Chapmania has tightened its grip on Cincinnati. Tuesday night, it was pretty much the launch of the Cuban Missile and Joey Votto. Last night, the phenom that is Aroldis Chapman had more of a supporting cast. And the game was settled within one inning of play.

With the Reds trailing 1-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers, Reds manager Dusty Baker inserted Chapman in the top of the 7th inning. Starter Johnny Cueto had pitched 6 nice innings (1 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 K) and deserved a better fate, but he was at 108 pitches (64 for strikes). Chapman pulled a repeat performance of Tuesday: three up, three down…and topping out at an official 103.9 mph. 103.9 mph was the fastest pitch clocked in MLB in three years! In the two innings during Chapman’s brief career: 2 IP, 0H, 0R, 3K, 6 batters faced. No words can factually describe how this kid has electrified and entire franchise and fanbase.

The cast:
Miguel Cairo. Once again, the super sub came through in the clutch. Cairo started at second base. With Brandon Phillips still on the mend and Chris Valaika receiving a day off, Cairo once again displayed why he’s on the roster. In the bottom of the now fateful (to the Brewers) 7th inning, Cairo laced a double into the left field gap off loser and former Red Todd Coffey, plating Phillips, who was pinch-running for Ramon Hernandez. That hit knotted the score at 1-1. For the game, Cairo was 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI.

Ryan Hanigan. Reds fans should be over the point where anything this kid does with a bat actually surprises them. Except when Hanny pulls off a three-run, pinch-hit homer. The first pinch-hit homer of his career. Baker sent Hanigan to pinch-hit for Chapman. Seemed odd maybe at first. Baker had lefties on the bench (Juan Francisco and Yonder Alonso), but Baker felt more comfortable with the more expreienced right-handed bat of Hanigan. The hunch paid off big. After the upper deck shot, it was Reds 4, Brewers 1.

Scott Rolen. We know of his leadership. We know of his steady play. We know of his bat and glove. Both were on display last night. The bat provided the final two runs in the 6-1 win. The glove (and arm) dazzled the crowd of 16,412 at Great American with no less than three defensive gems. We hear all the chants for Votto as the NL MVP, how about Rolen receiving a Gold Glove? More than deserving.

One last point about last night’s contest. Was it me or did seem odd that Brewers manager Ken Macha yanked starter Chris Narveson rather hastily in the 7th? Narveson has struck out Jonny Gomes to begin the inning and walked Ramon Hernandez. Macha, who was extremely hesitant to go to his bullpen in the first two games of the series, quickly popped out of the dugout to replace Narveson with Coffey. Narveson was the Brewers up to that point. He was cruising throught the Reds lineup to that point (97 pitches, 57 for strikes, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K) Plus, Narveson had driven in the only run of the game with a single in the 5th. To make the decision look even more questionable, Coffey failed to retire a single batter.

Lost in all the hoopla of another Reds win coupled with another Cardinals loss (5-2 to Houston. Thanks, Astros!) extending the NL Central lead to an astounding 8 games, was the major league debut of Yonder Alonso. The Reds top pick from 2009 entered the game as a pinch-hitter during the bottom of the 7th. Not as successful a debut as Chapman had (a weak groundout to the pitcher), but Alonso will get his hacks.

The greatest moment of the evening was in the top of the 8th inning with the entrance of Aroldis Chapman. There were other moments/events that occurred at Great American Ball Park last night, too.

An odd occurrence. Jonny Gomes with an opposite field home run? Really? In the bottom of the 4th, Gomes went oppo to give the Reds a 4-1 lead, a lead they would never relinquish. On a slider no less. The Brewers would close to 4-3 in the next half inning as Gomes misplayed a Chris Dickerson hit into a two-run error. That would be as close as Milwaukee would come.

All of the starting eight position players reached base and all had hits except Ryan Hanigan (0-2), but he walked twice.

Another stellar relief effort by Sam LeCure. LeCure pitched two innings of excellent ball allowing only that Dickerson single and a walk to opposing pitcher Yovani Gallardo. There wasn’t a lot of shame in that as Gallardo is a good hitting pitcher and is now hitting  .269 on the season after going 2-2 last night. Again, the fire was starting and LeCure put it out. He also emerged with the win.

Lost might be the gutsy effort of Aaron Harang. In his 4+ innings, Harang’s line doesn’t look spectacular (8 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K). At least one of the runs was due to the Gomes error. Yes, there’s the 8 hits, but it was the 91 pitches (55 strikes) that eventually ended his evening. And he took a shot to his left foot off the bat of Craig Counsell. Harang would try to gut out the inning.

A pair of spectacular web gems. Both Joey Votto and Scott Rolen made excellent defensive plays in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory after Logan Ondrusek had allowed a 9th inning leadoff homer to Rickie Weeks. With a runner on first and one out, Votto dove to his left to snare a shot off the bat of Prince Fielder. As he was attempting to regain his balance (which he never really did), Votto fired a throw to second base to force Ryan Braun. On replay, it looks like the throw is going to hit Braun, but it missed him and went into the glove of Chris Valaika for the second out.

On the following at-bat by Casey McGehee, Rolen contributed a defensive gem of his own. Rolen ranged to his left and snagged McGehee’s grounder. Rolen then flipped the ball to Valaika, backhanded. Three outs. Ball game. Reds win! Coupled with yet another Cardinals loss to Houston, that makes the Reds NL Central leaders by 7 full games…on the morning of September 1.

Speaking of Votto. He didn’t hurt his run at the NL MVP. 2-3, 3 RBI. He nows leads to NL in batting average and RBI.

And then liftoff. There was the Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman. He entered the game in the top of the 8th inning. Flash bulbs popping all over GABP. Music blaring. It was a sight unlike any ever seen at GABP. As Tim mentioned, no one was sitting. It was arguably the most anticipated debut in the history of the Cincinnati Reds. It was also the second most anticipated debut in all of baseball this season next to Stephen Strasburg. It might even be on the same level. And all the world is now abuzz with Chapmania!

And Chapman could pitch tonight, too.

You can relive his remarkable debut at this link on Reds.com.

After the game, the Reds confirmed the call ups of Yonder Alonso, Carlos Fisher and Corky Miller. To make room for Miller on the 40-man roster, Russ Springer was moved to the 60-day DL. More call ups are on the way and don’t be shocked if one is Matt Maloney.

One more game tonight against the Brewers before the weekend series in St. Louis. And the Cards have already stacked their rotation for the series. Garcia, Wainwright and Carpenter.

It is the top of the 8th inning and the Reds are winning 8-3. And…..here comes Aroldis Chapman making his major league debut. The crowd goes crazy. And, not a soul was sitting during his 1.2.3. inning. He struck out the first batter he faced with two pitches over a hundred mph and two pitches that were nasty 86 mph sliders. The next two batters grounded out but the guy still got a standing ovation.

There has never been a Red making his debut with this much hype. When Jay Bruce debuted a couple of years ago, there was much hype. And Jay Bruce didn’t disappoint the hometown crowd by going 3-3. But, they didn’t stand the whole game or even when he was batting.

I have to say that I have the bug too. I never dreamt that the Reds would even sign Chapman and then they did. I never thought he would be in the majors this season and lo and behold here he is. I am hoping he can get back to starting next spring but I am happy now that he is in the pen. I just don’t know how a left-handed batter will be able to hit him. The guy is 6′4″ and hides the ball very well. And, he is probably the hardest throwing lefthander in the history of Major League Baseball. Can anyone name a lefty that has thrown harder??? Hell, even a righty. Nolan Ryan used to hit triple digits but not like Chapman. If he starts he can’t keep that velocity up for seven innings but for one inning he is cutting it loose. My new man crush is on the Cuban Missile. I hope that this culture shock and media blast he is going to get doesn’t make him uncomfortable. I hope that he can ease into stardom and not feel pressured to throw 105 every pitch. He looked calm, cool, and collect on the mound tonight but it makes you wonder. A guy coming from Cuba living his sheltered life there into a pennant race with media coverage all over him and the Reds.

Two moves had to be made to make room for Aaron Harang and Aroldis Chapman. Outfielder Laynce Nix was placed on the DL due to his ankle and Edinson Volquez was optioned to Dayton to work on mechanics. Volquez will start tomorrow night for the Dragons. All was first confirmed by John Fay on Twitter and then on his blog.

The Nix move was not a surprise at all, but the Volquez move caught me a bit off guard. Nix hasn’t been able to do much of anything since he re-aggravated the ankle in San Fran. Volquez going to Dayton did catch me off guard, but Reds manager Dusty Baker put it in perspective.

“He was in the ‘pen simply because he wasn’t pitching effectively,” Dusty Baker said. “He’s in our plans as a starter, not a reliever. (Pitching coach Bryan Price) has made some mechanical changes. We’d rather have him experiment with those changes there. By sending him to Dayton, he can be back sooner. If he goes to Louisville, he can’t be back until after the playoffs.”

Makes perfect sense, but still surprising.

And Chapman? Bronson Arroyo had the line of lines. He was asked about “the upper limit to what a human can throw” according to Tom Groeschen on Cincinnati Reds Blog. In usual Arroyo fashion…

“105. We’ve got the Usain Bolt of baseball.”

Witty as always.

And there’s an even better chance that Chapman could throw tonight. Arthur Rhodes isn’t available according Fay’s Twitter account.

Good luck, Prince Fielder…

Bruce has found his swing in August Image source - Yardbarker

Jay Bruce started the scoring and ended the scoring last evening. He was again inserted in the leadoff spot for manager Dusty Baker. His first at-bat provided his third career leadoff home run and staked the Reds to a 1-0 lead. Opposite field, no less and Bruce’s first opposite field homer of the season. On Bruce’s last at-bat, he stoked a single into right field scoring Brandon Phillips and leading the Reds to an 10-inning, 5-4 win.

It wasn’t a particularly pretty game either. Three base running blunders, one of which Bruce committed one himself. A poor attempt at a bunt by Drew Stubbs. Not totally throwing Stubbs under the bus on that call. He’s been working hard on bunting, but he’s still evolving. Still, Trevor Hoffman doesn’t exactly throw smoke anymore. But a win is a win. And another come-from-behind victory for the Reds.

That’s not the best part either. The best part is that the St. Louis Cardinals continue to struggle. J.A. Happ tossed a two-hit complete game shutout at the Redbirds. The result was a 3-0 Houston Astros win. Six games up!

Since that dreaded sweep in Cincinnati by the Cards, St. Louis is 5-11. During that same time, the Reds are 12-4. Baseball’s a strange game sometimes.

Back to Bruce Almighty. Get a look at what he’s done over the last few weeks:

Since STL sweep: .396/.459/.887 – 8 HR, 15 RBI
In August: .333/.409/.667 – 8 HR, 17 RBI

You also can easily say, the Reds go as Jay Bruce goes…

In CIN wins: .353/.420/.613 – 14 HR, 48 RBI
In CIN losses: .162/.235/.257 – 4 HR, 10 RBI

That last line is just hideous.

Maybe, once again, Dusty Baker picked the right guy to put in the leadoff spot. With Brandon Phillips still nursing the sore hand, Bruce has provided fireworks. I know, it’s not even a handful of games, but Bruce is currently in a groove of which he hasn’t been in all season.

Let’s hope that continues tonight as the Reds welcome back Aaron Harang and welcome Aroldis Chapman to the bigs. I hope the radar at GABP is ready…

Cuban Defector Aroldis Chapman has been called up by the Cincinnati Reds and will debut possibly tomorrow. He probably will since Aaron Harang is starting. The Reds are trying to strengthen their bullpen for this September push. And, with Arthur Rhodes ailing with his plantar fasciitis, there is a left-handed set-up spot available.

By adding him in August, the Reds will make him eligible for the postseason and unleash him on opposing hitters who have never seen him. The 22-year-old Chapman signed a six-year, $30 million deal with Cincinnati in January. He was in the competition for the 5th spot in the rotation during spring training until he was sidelined by back spasms. He was sent to Triple-A Louisville to start the season. He went 5-5 with a 4.11 ERA in 13 starts. With the emergence of Mike Leake and Travis Wood the Reds decided to see if Chapman could help the Reds out of the bullpen this season. They moved him into a relief role at Louisville last month and he was even better, going 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA in 26 relief appearances.

His fastball was clocked at 103 mph as a starter. Jocketty said he’s been throwing consistently harder as a reliever, hitting 105 mph recently. He has struck out 49 in 30 relief.

“I think Dusty (Baker) will ease him into a role until he gets his feet on the ground, he gets accustomed to pitching up here,” general manager Walt Jocketty said in an interview. “Then depending on how he does, we’ll see how the role develops.” “We felt with his stuff, if you shorten the game more he should be successful,” Jocketty said. “That’s why we put him in there for now. We’ll get him back to starting next year.”

I admit, I am pretty pumped up about him being up. I just hope he isn’t so juiced when he gets on the mound. His presence is needed to give the Reds a boost in the clubhouse. And, not to underscore his value to this team right now. With Arthur Rhodes struggling with his foot, we need a lefty to get some outs. Bill Bray is definitely not the answer.

Was just browsing about then I heard Brad Johansen on WKRC Channel 12 say that the Reds will call up Aroldis Chapman tomorrow. John Fay confirmed this report on his blog.

Time to get that #54 jersey?

Another series win for the Cincinnati Reds. In fact, they have won 15 of their last 19 series (15-3-1). The losses were to Philly, St. Louis and San Fran. The split was against the Nats.

The Cubs must be elated that they no longer have to play the Reds this season. Not only because the Reds won the season series 12-4. (We Reds fans have grown a bit weary of Cubs fans invading our nice home with good teams. Our turn now.) The Cubs will no longer have to face Drew Stubbs. Yes, Drew Stubbs has been a thorn in the Cubs’ side all of 2010.

All Stubbs did yesterday was go 3-5, score three runs and steal two bags. For the season, Stubbs hit .333 (19-57) against the Cubs with 5 HR, 16 RBI, 14 runs and 7 steals. If only that could translate over to all of the National League. Oh, and Stubbs’ bunt single in the bottom of the 7th inning was a sight the Reds have been longing to see.

Sam LeCure was once again…stellar. In two innings of relief of an ineffective Travis Freakin’ Wood (5 IP, 10 H, 3 R), LeCure calmed the Cubs bats and retired all six men he faced. He now has retired the last nine batters he’s faced. LeCure was in line to get the win, but that dissolved as Arthur Rhodes allowed a two-run, game-tying home run to Kosuke Fukudome in the top of the 8th. Logan Ondrusek obtained the win coming in for Rhodes and inducing a double play to end the 8th.

Rhodes has struggled his last two outings. Source - Yardbarker

Speaking of Sir Arthur…It’s been said that he has battled plantar fasciitis since (at least) June. WebMD.com states that plantar fasciitis is caused by straining the ligament that supports your arch. Repeated strain can cause tiny tears in the ligament. These can lead to pain and swelling. By looking at Rhodes last two outings, both statistically and physically, you might say something’s amiss: One and a third innings pitched while allowing five runs. Rhodes showed slight signs of the pain in yesterday’s game. The best thing for the condition is extended rest. Don’t see that happening as Rhodes is a tough as they come.

For the third straight game, no Brandon Phillips, but he did pinch-run and scored. Reds skipper Dusty Baker says BP is still feeling pain when holding a bat, but all else is OK. Chris Valaika has been better than advertised filling in for BP.

Does this ever get old? 3-4 with an RBI? Once again, Ramon Hernandez provides offense as well as handling the staff. I know I’ve praised the Reds catchers as a group in the past, but they do deserve every bit of the recognition (and more) they receive.

The Milwaukee Brewers visit GABP for a three game set starting tonight. The probables:
Game 1: Homer Bailey (3-2, 4.83) v. Randy Wolf (10-10, 4.74)
Game 2: Aaron Harang (6-7, 5.02) v. Yovani Gallardo (11-6, 3.50)
Game 3: Johnny Cueto (12-4, 3.49) v. Chris Narveson (10-7, 5.52)

Cincy still has nine games left with the Brew Crew in 2010 and currently holds a 4-1 lead in the season series over Milwaukee.

The Reds announced that Edinson Volquez will move to the bullpen and out of the starting rotation for the time being. Edinson, who was supposed to start today, got bumped for rookie Travis “Freakin” Wood. And, to take Volquez’ spot in the rotation is none other than Aaron Harang. Harang will start Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Reds manager Dusty Baker said Volquez will work on his delivery in the bullpen and be available in relief. “It depends on how (Volquez) looks and when Harang comes back, it kind of depends on who’s pitching the best, who can help us the most down the stretch,” Baker said.

The Reds’ rotation now stands as the following: Travis Wood, Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, and Homer Bailey. With Aaron Harang filling out the 5th spot.

It looks as though Dusty will be choosing the hot hand when it comes to the rotation. If Volquez can regain his form and his delivery is consistent then I think he will be back in the rotation. Harang, who has been on the disabled list since early July with back spasms, has been a weak link all year. He is 6-7 with a 5.02 ERA. He has been inconsistent all season. And, frankly, he has struggled down in Triple A in his rehab starts. He is 0-2 in two starts with a 9.00 ERA. For some reason, he just doesn’t look interested in pitching. He shows no emotion on the mound and he hasn’t endeared himself to the Cincy fans.

The Reds have 4 games left until we hit St. Louis for the 3 game series against the Cards. It is the last time the Reds and Cards play this year. The Reds currently have a 4 game lead in the division with 33 games to play. Including the Cubs series, they have 11 series left to play. If they Reds win 7 of 11, is that enough to clinch division? I think it would be enough especially if they can win the Cardinal series.

Anyway, they have to get the rotation set and this bullpen set. September call-ups are right around the corner and I imagine pitching will be coming up stat. I still think there are some players available out there that can help this squad win. I hope we explore that avenue.

That’s all it took. Two bad pitches from Reds starter Bronson Arroyo was all the difference in the game. Arroyo himself confessed to the error.

“I just made two mistakes,” Arroyo said. “I left a changeup and a fastball in the middle of the plate. Both of those were supposed to be inside but caught too much of the middle.”

The second mistake was the costly one. Arroyo’s pitch moved into the middle of the plate and Kosuke Fukudome sent it toward the bullpen giving the Chicago Cubs a lead of 3-1 after his two-run homer. The Reds would add another to cut it to the final of 3-2. But with the Reds displaying the ability to come from behind this season, it seemed like it was only time before they pulled out another win. That would have been nice since the Washington Nationals jumped all over the St. Louis Cardinals 14-5. The lead in the NL Central remains 4 games.

And what was with Fukudome’s bat flip after hitting his home run? News flash, Kosuke. You’re still 19.5 games behind in the division. The only reason the Cubs aren’t residing in the NL Central cellar is because of the Pittsburgh Pirates. You know, the team that’s making money but won’t add payroll.

OK. I’m over it.

41,292 watched the Cubs come out on top in this pitcher’s duel. It wasn’t like your normal Reds-Cubs game as the majority of fans were Reds fans (like Friday night). The Reds go for the rubber game today with Travis Freakin’ Wood (4-2, 3.38) going against Casey Coleman (1-1, 5.68). Wood’s last outing against San Francisco was no picnic (4 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3K). Three of Wood’s previous four outings were quality starts.

Edinson Volquez has been moved to the bullpen and will not start. It was said during last night’s telecast that Volquez may be tipping his pitches. That would explain his last two outings. 5.1 IP, 11 hits, 10 ER, 6 BB, 6 K. His three outings before that produced 17.2 IP, 17 H, 3 ER, 9 BB, 14 K. His lack of control is also an issue. Maybe extended time with Bryan Price will help with his struggles.

Gametime today is 1:10 PM.

Game 1 to the Reds. Nice way to start the six game homestand. In reality, only two guys were needed last night, Jay Bruce and Johnny Cueto.

Bruce, who was inserted as the leadoff hitter (strange against a lefty in Gorzelanny), cranked three, count ‘em, three home runs. All travelled over 400 feet (429, 411, 404). He became the first Reds leadoff hitter to crack three homers in a game since Pete Rose accomplished the feat in 1978. After Bruce’s 3-for-3, 5 RBI evening, Cubs interim manager Mike Quade summed it up best.

“A power-hitting guy and he winds up in the leadoff spot and does that. Bunt the ball or something, would you?”

The partisan Reds crowd of 36,219 not only witnessed Bruce’s first 3 HR game as a Red, but were also treated to a curtain call from the young right fielder.

Cueto pitched a nearly spotless 8 innings surrendering only one run en route to his 12th victory of the season. He permitted only 6 hits and didn’t walk a Cubs batter. Cueto struck out 8. A far cry from Cueto’s outing in L.A. when it was obvious he was too rested, couldn’t control any of his pitches and took the only Reds loss at Dodger Stadium. Of Cueto’s 112 pitches, 75 were strikes. Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who’s had success against Cueto in the past (.444, 3 HR), stated that Cueto was just too good.

“He had good stuff today — good location, good fastball, good movement. When a guy’s pitching with that command, there’s nothing we can do.”

And how about Chris Valaika and his first MLB home run? After Bruce had taken his second of the evening out to right field to make it a 5-1 Reds lead, Valaika followed with one to left. A no-doubter at that. What was really cool was that the fan that was able to secure Valaika’s first HR ball was none other that 1530’s Mo Egger. I’ll let Mo describe the events (via his blog).

“Tonight, Chris Valaika’s first Major League Homer landed right next to me. It actually hit my wife’s seat. Fortunately for her, she was not sitting in it, as about 60 seconds prior, she had left to pee. Had she been in the seat, the ball might have ripped off her face. The ball hit the seat, landed to my left, so I reached down and picked it up.

My first inclination was to text my wife to commend her on her timing, and finish the tweet I was working on as Valakia went deep (I was tweeting about Jay Bruce showing how he 32s. I know, lame). It really didn’t occur to me that it was his first big league homer until a man in a yellow shirt approached me and asked me to go with him. My initial reaction: “they kick you out if you pick a homer?” Not the case. The man explained that since it was Valaika’s first homer, they wanted to get him the ball, and they’d be willing to offer something in return. Since this likely did not include a spot on the roster, I decided to simply hand the man the ball.”

Class. Didn’t hold the prized possession for ransom and surrendered the ball. He could have at least gotten some LaRosa’s, but Mo didn’t even go for that. Let the kid have the ball and a moment neither will ever forget.

And Sam LeCure? He pitched a perfect 9th to secure another Reds victory over the Cubs. A ground out and 2 K’s. For the season Cincinnati is 11-3 against Chicago.

Lost in all of this was that Joey Votto had an RBI. Funny how things are. The potential NL MVP gets lost in a win. Funny how this game works…

I am amazed how many players are switching teams these days. It seems like every other day, the Reds are adjusting their roster.

As of today, our candidate is Mike Leake. The Reds placed him on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder/arm fatigue. And, there is a good chance they will shut him down for the rest of the year. The good news in this is that Mike Leake was in the dugout tonight. If I were him, I would stick right next to the Reds Pitching Coach Bryan Price. I would learn as much as I could about the opposing hitters and our staff. I hope that he isn’t shut down the rest of the year and comes back in two weeks. I hope he regain his early season form.

On June 5th, Mike Leake was 5-0 and had an ERA of 2.25. In his next 13 appearances, 11 starts, he went 3-4 with a 6.47 ERA. He has pitched 138 innings so far this season but has never pitched over 120 innings in any season. So, I am sure his shoulder is fatigued. The Reds moved him to the bullpen to save some innings and keep him up on the big league club.

The surprising thing is that the Reds recalled 3b Juan Francisco. I and most of the other Reds fans were waitng to hear the Cuban Missile’s name called. The Cuban Missile is obviously Aroldis Chapman. Francisco will mainly be used as a pinch hitter. Brandon Phillips is out with his bruised hand so the Reds needed another infielder.

The Reds also failed to trade Micah Owings so, he re-signed with the Louisville Bats. The Reds had designated him for assignment on Tuesday but he drew little or no interest. I am kind of glad he is back down in Louisville. Just due to the fact that our bullpen has been less than good lately.

Now some good news, Brandon Phillips’ second x-ray came back negative as well. The swelling is subsiding a little and he is expected to play on Saturday. All though, Chris Valaika, who started in his place Friday night had a memorable night. He hit his first career homer and also doubled in the Reds 7-1 win. So, another day off for BP may be in order.

Also, Orlando Cabrera is expected to be activated on Monday. He could have played this weekend but the Reds will err on the side of caution. He is still experiencing some pain on his left side when he throws. Apparently, swinging a bat isn’t causing him any irritation. He has been out since early August with a strained oblique muscle.

And last but not least, Aaron Harang is back to being 100%. He has not been pitching well down at Louisville but he should be activated early next week as well. I am not sure where he fits in. With Edinson Volquez’ recent struggles, either Harang or Edinson will be headed to the bullpen.