Boxscore

The strangest Reds line-up of the season blew into Houston today and took down the Astros to the tune of 6-1.

Leading off was Drew Stubbs, playing center field. Pretty normal so far. He went 2-for-5 with a run scored. He was followed by Edgar Renteria (SS) and Jay Bruce (RF) who both went 0-fer. Bruce batting third is a little odd, and we’re all missing Janish about now, but still not too weird as far as line-ups go.

Brandon Phillips was in his normal spot in the line-up and the field, and contributed two hits and a walk to the offense. And then you start thinking maybe you’re looking at the wrong team.

Fred Lewis in left field batted fifth, and Ramon Hernandez next–wait for it–playing first base. Chris Valaika at third base, and then Ryan Hanigan catching. Travis Wood took the mound and started off the scoring with a three-run homer in the third.

Let it not be said that Dusty Baker is afraid to mix things up.

Wood got the win, and Aneury Rodriguez took the loss for the Astros. There wasn’t a save to be had. Tomorrow the two go again, with Homer Bailey taking the mound. First pitch will be 8:05 p.m. ET.

If you are a regular reader of Better Off Red, you’ve already seen that the Crack Technical Staff and I are participating in the Blog Jog.

This will be a special “event within an event” designed for you to meet your fellow online Reds fans, mingle with your favorite Reds bloggers, and most importantly – to have fun!
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Participants are encouraged to make t-shirts and/or signs to represent their favorite Reds blog(s), wear costumes, crazy outfits, etc.

Even though the theme of the Blog Jog is wacky fun–something I’m entirely in favor of–I’m actually training for this event. I took care of the first step yesterday: buying shoes and a Kevlar sports bra, and tonight I began the actual running.

I haven’t run a mile since high school, so I’m starting from scratch using the Couch to 5K training system, modified, of course, since this system calls for a person to train for 8 weeks, but I have only 33 days. Here’s the results from my first trip out.

Stay tuned each day to see how the training progresses, and if you would like to join in the fun, log on to http://reds.com/5k to sign up, then email blogjog@reds.com to RSVP. You have to pay to be in the run, but you don’t have to pay any extra to hang around with the blogging goofballs.

Yesterday’s titanic struggle against the Chicago Cubs was game 34 of the 2011 season for the Reds, and the team’s 18th win. It was also the first game of the season in which Joey Votto started but did not get on base during the whole game. The on-base streak had been the matter of some discussion, as Votto was coming up on the Consecutive Games of Getting On Base to Start the Season, set at 34 by Dave Collins in 1981.

In fact, Votto didn’t have a particularly good series in Chicago at all this time around. He was 1-for-9 with 3 walks in the series, which is a far cry from the .333 he’s averaging and the .464 he’s on-basing so far this season. It seems a little too Griffey-ish to blame the down series on worry over the streak. More likely the Wrigley batter’s eye is painted just the wrong shade of black or something like that. But if there was any pressure from the streak having an effect on his performance, then I’m super-excited to see what he’s going to do now that it’s broken.

Once again, Chris Jaffe at The Hardball Times comes up with a report of some past Reds greatness:

Thirty years ago today Seaver tossed a complete game shutout. But this was a special shutout, unique among the 61 in his 61 career. You see, he not only prevented the opponents from scoring, but he also hammered a home run against them. It’s the only time Seaver combined a home run and shutout in one game.

There are a couple other Reds-related tidbits in the story. Give it a click and check it out.

Boxscore

Johnny Cueto made his triumphant return to the active roster today and lead the Cincinnati Reds to a shutout 2-0 win over the hapless Chicago Cubs. With the win, as RHM accurately predicted over at View From the Bleachers, the Reds took the series 2 games to 1.

Cueto was very good in his first start of the season, going 6 innings, allowing no runs, walking one and striking out 4. He threw 102 pitches, and if he can continue to do that, maybe he’ll be able to finish out a 7th inning here soon. His weakness has always been throwing too many pitches.

The Reds’ offense continued to struggle, but this time they scored enough. Ramon Hernandez drove in the first run in the 2nd inning, and Drew Stubbs hit a solo shot in the 5th. Cueto and the bullpen made those 2 runs be more than enough.

A day after blowing his first save of the season, closer Francisco Cordero looked much sharper. In his save this time, he walked none, struck out 1, and allowed no hits. There’s nothing better than returning from a blown save with a perfect one.

As for the Cubs, Ryan Dempster was the starter and loser. It is always a pleasure to beat the former Red.