RELATED: Reds happy to be home after winless west coast trip
Manager Bryan Price said Bailey, who has been on the disabled list all season after undergoing elbow surgery in February, looked great Friday.
“He commanded all of his pitches,” Price said. “His arm looks like it’s in great shape, especially after a six-inning, 74-pitch effort for Dayton. He looked as good as ever. The next start in Louisville will be great. It will be another step against better competition. Hopefully, it’ll be an outing that provides him an opportunity to throw more pitches and get stretched out. Then we’ll reassess if he needs more work, if he needs more time, or if he feels he’s ready or we feel he’s ready. We’ll put all our thoughts together and make a good decision.”
Big picture: The Reds (29-36) entered the weekend 5½ games back in the National League Central Division. That's the largest deficit they've faced this season. The Brewers (36-32) led the division by 2½ games.
“For us, it’s been a step forward, a step back,” Price said. “What we don’t want to do as we’re trying to get healthy with the rotation is slip back. The fact that most of the teams in the division are hovering around .500 is allowing us to really get excited about what we can still accomplish. We wanted to really stay into it into July. Then we have some choices. Are you going to strengthen your roster? Are you going to stay put? Are you going to move some pieces? We’d like to be in a position where we maybe we can add something to give us that shot to stay in it.”
Rose statue: The Reds will unveil a statue of Pete Rose at 1 p.m. Saturday in a ceremony at Crosley Terrace in front of Great American Ball Park. A number of Rose's former teammates are scheduled to attend: Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Jack Billingham,Dave Concepcion, Doug Flynn, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.
Gennett honored: Fans at the game Friday received a a commemorative Scooter Gennett oversized ticket. The Reds honored Gennett before the game for his four home run game against the Cardinals. Zach Thompson, the 12-year-old who caught Gennett's fourth home run, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Oh, Canada: Joey Votto met with the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Canada's Minister of International Trade, before the game Friday. Votto was given a certificate "in recognition of his contribution to friendly relations between Canada and the United States."
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