a game Monday. ' ' '

• NEW YORK -- Offence in the major leagues increased slightly this season after five consecutive years of drops, while strikeouts reached a record high and walks dropped to their lowest level since 1968. Kendall Hunter Jersey . Scoring increased to 8.65 runs per game from 8.57, according to final numbers compiled by STATS LLC. The average peaked at 10.28 in 2000, three years before Major League Baseball and the players association started drug testing with penalties. The average had been 9.72 in 2006 before dropping five years in a row. Home runs per game, which peaked at 2.34 in 2000, had dropped to 1.87 last year, its lowest level since 1.78 in 1993. The average rebounded to 2.03 this season. The major league batting average of .255 was unchanged from last year, remaining at its lowest figure since 1989. The big league ERA rose to 4.01 from 3.94 last season. On-base percentage of .319 was the lowest since 1988, while walks fell from 6.18 to 6.05 -- the fewest since 5.63 in 1968 -- and strikeouts rose from 14.29 to 14.99. Strikeouts had been as low as 9.54 in 1978. Justin Smith Jersey . plans to speak about last weeks abduction of his mother. Jonathan Goodwin Jersey . -- Zack Greinkes first pitch in a Los Angeles Angels uniform was lined to left field for a single by Desmond Jennings, who had never faced him in a regular-season game. http://www.shop49ersgear.us/ronnie-lott-49ers-jersey/ . Actually in all honesty, I was asked the question on Friday morning by Andrew Dawson of the CJME radio morning show in Regina and thought that it made for an interesting topic of discussion. Steve Young Jersey . The midfielder was forced to retire from football in August, five months after collapsing at Tottenham while playing for Bolton in front of a global television audience. Muamba finds going to football matches tough emotionally, but says hes now attracted to sports politics. Ahmad Brooks Jersey . "I dont think its the time for armchair coaching," Hall-of-Famer and current player agent Bobby Orr told Beverly Thomson on Canada AM Thursday.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Homer Bailey knew his history against the Milwaukee Brewers was a case of bad and worse. For the first time, he came away a winner. Bailey matched his career high with 10 strikeouts while pitching eight innings for his first career win over Milwaukee on Friday night, leading Cincinnati to a 3-1 victory that preserved the Reds lead in the NL Central. Zack Cozart, Jay Bruce and Scott Rolen hit solo homers as the Reds won nine of their last 11 games, moving 13 games over .500 for the first time this season. But it was Bailey who got the attention. "He works at it," manager Dusty Baker said. "He wants to be great." Bailey (9-6) has beaten the defending World Series champion Cardinals and the defending division champion Brewers in his last two starts. Hes won four straight starts for the first time in his career. "Ive kind of established a little bit of a routine," Bailey said. "Im getting better at knowing what I need to do to prepare every day and now its just leading to success." The latest win was perhaps the best measure of how far hes come. The right-hander had been 0-5 in 10 career games against Milwaukee. "Everybody knows when youre a starting pitcher, you always have teams you dont do well against," Bailey said. "I knew I never really did well against that team. You just try to put it behind you and make some pitches." Cozart, Bruce and Rolen homered off Marco Estrada (0-4), who gave up seven hits overall in seven innings. Bruce and Rolen connected on 2-0 pitches one out apart to provide the winning margin. Left-hander Aroldis Chapman struck out two in the ninth for his 16th save in 20 chances, hitting 100 mph with two of his 13 pitches. Twenty-five of his last 31 outs have come by strikeout. Milwaukee came out of the All-Star break looking to make up ground in a stretch of games against Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Cincinnati. The Brewers have won four of seven and remain stranded in fourth place, now 8 1/2 games back, matching their biggest deficit. Afterward, Estrada angrily tossed a towel into his locker and stared ahead for a few seconds with his head down, unhappy with those two homers he gave up in the seventh inning. "We need these games, especially against this team," Estrada said. "t;Theyre in first place and were trying to catch up. Roger Craig Jersey. When you go out and make dumb mistakes in the seventh inning, it kills you inside. Every pitch counts now. I threw really bad pitches at 2-0. Its really frustrating." They couldnt do much against Bailey, who gave up six hits and matched his career high by fanning 10. Norichika Aokis RBI double broke his shutout in the eighth. Cozarts homer barely cleared the wall in left field with one out in the fourth. His first homer since July 6 made it 73 consecutive games with a homer at Great American Ball Park, the longest streak since Coors Field had 80 games in a row with a homer in 2002-03, according to STATS LLC. Bruce hit his first homer since July 8 leading off the seventh inning. In his previous at-bat, Bruce doubled to snap an 0-for-19 skid that matched the longest of his career. One out later, Rolen hit his first homer since June 22. The three homers were a season high off Estrada, who had allowed only 11 homers all season. It was another solid but empty outing by Estrada, who has made four appearances since returning from the disabled list with a strained right thigh. He has given up three runs or less in each of those starts without getting a win. The Reds have struggled offensively since Monday, when first baseman Joey Votto learned he needed surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. He had surgery on Tuesday and is expected to miss three to four weeks. He was in the clubhouse on Friday to get treatment, moving around with the help of one crutch. The solo homers pulled them through. Ryan Braun was back in the Brewers lineup after sitting out a game because of a sore groin. He singled in his first two at-bats, making him the 11th player in franchise history with 1,000 career hits. NOTES: Braun tied Jeff Cirillo on the franchise list with 1,000 hits. ... Zack Greinke played catch on Friday and will throw in the bullpen on Saturday, getting ready for a start next Tuesday in Philadelphia. Manager Ron Roenicke decided to have him skip his last start because of fatigue. "He should be right back on track," Roenicke said. "He seems to be throwing fine. Its about his confidence as much as anything." ... Reds C Devin Mesoraco extended his hitting streak to a career-high eight games. ' ' '

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