The losses were mounting. The trade deadline was inching ever closer. The brilliant first half of the Cincinnati Reds season was quickly waning in the face of a wave of National League clubs poised to make the playoffs this year.
The Reds were desperate. Their pitching, maligned and injured as it has been all year, had been bailing them out with whatever they could find, but that only managed to coincide with the offense falling flat for the first time since the promotions of their fleet of shiny new prospects.
Graham Ashcraft stepped up to the task last night, leading the Reds on the mound as Will Benson’s blast finally helped break their six-game losing streak.