Lance McAlister

Braves 8 Cincinnati Reds 3
The Reds (29-27) trailed 4-0 after two innings, then scratched back to 4-3 by the 5th. But Yunior Marte allowed four runs, retiring just one batter, in the 6th in his Reds debut. Ball game.

Offense: 10 H, 1 BB, 11 K
Bleday: 2 H, HR (8), BB, 2 R
Lowe: HR (9)
Stewart: 3 H, 2 2B, RBI
Stephenson: 2 H

Paddock: 5 IN, 7 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 0 K, HR, 86 pitches/52 strikes.
1st: Acuna leadoff HR (38th career). 2nd: 3 runs,

Pen: Marte 0.1, 4 R, Ferguson 1.2, Maxwell 2.0.
Following an off day, and in a one run game, Tito turned to a guy called up today with a 5.12 ERA at Louisville? Down a run in two different games this week, Tito has turned to Zach Maxwell and Marte.

How they scored:
4th Bleday HR, Lowe HR, 4-2 Braves
5th Stewart RBI 1B, 4-3 Braves

Defense:
Dunn: Took HR away, threw out runner at 2nd…both in the 1st.

OTD 50 years ago……Cincinnati Reds vs Dodgers, Game 3 of a 4 game series. It was a Saturday night at Riverfront Stadium.

Joe Morgan singled off Mike Marshall to score Ken Griffey, and the Reds scored three runs in the bottom of the 9th to stun the Dodgers, 6-5.

The Reds had trailed 5-2 into the 8th, before a Tony Perez solo homer.

With the win, the Reds moved into a tie with the Dodgers for 1st place in the NL West.

40,112 were on hand.

When I say "Cincinnati Reds Killer", which one of these four players do you think of most?

Player/career stats vs Reds:

Albert Pujols:
333-.413-.610-1.023 w/ 49 HR, 154 RBI in 197 games.

Lance Berkman:
314-.431-.656-1.087 w/ 52 HR, 144 RBI in 174 games.

Barry Bonds:
322-.471-.713-1.184 w/ 59 HR, 151 RBI in 177 games.

Mike Schmidt:
292-.402-.608-1.101, w/ 55 HR, 142 RBI in 185 games.

I use four options for these, because four pictures appear without making you click on something. I try to stay away from an obvious answer, in order to create a tougher decision and better discussion. Don't worry about who is not listed. Just play the game with everyone. There is no right answer.

(Keep question ideas coming. I'm running out of ideas! I will eventually try to create a new feature: [email protected])

158th edition of My Random Thoughts: Sports, TV, music, food, life.....
Ah, the frustrating search for the beeping smoke detector that needs a new battery. Close your eyes. Stand still. The beep comes about every 20 seconds.

Our water heater went out this morning. Without water, I felt like I was living on Little House On The Prairie.

Those Kroger plastic bags for fruits and vegetables sure are frustrating to pry apart!

Lehr's Prime Market in Milford has killer mac & cheese.

Do you remember MicroMagic french fries and cheeseburgers (mid 1980’s). I survived on those!

Try this for a week: Spend more time on things you like to talk about, less time on things you like to complain about.

I recently asked Alexa to play 'ELO' songs. After Mr. Blue Sky and Telephone Line, I thought Alexa was playing The Beatles.

I think I'd pay people $1 to stop suggesting the Reds move Elly to CF.

Last six weeks: Wind damage to our roof, terror raccoon, giant spruce planted too close to our home by the builder needs removed, hot water heater replaced. It's clearly time to move.

Song I cranked the radio to this week: Panama, Van Halen, 1984!

Jeff Brantley has compared Sal Stewart to Will Clark, in terms of fierceness and competitiveness. I can certainly see that.

It took us a third episode before we realized the new character on Marshals was actually country music star Riley Greene.

I miss real game tickets....and really miss the Riverfront Stadium colored tickets based on the level you were on.

A couple of nights a week, we end our day eating gelato at our kitchen island. Three pints. Two spoons. No bowls. Just talking and enjoying Golden Gelato (Covington).

The Bengals continue to botch the Ring of Honor process. Anyone that knows the history of the franchise, understands that all the carryover candidates should be in. Going to a one person class in 2027, further delays that. Disappointing.

Everytime Casey comes over for dinner, he leaves with leftovers in a plastic dish. We never seem to get them back. This last time, he got his mac & cheese in a Glad sandwich baggy.

Remember Weekly Reader?

In 2001, I was invited to New York for the premiere of the movie 61* ....I met director and co-executive producer Billy Crystal. Fantastic movie.

All I ask in attending a Reds game is decent weather, decent seats, decent price. Our favorite section is 417-430 level between the bases. Two seats shouldn't cost $45 each, including fees, on Reds.com.

I sure don't look forward to months and months of talking MLB labor negotiations and a lockout. Complicated. Boring.

Did you immediately dig into the cereal box for the prize, empty it all in a bowl and then put the cereal back in, or wait until it fell out on a pour?

I heard 'Voices Carry' by Til Tuesday this week. Love that song.

I've developed an obsession with sourdough bread.

I think Mike Schmidt is actually underrated.

I was born in Ashland, KY, attended Carmel High School (IN), and Butler University.

Do you use Hello Fresh? We have 3 meals delivered every Sunday. Sure wish they'd send an email reminder on the day your menu choices are due.

Don't worry about things you don't care about

How the Cincinnati Reds offense ranks in MLB since April 21:
BA .247(10th)
OBP .327 (8th)
SLG .432 (3rd)
OPS .759 (3rd)
HR 46 (T5th)
XBH 107 (4th)

They entered the April 21 game at Tampa Bay ranked T-17th in the majors with 22 HR...They enter tonight's game ranked seventh in the majors with 68 HR.

They have homered 46 times over their last 32 games, T5th-most in the majors during that time, behind the Yankees (51), White Sox (51), Braves (47) and Nationals (47).

109 of their 245 runs scored this year have come via HR (44.5%).

ABS breakdown for the Cincinnati Reds this season.....from the game notes.

Time for Cincinnati Reds-Braves trivia!
Since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, name the five players that have appeared in the most games in this series: Hint.
Two are Hall of Famers

Here is your Friday night Cincinnati Reds lineup sheet.

Elly does not have a stolen base over his last 14 games.
He has 1 in his last 26 games.
Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds Friday lineup vs RHP
Dunn, RF
Elly, SS
Bleday, LF
Stewart, 3B
Suarez, DH
Lowe, 1B
Steer, 2B
Stephenson, C
Friedl, CF
------------
Paddack, SP

I love a cool baseball story. How about OTD 1976?
Astros pitcher Joe Niekro hit at home run.
It was the only home run of his 22-year MLB career.
He had 1,165 plate appearances in his career.
He was a career .156 hitter.
The homer came against his brother, Phil Niekro.