(photo by dbking/Flickr)

Mike Leake’s had a  relatively tough season. With a 94 ERA+, Reds fans ought not to have many complaints, but his ERA is higher than in 2011, which in turn, was higher than his rookie season ERA. That’s probably got to be a little frustrating. So far in 2012, Mike Leake has had the worst ERA of all Reds starters, and it’s mostly been a matter of consistency. Leake’s thrown a handful of gems, but he’s also run into a few problem games.

Tonight, though, was a gem. Even a quality bullpen like ours can use a night off, so just by itself, Leake’s complete game was appreciated. He also held the Mets to a single run on four hits. Only two of the Mets starters got any hits at all – but they did so in the same inning, allowing a run to be scored on a Daniel Murphy double play ball. Leake also didn’t walk anyone, and also allowed no extra base hits – which is promising, as Leake’s SLG against is the highest among all Reds pitchers, by a fair margin.

The offense took its sweet time in getting to R.A. Dickey, but they did, lighting the knuckeballer up with 5 runs, including three home runs. I sort of wonder if the expansive confines at Citi are helping to hide Dickey’s flaws. On the other hand, you could equally argue that the Reds impressive infield defense hides Cueto’s flaws.  Todd Frazier, in particular, hit a monster shot right after Scott Rolen’s home run, that was estimated at 474 feet.

In any case, I can’t help be a bit pleased that the Reds have helped drive up Dickey’s ERA and denied him the win. I’m quite fond of R.A. (love me some trick pitchers), but all’s fair in Cy Young Awards. On the other hand, the Reds also struck out 9 times, which helps pads Mr. Dickey’s strikeout totals. Darn it.