On Friday night, a sellout crowd of 40,854 fans at Great American Ball Park watched the Cincinnati Reds play the Chicago Cubs. The Reds entered the game with a 40-40 record, 1.5 games behind the second-place Cubs.
With four weeks until the trade deadline and 10 upcoming divisional games, the Reds' stance at the trade deadline could be impacted by what happens over this stretch of games.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto hasn’t played July baseball that was this meaningful since 2013.
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Assessing the state of the Reds earlier this week, Votto said the Reds had to go on a run soon. On Friday, he led the Reds to a 2-1 win over the Cubs with a go-ahead two- run double.
"(We're) 41-40 through the first half of the season, so we have to play some really strong baseball the rest of the way," Votto said. "We think we can do that. So we’re looking forward to it."
One day after Tyler Stephenson hit a walk-off single in a Reds win over the San Diego Padres, Votto was the hero as the Reds won consecutive games for just the second time over the last 15 games.
When Votto came up to bat in the sixth, the Reds had only three base-runners over the entire game. With second baseman Jonathan India on second base and right fielder Nick Castellanos on first, Votto hit a double down the right field line to score both runners.
Votto said he tries not to take it for granted when he has a moment like that in front of a crowd like that.
"That moment was a reflection of how this is the best I’ve seen these fans," Votto said. "The Reds fans, this is the best that I’ve seen them. They have been steady, excited, supportive. They stay on us. I love that they stay on us. They let us know they expect excellence."
With the Reds leading 2-1, manager David Bell used his best relievers to close out the game. Amir Garrett, Brad Brach and Heath Hembree pitched three scoreless innings in relief.
"Our bullpen, I don’t even know where to begin," Bell said. "They were above and beyond tonight. We asked a lot out of each guy. Brad Brach came up huge for us. He’s been doing that a lot. All of them were outstanding to hold them right there for that many innings. It was really impressive.”
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Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray allowed only one run and had eight strikeouts in his first appearance after coming off the injured list. But before Votto’s double in the sixth, the Reds didn’t have any significant scoring threats.
Cubs starter Alec Mills hadn’t pitched out of the fifth inning all season until Friday night. He allowed only two hits in his best start of the season, but he walked India and allowed a single to Castellanos in the sixth.
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That brought Votto, one of the Reds best hitters recently, to the plate.
“I guess we’re used to it," Bell said. "It’s still really impressive, especially certain at-bats, certain matchups, it’s even more difficult. He’s just a great player. Moments like that, you’re reminded of how good he is."
Over his last 30 games, Votto is hitting .279 with a .874 OPS (on-base plus slugging). Votto made an adjustment late last season to hit for more power. After coming back from a hand injury that kept him out for a month, Votto ranks third on the Reds in slugging over the last 30 days, trailing only All-Star Game starters left fielder Jesse Winker and Castellanos.
Votto’s double was 107 mph off the bat, which at the time was the hardest-hit ball of the game. Votto's two RBI were the Reds only runs of the game, but the hit brought the Reds back over .500.
"We're not afraid to look at that or acknowledge that it is important," Bell said. "I think our team is doing a nice job of just focusing on each game. Every single game is fun to be a part of. They're close games going up against good teams and we know what it takes to win and that's the way it should be."
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Entering Friday’s game against the Cubs, the Reds hadn’t won a series since they swept the Milwaukee Brewers on June 16. The Reds hadn’t won a series opener since June 14 in Milwaukee.
So the Reds improved to 41-40 at the halfway point of the season.
"We’re playing really good baseball right now," Brach said. "We’ve had a lot of tight games here lately, it’s been a lot of fun out there. Just hopeful we can pull out some of these close games and just keep pace."
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