Reds go 7-3 with all three losses in one series sweep by Cards. Reds now 69-51, including 36-26 at home and 33-25 on the road. Reds have a +93 runs differential and have won 5 in a row. Reds lead Central by 3 full games - a 2.5 game pickup despite losing series to Cards. Wood about to return from brief minor league stint, Leake to the pen, Francisco down, Bailey up. Reds acquire Jim Edmonds for Dickerson.
Offense - Team OPS and SLG slightly down from last time (.772, .435). Team OBP slightly up from last time at .338. Team BA the same as last time at .272. Reds currently lead the NL in all four of these categories as well as runs (593) and hits (1122).
Reds home OPS is .789, second in the NL to Colorado, which leads in most home offensive categories. Reds road OPS is .755, second to Milwaukee, which leads in most road offensive categories.
Votto at 1.016 OPS, Rolen at .909, Heisey at .894, Edmonds at .826, Janish at .813, Hernandez at .804. Only regular player with sub-.700 OPS is Cabrera, currently on the DL, at .641. Gomes, slumping, at .758 OPS. Phillips leads NL with 84 runs scored, Votto next with 83.
Pitching - Team ERA continues to improve steadily, now 3.94, seventh in NL. Home ERA is 4.39. Road ERA is 3.44, tops in the NL. Starters ERA is 4.00, slightly improved from last time (4.03). Bullpen ERA 3.84, continues to improve (from 3.96 last time). Reds post-All Star ERA is 3.19, third best in NL in that period.
Arroyo now with 13 wins. Masset pitching well from bullpen, now with 3.83 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, much improved from earlier in the year. Best ERA on team is still Rhodes with 1.37 in 56 appearances. Volquez has 24 walks allowed in 34.1 innings. Cordero with 35 walks allowed in 54.1 innings. Of current 12-man staff, only Leake and Bailey (by a fraction) have allowed more hits than innings pitched.
Fielding - Reds with 48 errors, fewest in NL, six over the last ten game stretch. Reds with .989 FPCT tied with Giants and Pads for best in NL. Reds DER, according to MLB.com, is second to SD in the NL. Reds with 111 DPs on defense, tied for 6th-7th in league.