Reds Fall to Cardinals

I put a lot of energy into the news that Ken Griffey, Jr. retired tonight, but there was also a pretty big game in St. Louis.  The Reds were beaten 4-1 by the Cardinals tonight after winning 9-8 last night.  With Sam LeCure up against Chris Carpenter, it wasn't exactly a shocking defeat.  The Reds tried to mount a rally in the seventh and pushed one run across, but that was all they could muster.  I missed a key play while putting the kids to bed tonight.  Scott Rolen had just driven Brandon Phillips in, and that left runners on the corners with Jay Bruce coming up and nobody out in the seventh.  I'm not sure what happened then, but the play log on fangraphs says

Jay Bruce singled (Liner). Scott Rolen out at second.

I'm not really sure how that happens unless Bruce hit a line drive that hit Rolen or something.  Whatever it was, it was a turning point, killing the last good chance to rally back.  Johnny Gomes subsequently struck out, and Drew Stubbs flied out to end the inning.  The Reds went down in order in both the eighth and ninth to end the game.

Both teams get a day off tomorrow, and they'll go into the break tied atop the division.  It will be the Reds' first off day in three weeks, ending a very tough stretch that has both shown flashes of great potential and exposed bullpen flaws that could haunt the team as the summer wears on.  The Reds come my way next to take on the Nationals in DC.  I'll be at Friday night's game.