Just when it looked like they were going to blow a huge lead - one of their few Achilles' heels this season - the Cincinnati Reds pulled out a 12-11 victory over the host San Francisco Giants in 12 innings on Wednesday.

The Reds led 10-1 at one point, but the Giants stormed back to tie it, and then take the lead heading into the ninth inning.

However, thanks to an error from third baseman Pablo Sandoval, the Reds were able to knot the score at 11 and eventually send the game into extra innings.

Triple crown threat Joey Votto then put the Reds in the lead with an RBI single in the 12^th frame. Votto finished 4-of-7 with two home runs and four RBIs - other than that he wasn't really a factor in the game.

This guy is unbelievable. To think he is playing on the same level as Albert Pujols is shocking and it's no fluke. He's as pure of a hitter as there is in the Majors and is now batting .326 with 31 homers and 90 RBIs.

Pujols is batting .319 with 33 HRs and 92 RBIs. Votto leads the league in batting average and is second in home runs and RBIs. Pujols leads the league in homers and ribbies, and is second in batting average.

So, in addition to the intriguing race between the Reds and Cardinals for National League Central supremacy, there is a legitimate two-man competition for what would be the first triple crown winner in baseball since 1967 (Carl Yastrzemski). That's 43 years if you weren't counting. Of all the offensive records that got smashed during the steroid era (which we still might be in the midst of even due to the drop in home runs this season; don't think for a minute there aren't masking agents out there that can beat the tests), no one was able to match Yaz's triple crown, or bat .400 like Ted Williams did (.406 in  1941).

Anyway, the Reds are now 73-54 and were able to go 6-3 on their West Coast swing. Late season trips to the left coast have been the downfall of many Reds teams over the years. However, Cincinnati was able to sweep the Diamondbacks, take two of three from the Dodgers, and salvage a 1-2 showing against the Giants.

More good news is that Pittsburgh is leading visiting St. Louis 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth. The Reds would be 3.5 games up on the Cardinals if they lose tonight. (UPDATE: The Cards did in fact lose to the Buccos, 5-2. This means they dropped a three-game series to the worst team in MLB. Gotta love getting some help from the Pirates of all teams.)

This has certainly been a thrilling ride for Reds fans starving for a winner this year and the win over the Giants on Aug. 25 is one of the games we'll always remember if the Reds end up making the postseason for the first time in 15 years. (Although, 1999 pretty much felt like a playoff year and included the one-game "playoff" against the Mets for the wildcard. If you win 96 games as the '99 Reds did, you're a hell of a team. That's more regular-season wins than the Reds had in 1990 [91-71] when they won it all.)

What a tremendous streak they are on and it couldn't come at a better time.

After being embarrassed in a three-game sweep at the hands of their only contender for the National League Central championship - the St. Louis Cardinals - and falling briefly out of first place, the Reds have ripped off seven straight victories to take a shocking 4.5-game lead over the Cards.

On Friday night, the Reds knocked off the Dodgers 3-1. Not only was it a big W considering the team is in the thick of the pennant race, but the Reds were 0-12 at Dodger Stadium over the last four years.

That dubious streak was snapped in large part due to the razor-sharp pitching of 24-year-old Homer Bailey. (Yes, he really is still that young.) Bailey moved to 3-2 on the season with his strong performance against LA (7 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, earned, 2 walks, six strikeouts).

I didn't want to get too excited after Bailey's strong start against the Marlins in his return from shoulder inflammation earlier in the week, but I'm quickly seeing a theme developing here and it looks like it's time for Reds fans to get excited about him. He didn't walk anyone against the Marlins (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 Ks), was really doing a good job of painting the black against the Dodgers and is now 2-0 since his return.

Remember how good Bailey was down the stretch of the 2009 season? Well, no one expects him to be quite that dominant (there is a bit more pressure on when you're in a playoff race and not playing meaningless games) but he's certainly proved he's a force to be reckoned with at times. Right now, he has good command with all of his pitches and I like the way he's coming over the top with authority and is keeping his fastball down. Bailey is a power pitcher who is learning how to be a complete hurler right before our eyes.

But the real story of the night is that your Cincinnati Reds are 4.5 freakin' games up in first place on Aug. 21. They're also 20 games over .500 at 71-51. Just let that sink in for a moment. Their in the midst of a West Coast roadie - you know, the kind of trip that usually does them in - and they've started out 4-0. Granted, three of those wins came against the lowly Diamondbacks, but they all count the same.

It will only get tougher from here as the Reds have two more games at Chavez Ravine and will then travel to San Francisco to play the Giants (who knocked off the Cardinals 6-3 on Friday, giving those "bitches" as Brandon Phillips would say their season-high fifth-straight loss). The good news is that the Reds will miss seeing Tim Lincecum when they face the Giants. Lincecum - the two-time defending Cy Young award winner - is having a down year for his standards, but I'm sure the Reds' batters are just fine with missing his turn in the rotation.

It has gotten lost in the shuffle to some extent, but Reds first-year pitching coach Bryan Price has done a solid job this season. (Or perhaps Dick Pole was just so bad that anyone looks great in comparison. But I digress.)

And when I say "first-year pitching coach" I mean with the Reds. Price has plenty of experience in the field as he was the Seattle Mariners' pitching coach from 2001-06. He then had the same gig with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2007-09, but resigned on May 7, '09, in an act of solidarity to manager Bob Melvin who was fired and replaced by A.J. Hinch.

Price, obviously not afraid to speak his mind or make bold decisions, said Hinch was "not qualified" to be a Major League manager when he resigned. I love non-politically-correct people in a very PC world.

The Reds gobbled him up on Oct. 17, 2009 and it's paying big dividends. Yes, he has a lot of talent to work with, but the 48-year-old Price is getting the most out of his young guns. Plus, the one veteran in the current rotation, Bronson Arroyo, is on his way to a career year.

Price was never a big league pitcher, but he did pitch five seasons in the minors. He has a no-nonsense approach, but he's not too over-the-top with his pitchers. He's direct without being condescending. I've heard Reds pitchers say this year he knows how to build confidence, not tear it down. Overall, I just think he was a nice pickup in the offense, one that I haven't heard many people talk or write about.

Boy, the Cardinals sure did a good job of building on all that momentum they picked up last week when they swept the Reds, didn't they?

No, not so much.

Just when some people thought Cincinnati was ready to fold - despite the fact the team was just a game out of first place - the "Resilient Reds" rip off four straight wins, including Tuesday night's 6-2 win over Arizona (which actually ended Wednesday morning in the Eastern time zone).

Meanwhile, the Cardinals have lost three-of-four, including two to the lowly Cubs, and another tonight against the Brewers.

West Coast trips have been historically rough on the Reds, but the Diamondbacks are down this year, the Dodgers aren't nearly as good as they were the last two years ... and then the Reds will have to face off against a very good Giants team. But if they can have a winning record on this West Coast swing, things will be shaping up very well for the stretch run. And tonight's win over Arizona after the Reds got down two runs early was a great way to start the trip. The D-Backs are one of the worst teams in all of Major League Baseball and the Reds need to treat them as such if they want to prove they are a playoff team.

Kudos to Paul Janish tonight - and really for the way he's been playing all season. It's time for me to stand up (or even sit down) and admit I was wrong about Janish. I thought his defense was solid, but didn't think he had anywhere close to the stick to be able to play at this level. But he's more than holding his own at the place and is playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop. In other words, he has clearly proven to me that he is better than currently-injured Orlando Cabrera. When the latter returns from an oblique injury, manager Dusty Baker will likely give him the majority of the starts again. But if he struggles, Janish has proven he can get the job done.

Hey, I love when I'm wrong if it means good things for the Reds. Janish provided the go-ahead run with a home run against the Diamondbacks tonight, and also added a double (which should have been an RBI-double, but Drew Stubbs missed third base and was called out following an appeal).

This is the key to teams having great seasons. Sure, you need star players to have stellar years - and Joey Votto is providing that. But you also need the role players like Janish and Miguel Cairo to step up and they have done that and then some.

First up, the team made the decision to put rookie Mike Leake in the bullpen for the rest of the season. The rationale is they can limit his innings while still keeping a proven weapon on the roster. There was talk that the Reds would let Leake pitch through the end of August as a starter and then shut him down for the remainder of the season. However, due in large part to the breadth of quality starting pitching that they have, they can afford to use Leake out of pen. Hopefully he's comfortable there because that could be a nice addition to the relief crew. And then you have to think Aroldis Chapman will be with the Reds soon as well. He'll be up no later than Sept. 1, but I'm surprised he's not already with the big club.

As for how the starting rotation will look from here, the Reds will go with Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, Homer Bailey (who was extremely impressive in his first start back from shoulder inflammation) and rookie left-hander Travis Wood. The Reds also have Aaron Harang as an option down the stretch, but even in his first rehab start for Louisville, he was rocked for five earned runs in five innings. Sound familiar? So, hopefully the above five will be able to hold the fort down in terms of the starting rotation and the Reds won't need to use Harang as a starter for the rest of the season. Maybe they will end up using him out of the bullpen as well.

Reds ink Grandal

Also on Tuesday, the Reds signed their 2010 first-round draft pick (No. 12 overall), switch-hitting catcher Yasmani Grandal from the University of Miami. General manager Walt Jocketty was quoted as saying he thought Grandal was a "steal" at that point in the first round because the team thought he would go "somewhere around third, fourth or fifth" according to Jocketty.

I still think the Reds will re-sign Ramon Hernandez for one more season (if he's willing to come relatively cheap) and use him in a platoon with Ryan Hanigan like they are this year. As good of a season as Devin Mesoraco is having in the minors, I don't think the team wants to "rush" him and put him on the big club to start out next season. I think they want to see him start at Louisville next year (he started at high-A this season and is now at double-A) and then if he tears it up, they could always bring him up. But for 2011, I think the Reds will still have Hernandez/Hanigan as their catchers with one of the young guns ready to come up if need be.

I fully expect Grandal to start out next season playing at the high-A level. Then if he does well, they can quickly move him up to double-A. Then in 2012, it will be Mesoraco and Grandal competing for a roster spot alongside Hanigan who will be the unquestioned starter by then most likely.

I am especially excited about Atkins who is kind of like an undersized Warren Sapp. He is strong, very quick and has a knack for making plays in the backfield and near the line of scrimmage. Man did he flash against the Cowboys. It was a poor game overall for the team, but Atkins was clearly was one of the few bright spots.

Same deal for Shipley who looks like he's going to be a solid slot receiver for years to come. And thanks to the Bengals' abundance of depth at WR, they won't need to rush him. If he's ready right away, fine. If he's not, they have other guys that can get the job done in the slot like Andre Caldwell. And if Antonio Bryant returns healthy, he can play the slot in three-wide sets (with Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens on the outside).

It's way too early to tell one way or the other on first-round tight end Jermaine Gresham, but it does sound like the practice reports have been more positive than negative. I am not convinced Reggie Kelly can come back from a ruptured Achilles at his age - even for young players that is sometimes a career-ender - so Gresham will likely be the starter this year. Even Marvin Lewis has listed him as the first-team tight end, which surprised me a bit. Wow, Lewis is all over the map when it comes to the way he does things. You would think he would at least pretend like he's making Gresham earn the spot. However, part of me likes it because it's no secret the Bengals need the Oklahoma product to step up right away and become a weapon for Carson Palmer over the middle. His athleticism is very impressive and word is he has very good hands as well. He was shut out against the Cowboys, but it will be interesting to see how he looks during the remainder of the preseason.

And who knows, maybe there is the chance that the light will come on for Chase Coffman and he will make the team as the No. 3 TE this year. He had a nice catch against the Cowboys. However, would the Bengals go into the season with two receiving tight ends (Gresham and Coffman) and just one blocking TE (Kelly)? That is the question. For some reason, they like former undrafted free agent Dan Coats who wasn't even a starter in college at BYU. He has hands of stone. However, in all fairness, he is a good blocker and he might make the team just based on that. But that would mean cutting Coffman, and I find it hard to believe that will happen considering he was a third-round pick last year. They gave Jerome Simpson two full years just to make sure (I think he'll get cut this camp) and they'll probably do the same with Coffman. However, Coats might also be able to help out at the depleted fullback position, so that will help him in his bid for the No. 3 TE gig.

* As for second-round DE Carlos Dunlap, I'd say it's too early to tell about him as well. I liked the pick very much and he's big and versatile enough to slide down to DT in passing situations, but the jury is still out on the talented Florida product.

* The Bengals' "other" third-round pick -- cornerback Brandon Ghee -- is a player I think will be solid for years to come. It seems Shipley is getting most of the pub, but Ghee was a good pick as well. I actually thought he would be the team's No. 3 corner from day one, but it looks like Adam "Don't Call Me Pacman" Jones is the early favorite there. I find that very surprising since Jones looked like absolute garbage during his last year in the NFL: 2008. But Ghee is still going to get playing time this year as the No. 4 corner at worst. Where does that leave David Jones and Morgan Trent? Well, one of them is going to get cut. It's that simple.

Is this high school ball, or the NFL? Any chance we see DE Michael Johnson run some fade routes as a wide receiver this year? Is Domata Peko going to play both ways at DT and as an offensive right tackle? You just never know what you are going to get with the circus act known as the Bengals' front office. This reminds me of Hard Knocks last year when Chief Operating Idiot (COI) Mike Brown wanted to move defensive end Chris Harrington to tight end. Hey Mikey, this is the NF Freakin' L. It was obvious to everyone you needed a fullback this offseason; why didn't you go out and sign one?

Hopefully the Bengals will pick up someone at final cuts, but that won't give that player much time to learn the offense before the season starts.

And I must say it completely sucks that third-down back Brian Leonard was hurt against the Cowboys and might miss several weeks. Not only is he great catching the ball out of the backfield on third down, he could have been the team's emergency fullback. It's absolutely inexcusable that the front office didn't address this need during the offseason, especially on the heels of the Chris Pressley gaffe last year.

The series with St. Louis went even worse than any Reds fan could have imagined. It might feel like the season is over now and the Reds are 6-7 games back of the Cardinals.

However, the fact is they are just one game back and there is plenty of baseball left to be played, including a three-game series in St. Louis in early September.

The Reds aren't going anywhere and despite their 5-10 head-to-head record against the Cards this year, I still think Cincinnati has the better overall ballclub. (Insert homer joke here.)

As for the "brawl" on Tuesday night, I'm sure I would be calling Brandon Phillips a complete punk if I was a Cardinals fan. I actually liked what he had to say to Hal McCoy about hating the Cardinals because they are a team that bitches and moans about everything. Everyone that follows Major League Baseball would agree with that.

However, if you are going to make those comments, don't go up to Yadier Molina and play pat-a-cake with your bat to his shinguard. Especially not twice. Molina definitely instigated things, but Phillips should have went up to the plate and not said anything to the Cardinals' catcher. I know it's his usual routine, but after calling their team a "bunch of little bitches" don't try and act all buddy-buddy with one of their players the very next day. I personally think Molina is a punk as well - and you could tell he wanted nothing to do with Phillips when it looked like it was about to go down (after Phillips flipped his batting helmet off and got in Molina's face) - but I actually don't fault him for this one. And if Phillips is going to talk mess, going 2-for-14 in the series makes him look like all talk and no walk. I hate to say it, but it's true.

However, speaking of bitches, is there a bigger one than Chris Carpenter in the entire league? This prick can't get along with his own teammates let alone anyone else. What a good pitcher, but a pathetic excuse for a man. The only good thing that came out of Tuesday was seeing his bitch-ass get thrown into the netting behind home plate.

But now it's time for the Reds to turn the page and focus on the rest of the season if they don't want to let what has been a great season up to this point get away. The bad news is that the schedule is brutal the next couple weeks, starting with a home series with the Marlins on Friday. (And yes, Thursday's off day came just at the right time. This team needs to regroup after getting embarrassed by the Cardinals.) Their ace Josh Johnson will be on the mound to face Edinson Volquez in the series opener.

Then - brace yourself here - the Reds will embark on a nine-game West Coast road trip beginning on Tuesday. It includes three games in Arizona, three in LA and three in San Francisco. As every Reds fan knows, West Coast trips have been the bane of the Reds' existence at times, especially late in the season when they are in the playoff race. (Such as the last time they were in the race this late in a season, 2006.)

So, these next 2-3 weeks will tell us if the Reds are going to stay in the race, or whether the sweep at the hands of the Cardinals truly was the turning point of the season. I tend to think it will be the former. The Reds are a good team and they will not go away quietly, despite the Bad News Bears act they displayed over the last three games. The pitching is good and that will allow Cincinnati to stay in the hunt and keep the pressure on the Cardinals.

And by the way, what the hell are they waiting for in terms of calling up Aroldis Chapman. He should have been up a week ago. Hopefully they make that move soon because a lefty throwing 103 out of the pen is an exciting proposition. And his numbers at Louisville lately have been extraordinary. Get Chapman in Cincinnati ASAP!

Fullback.

As I blogged here last year, the team made a huge mistake in letting Chris Pressley leave. Now they are left with Fui Vakapuna (who Pressley beat out last year in Bengals training camp) and rookie free agent Joe Tronzo from Louisville. Third-down back Brian Leonard can also play fullback in a pinch, but that certainly wouldn't be an ideal situation.

There is always a chance the Bengals will find a fullback on the waiver fire at final cuts - but it's not looking good the way it stands. Vakapuna already has a shoulder injury and will miss this Sunday's preseason opener against the Cowboys.

Also out for the Bengals are wide receiver Antonio Bryant (knee), offensive lineman Andre Smith (fat, er, that should say "foot,") linebacker Rashad Jeanty (leg) and safety Tom Nelson (knee).

Hey, you know the Bengals have done a nice job with their roster when fullback is the only clear weakness.

Furthermore, Lewis didn't even rule out the possibility that Smith could start the season on the PUP list (which means he would miss the first six weeks of the regular season).

There were all kinds of warning signs about Smith coming out of Alabama - signs that the Bengals apparently ignored when they drafted him No. 6 overall in 2009. He was suspended from the Sugar Bowl his final season with the Crimson Tide, then went AWOL from the NFL Scouting Combine a few months later, and then played a strange game of musical chairs in terms of picking an agent.

Oh, and he was notorious for being a little too B.I.G. Every scouting report on him coming out of college warned that his weight problems could lead to injuries. And here we are not even into his second season of professional football and the guy can't stay healthy.

I thought he was a bad pick at the time and it just keeps getting worse. Well, for everyone except the restaurant owners in the Cincinnati area, perhaps.

If Smith is basically a non-factor this season like he was as a rookie, that means the starting right tackle will be former undrafted free agent Dennis Roland who was actually surprisingly-solid most of the time last year. Third-year pro Anthony Collins (who is expected to be Andrew Whitworth's backup at left tackle) would also be in the mix at RT if Smith continues down the path to bustville.