Reds 2, Phillies 1 (10 innings)

NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Does it get any better from Kyle Lohse? This man is simply a beast, ladies and gents. I have no doubts he'll have a rough outing sooner rather than later, but what a workhorse. I don't think anybody called this, though I may have been the closest. 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 unearned run, mixing in a walk and 4 K's. Beautiful stuff. It almost wasn't enough, either as Lieber on the other side was shutting the Reds down in a similar fashion. Lohse didn't get the win, though. That was given to little ole' Jonny Coutlangus, pitching the top of the 10th for a K, hit batter, and a double play. In between was Stanton with a clean 8th, nearly identical to Coutlangus' inning, with a pop-up, hit batter, and double play. What's up with the Reds pitcher hitting guys? Is that some newfound fetish? Hard to say for sure. Coffey got the 9th and gave up a single, but K'ed 2. Nice effort from top to bottom tonight with 0 earned runs among 4 guys.

Hitting: The good news for the Reds is that, even though they were getting mowed down by Lieber, he left the game in the 6th inning after only throwing 77 pitches. Not sure what the rational behind that was, but it helped though not quite as much as I had been hoping. Lieber gave up a hit and a walk, and that was it. Nothing too dangerous. He was pulled in the 6th after Freel got on and advanced on two different errors. Bases were loaded for the Reds, but EdE grounded out to end the threat. And so the end of the game, or so it seemed. But in the bottom of the 9th, with 2 outs, the legendary comeback scenario, Hatteberg hit a home run off of Tom Gordon and we go to extras. Phillies go 1-2-3. Reds load the bases on a walk, a single, and a walk. Phillips up to bat and he puts a single past the infield. Game over, Reds win.

Fielding & such: Wasn't great for anybody, really. Nunez & Lieber had back-to-back errors that allowed Freel to get to third base and may have taken Lieber out of the game, helpful to the Reds. The only run the Phillies got was on a double error by Hatteberg and Phillips, oddly enough the two guys who would tie and win the game for the Reds. So you roll the bad karma with the good karma and that's what you get on this day. Phillips also stole a base, and was involved in 3 double plays with Gonzo. Good stuff there. Not a bad game, actually. Just this sinking feeling the entire time and then the heroic situation for Hatteberg. Good stuff. Phillies are the worst team in the league, keep in mind.