The Rockies (56-47) are back in first place and I am happy to say my stomach is feeling better. There were queasy moments during this game but all ended well as the Rockies beat the Reds (45-57) by a score of 5-3. Franklin Morales (2-0) recorded the win but honestly he didn’t earn it; he threw just 6 pitches in the game, this was a case of being in the game just at the right time. Aaron Cook had pitched 6.2 innings allowing 7 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, and striking out 4 Reds. The problem for Cook, and this has been repetitive during his outings, was that he simply didn’t get any real run support from the Rockies bats. Cook really only made two mistakes in the game when he surrendered back-to-back homers in the 6th inning to Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips. Rafael Betancourt pitched the 8th inning and looked strong once again. Huston Street shut the door on the Reds in the 9th earning his NL leading 27th save.

Justin Lehr made his first career start for the Reds; he had previously only pitched in relief. The Reds might want to think about sending him back to the bullpen after his performance tonight. Lehr pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 6 walks, and striking out none. The first part of that line seems decent for a guy making his first start, but 6 walks and no punch outs is bad. Cincinnati’s bullpen wasn’t much better than Lehr as they continued to walk Rockies, in all the final count was 9 total walks.

If you want to read the rest of my take on the game just go here http://isportsweb.com/2009/08/01/roc...lk-to-5-3-win/
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