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  <intro>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"&gt;The Reds won again last evening at home bringing their current home stand record to 5-3 with one more to go against the struggling Astros.&amp;nbsp;Joey Votto once again displayed excellent strength pushing a ball the other way over the fence in left to put the Reds up 2 late in the game.&amp;nbsp;Those ended up being the winning runs as Cordero closed the door on his 13&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; save tying him for the league lead.&amp;nbsp;Micah Owings turned in an adequate performance giving up 3 runs in 5 innings.&amp;nbsp;That would be considered more than adequate by &amp;nbsp;some considering that Owings is a #5 starter.&amp;nbsp;He once again got it done at the plate with a &amp;nbsp;hit and a run in the 3&lt;sup&gt;rd&lt;/sup&gt;.&amp;nbsp;Also, Owings nearly missed an extra base hit when Michael Bourn stole one away.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"&gt;After Owings left the game, the bull pen shut down the remaining Astros offense giving up 1 run in the remaining 4.&amp;nbsp;That one run was the result of former Red Jeff Keppinger lining the first pitch thrown by Mike Lincoln into the left field seats.&amp;nbsp;The .1 innings pitched by Lincoln were less than impressive, but nothing out of the normal for him this season.&amp;nbsp;2 hits, and one run.&amp;nbsp;Ballooning his ERA to 9.56.&amp;nbsp;Why, with a bullpen that has otherwise been amazing, would Dusty Baker continue to place his faith in Mike Lincoln?&amp;nbsp;Nearing the 50 game mark in the season, a middle reliever with an ERA anywhere over 7 has some obvious issues.&amp;nbsp;Give him a short stint in the minors to find his grove.&amp;nbsp;Mike Lincoln has the ability, but he has not been able to find it this season.&amp;nbsp;Leaving him up to get hammered any more hurts him as well as the team.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"&gt;Other than Lincoln being Lincoln, the Reds had a great game and played some fundamental baseball.&amp;nbsp;They were missing their 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt; baseman Brandon Phillips, but Ramon Hernandez did a great job filling in the cleanup spot.&amp;nbsp;Willy Taveras took the night off, but Chris Dickerson did alright at leadoff.&amp;nbsp;Lance Nix once again proved that he deserves an everyday spot in this lineup.&amp;nbsp;There is no denying a man who ranks 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt; on the team in slugging and tied with the lead in doubles when he doesn&amp;rsquo;t have near as many ABs as other players. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"&gt;Perhaps Jay Bruce could take a couple days off.&amp;nbsp;Most people in Cincinnati would not like to hear that, but Jay Bruce is hitting .228.&amp;nbsp;He is a definite asset in the field and proved last night that opposing runners are deathly afraid of running on his arm.&amp;nbsp;There was a base running blunder by the Astros brought on by the indecision of whether or not to run home on a hit to right field.&amp;nbsp;However, until he pushes that average above .255, he will continue to be a hole in the lineup.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"&gt;The Reds have found their mark again after being knocked down 3 straight in San Diego.&amp;nbsp;Who knew that San Diego would be on such a tear?&amp;nbsp;The won the 3 vs the Reds and have not looked back winning 10 straight.&amp;nbsp;These next 11 games, and the last 2 will be HUGE when it comes to the Central division standings.&amp;nbsp;That includes the Reds, Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers.&amp;nbsp;The Brewers and Cardinals currently have the lead 1.5 games over the Reds and 4 games over the Cubs.&amp;nbsp;But as we creep into the month of June, the Reds have a great opportunity to make an impact on the division over the next 11 games.&amp;nbsp;If they can take 8 of the 11, then they will be looking good as they move closer to the All Star break.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"&gt;The National League Central is by far the most talented top to bottom division in baseball, and it is anyone&amp;rsquo;s race at this point.&amp;nbsp;A bold statement to make in May, but your wildcard team for 2009 will also come from this division.&amp;nbsp;But who wants to be a wildcard team?&amp;nbsp;It is the division championship and bragging rights that every manager goes for.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;</intro>
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  <seo-title>Reds Go on the Road with a BIG Opportunity</seo-title>
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