Johnny Cueto absolutely dominated the Diamondbacks tonight. The final line for the Reds' right hander was 7 1/3 IP, 5 hits allowed, seven strike outs and just one walk on the night. The D-backs had opportunities to push across runs in the sixth and eighth innings but it wasn't to be. And while that should have been the story of the night, the focus was elsewhere for D-backs fans.
Brandon McCarthy blew up yet again. Once more, he had a great first three innings, where he faced the minimum and struck out three along the way. And once more, he looked like a completely different pitcher in the fourth inning. The Reds -- starting with Billy Hamilton each inning -- scored five off the the Arizona starter in the next inning and a third to chase him from the ball game.
Perhaps a bright spot for Arizona is the fact that the score remained the same for the rest of the game, a testament to the bullpen's work in the final 4 2/3 innings. Kind of hard to think positive after a 0-5 game where the D-backs hottest hitter in A.J. Pollock suffered a fractured right hand.