Reds Start Second Half with a Bang

Phillips played hero for a night...and maybe for the season.
AP Photo/Al Behrman

Did you hear that? Last night? Around 10:16 PM? It wasn't the cheers of exuberance from a sold out Great American as Brandon Phillips' screaming line drive banged into the seats in left. It wasn't the groans of Cardinals' fans as they saw their beloved team beaten by public enemy number one at the eleventh hour. It was the collective sigh of so many, including me, who realized the Reds may have saved their season last night. Sometime between the Cardinals' 7th inning rally that was made up of bloop hits and infield choppers, and Albert Pujols' mammoth homer in the 8th, I realized this was a game the Reds could not lose. Last night's game became the tipping point of the season. Had the Reds lost last night, things would have been bleak, knowing they had to face Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia the next two days. A chance to win the series probably would have been gone. Things would have been even worse knowing that Cincinnati would have to travel to face the now first place Pittsburgh Pirates next week. Now, though, the Reds look poised to win this series against St. Louis, and carry momentum into Pittsburgh. It's not going to be easy to win these next two games, but we've seen this same setup between the Reds and Cardinals. Remember back in May when the Reds and Cardinals locked up in Cincinnati, and the Reds walked off on Friday night? They then battered Kyle McClellan and Carpenter the next days. Maybe, Cincinnati can do it again. Maybe, this is the magic starting to appear again.

Johnny came up aces again.
AP Photo/Al Behrman

For the longest time last night, the game looked like a microcosm of the Reds' season. Johnny Cueto threw a brilliant game, up until an inning where bad luck struck. The bullpen, so reliable early on, blew up when Aroldis Chapman surrendered a homer to Pujols. But they kept them in the game in the 9th inning, preventing St. Louis from blowing it open. It still looked like the Reds would lose, wasting another good start by Cueto, and a ton of offensive opportunities. They loaded the bases twice in the game, once with one out and once with none out, and managed nothing. The Reds lacked the big hit that they had gotten so often last year. They lacked the hit that never came on the road trip, and hasn't come all season. Then, with two down in the 9th, Phillips came up clutch. It was the biggest hit of the season, and the biggest win, too. It's the type of game that could be the catalyst for the rest of the season. Hopefully it wasn't just a teaser. I don't think it was. Now, I'm not about to declare this team as being back. I'm not going to say they will win the division. But they are in a good spot now. Five games against two teams in front of them, while the other, Milwaukee, continues to labor playing on the road. It's time to make something happen. Last night was the first time I saw some fight in the Reds since May. We've seen the Reds get knocked down once, and get back up swinging. They can do that. But it's when they are faced with adversity again. It's when the other team swings back. That's when this team has rolled over, this year. Not last night. Hopefully, not for the rest of the season.

We'll find out how tough this team is tonight. They face nemesis Chris Carpenter. Bronson Arroyo goes for the Reds.