Game 82: Reds 4 Pirates 3

First things first, I've got a FanHouse post up about JR hitting Wilson ninth tonight. To summarize: yes, there is a benefit to hitting the pitcher eighth, but probably not when Freddy Sanchez and Jason Michaels are batting first and second.

On to the game. I'm going to recap it in the style that the game was played.

We got a good start from Paul Maholm tonight as he went seven strong and held the Reds to just five hits and two runs. Adam LaRoche did a great job making those two runs hold up as he hit a sac fly and ripped a two-run homer. He's just a generally depressing player. When we traded for him, he could hit in any month except for April. Last year he was awful in April and May. This year he was awful in April, May, and June. Maybe he'll start hitting in July, but even then if he keeps up at this pace, he's going to be totally worthless in about two years. Still, he did come up big tonight. After Maholm's outing, Damaso Marte got himself into a bit of trouble in the eighth before Matt Capps came in to close things do... oh, holy frick on a stick Capps gave up a belted double into the gap by David Ross and a two-run walkoff jack to Griffey on six pitches and we lose a game we had on cruise-control.