Cueto Uno

Alright, so I admit. Between frying my brain with MLB the Show ’10 on my newly purchased Playstation 3 and watching the Cavs blow the biggest game in possibly franchise history, I didn’t catch but a few parts of the Reds game on television. I watched some of it on my phone (gameday, though) and did catch a few key moments.
First off, this is the Johnny Cueto I’ve been waiting on. We’ve all been waiting to see this Cueto, and he hasn’t been this dominant since the first start of his career. Remember that? Against the Diamondbacks at home? Yeah, that Cueto is back. No walks, one hit allowed (he also hit a batter) and a complete game shutout. If this is the Cueto we get for the rest of the season, or anything close to it; it just might end up being a two-team race in the NL Central.
For the Reds, they scored nine big runs of their own. Chris Heisey actually contributed, from the leadoff spot at that! He collected three hits, one of which was his first career home run. Jay Bruce added a triple and three hits along with three RBI. Bruce’s at-bat in the 7th inning was one spot in the game that I was able to catch. I turned it on and he was down 0-2 to a lefty. He laid off two tough pitches away and low to even the count at 2-2. He earned a pitch in the zone and hit a line drive into right field for a 2-run single that kind of opened the flood gates from there.
Bruce is looking less like a power hitter and more like a .290 hitter every day. This is a good thing. He’s becoming a complete player. I saw a stat where he’s actually hitting .309 since the first seven games of the season (and his abhorrent luck) passed.
The Reds have won four in a row, and 11 of 15 overall to crawl within two games of St. Louis. That makes this weekend series a big one, but before that we’ve got a big one this afternoon with Zach Duke for the sweep on getaway day. The Reds don’t hit lefties well and Duke always seems to have their number. This is a big game this afternoon.
Hat tip: to Whack Reds for the post title.