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.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everybody!

What I’ve always found interesting about this holiday is how it’s celebrated more in the United States than it is in Mexico. One thing I never stopped to consider was, what does Aroldis Chapman think of the holiday?

You might remember that he’s from Cuba, a country that has nothing to do with the minor Mexican holiday. But don’t tell Pepto-Bismol that.

They contracted Chapman for this commercial showing a novel way of breaking apart a piñata.

What the hell was in that thing? Real stomach acid? This ad was weird in so many ways.

Maybe next year Pepto can tap Joey Votto for a St. Patrick’s Day commercial. You know, because he’s Canadian.

So far this year, the Cincinnati Reds have played like a .500 team. As Rob Lowe in Parks & Recreation would say, “They’ve literally been average.”

And they have. The Reds’ record stands now at 15 wins and 15 losses.

They won today, thanks to some 9th inning competence from Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, and uncharacteristically, Jay Bruce. Thanks to a solid pitching performance by Travis Wood and the bullpen, the team was only down by 2 in the 9th. Granted, the offense had mustered something like one measly hit against the Houston Astros to that point, but the pitching had managed to keep it close.

I keep hoping that this team will find rediscover the spark they had at the season’s very beginning. The fact that Bruce actually produced today is a good sign, but there needs to be more from him. Like last year, he’s started slow in 2010. He comes up too often in situations where he could help the team and is a key figure for success this year.

Of course, the pitching has been wretched lately, too. The two injured starters are returning this week, and I’d say that Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey are better than Sam LeCure and Mike Leake, who they’ll be replacing in the rotation. Maybe that will be enough to get this team going, although it feels like more is needed than just a couple guys coming off the disabled list. Heck if I know what, though.

It’s been a frustrating year watching the Reds play so far. The season is by no means over, and the Reds aren’t really in a hole in the standings–they’re in 2nd place. But they’ve been playing teams they should beat, and have instead been losing badly.

Today was a good first step after the team meeting with manager Dusty Baker and owner Bob Castellini. I’m hoping for another good step tomorrow afternoon when Bailey starts for the first time this year.