Behind The Box Score

Just call it a 13 month break. Edinson Volquez went 6 strong tonight, giving up only 1 run and 3 hits in in his return appearance after having Tommy John surgery last July, en route to a 8-1 win. He dominated the Rockies (49-41) after a bumpy first inning, retiring 15 out of the 18 batters in the 2nd through 6th innings. The bats came alive tonight, supporting the pitching staff with 8 runs, 7 of the 8 runs came in via the long ball, 4 home runs hit by the Reds tonight, Stubbs adding two of the blasts. Thoughts from tonight:

• Volquez looked likethe Volquez we came to know during the 2008 season when he picked up the All-Star bid. His stuff was moving around, and his fastball was clocked at about 95 mph, not bad for a ML return.
• Nice to see the fans in the stands for a game that wasn’t titled Opening Day or Civil Rights Game. 41,300 attended this titanic struggle (also check out Redleg Nation for a Titanic Struggle Recap, great stuff), ESPN said that would make GABP 97.6% full.
• Offensive outburst by Drew Stubbs tonight. 2-for-4, 2 HRs and 3 RBIs. He saved his 3 HR game for the next time he plays the Cubs again.
• Young pitchers out of the bullpen giving quality innings. Jordan Smith and Logan Ondrusek both pitched scoreless baseball, with Smith going for 2 innings.
• Not sure if it was because of the HOF weekend or not, but the attendance spike is certainly a nice change for GABP, hearing the place rock and roll at every big play the Reds (51-41) made tonight.
• I want playoff style baseball this September and October. Knock on wood.