although he’s no longer broken from that Albert Pujols home run so many moons ago, he did lose the game. Justin Morneau scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Young, and the National League extended its winless streak to 12 years.

There’s always next year.

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Jerry Hairston, Jr. capped off a career-best first half of the year and celebrated by tweaking his hamstring when running to first. Cincinnati should have traded him when they had the chance.

C.C. Sabathia faced the Reds for the second time in a week or two, dominating the Reds again. Cincinnati mustered just two runs, both of which came on sacrifice flies. So much for small ball getting you victories.

Homer Bailey made his triumphant return to the big leagues, filling in for the disabled Aaron Harang. Bailey actually did well, turning in his best start of the year, of not his career. He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and struck out 4. His fastball was back in the 90s, too.

Cincinnati heads to the break in 4th place. They’ve played well lately, winning 7 of their last 10, so it’ll probably delude the owner into thinking they can compete this year. I do hope they actually attempt to stockpile better talent. If their GM makes smart moves, the Reds could be a force next year. Well, assuming Dusty Baker is handed his justly deserved pink slip.

As for Milwaukee, they rebounded from two straight losses to the Reds. Sabathia proved to be the ace pitcher they traded for, stopping the losing streak and letting them pick up a game on the Cubs. Milwaukee hits the halfway mark in 3rd place, only 5 games out.