Astros-Reds: Edison Volquez Throws Gem As Cincinnati Breaks out of Funk

The Reds desperately needed a win Wednesday night as they tried to avoid a sweep from the lowly Astros.  Luckily for them, their ace from last year—Edison Volquez—was on the mound and pitched one of the better games of his career, if not the best.  The Reds won 3-0.

Volquez came into the game with a relatively high ERA at 6.20.  The main reason for his high ERA has been his difficulty finding the strike zone.  He came into the game allowing more free passes on walks than hits allowed (20 to 18). 

However, in Wednesday's game Volquez was dominant, only allowing a double from Miguel Tejada in the first inning.  He then went on to retire 17 straight batters before allowing his only walk of the night.  He also finished the night with six strikeouts and, most importantly, showed a great feel for the strike zone by throwing 67 of his 106 pitches for strikes.

Fransisco Cordero relieved Volquez in the ninth inning and recorded a 1-2-3 final frame to give the Reds a one-hitter.

The win for the Reds was the first time the team has beaten the Astros in the Great American Ballpark since 2007, ending a streak of 11 straight losses.

With the way Volquez was pitching, the bats didn't need to come out in full force.  However, they did get productive games from newly called-up Adam Rosales, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI. 

The team also got two hits and an RBI from Laynce Nix, who has been a pleasant surprise for the team this year with a batting average of .310 so far this season.  Also collecting two hits for the team was leadoff man Willy Taveras, who also drew a walk and stole his fifth base of the year.

The Reds have a day off on Thursday and get back into action Friday night when they start a three-game series against Pittsburgh Pirates. 

The scheduled starting pitchers for the game are Bronson Arroyo and Zach Duke. Both come into the game with identical records at 3-1 but Duke has a much better ERA, coming in at 2.43 compared to Arroyo at 6.48.