Among the genuine concerns for Dusty Baker's club were a surprisingly deficient offense, impactful injuries and a starting rotation that was laboring noticeably.

After a gangbuster start, the Reds had run smack dab into a debilitating rough patch. Cincy was clearly a team that was ailing. For three weeks, many of the Reds played as if they should have been in a sick bed. Collectively, the Reds seemed listless and out of sorts.

The Reds were trending downward. Though far from grave, their condition was, at the very least, guarded. Cincy was experiencing some real distress.

Hence, the Reds were in quick need of some potent medicine. Something that would rouse them from their overall funk. Some sort of prescription that could stop the poor-play fever that had infected plenty of those wearing a Reds uniform.

Enter messieurs Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto. Their timing couldn't have been more propitious. At a very critical juncture of the Reds season, the two young right-handers proved to be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Thanks to their impressive efforts, they had the Reds sitting up again and taking nourishment. Suddenly, the prognosis was more encouraging and hopeful.

With their talented though some would say fragile arms, Bailey and Cueto had provided the Reds with the precise remedy Cincy sought. Specifically, reviving a starting staff that had been wildly inconsistent.

Bailey was the first to do his thing. Having been short circuited by a shoulder impingement during spring training, the 24-year-old Texan was making his 2011 debut after rehabbing in the minors.

And Bailey wasn't exactly walking into an ideal scenario for someone making his initial start of the year.

The Reds were hurting. They were taking gas. Cincinnati needed a victory in the worst possible way. Having dropped four of their previous five series, Cincy could ill afford to come up short in the decider of a three-game set versus the Houston Astros. One had a sense that this was must-win time for the Reds.

So brother, did they ever need Bailey to step up and provide them with a quality start. Quite a bit was at stake.

One never knows what to expect when a pitcher returns from the disabled list and a rehab stint in the minors. Too many variables are at work to where it becomes a veritable crapshoot as to what will happen. It's impossible to predict how a pitcher will fare in such a situation.

So what did Bailey do? He proceeds to come up bigger than the state from which he hails. He was huge and then some.

In what can only be described as a clutch and superb performance, Bailey basically threw 0's at the 'Stros. Dealing sufficient heat and showing fine command of his breaking stuff, Homer more than got the job done.

In a highly efficient six-inning stint, Bailey was nails, allowing but one run, four hits, a single walk while chalking up seven strikeouts. By keeping the Astros in check, Bailey took the burden off the erratic Reds hitters and allowed them to relax.

Freed up to play loose, the Cincy batsmen soon woke up and delivered more than enough offense in a 10-4 Reds conquest. Thanks largely to Bailey, Cincy had captured its first series win in exactly 21 days.

How Bailey fares from here on out is strictly guesswork. There's no doubt he's got the goods to be a standout pitcher. But his major league past has been replete with injury woes. Only in infrequent flashes has he shown his promise. Consistency and durability have been significant problems.

It's hard to imagine the Reds making another contending run in the Central Division without a major contribution from Homer. The Reds have waited on this intriguing hurler for long enough. It's time for Bailey to translate his tantalizing potential into steady production.

After battling the Astros, the Reds moved onto the Windy City for a three-game get together with the Cubs. In Chitown, there would be more winds of change for the Reds pitching staff.

Now, it would be Johnny Cueto's turn to take center stage and try to win the deciding game of a key series.

Like Bailey before him, the sometimes fiery Cueto was making his initial start of the season. Cueto's stay on the DL was necessitated because of both bicep and tricep issues. And like Homer, Cueto had done some rehabbing in the minors but with lesser success.

Again, it was hard to project what kind of performance Cueto would author. One could easily envision a scenario whereby the 25-year-old might struggle.

But, perhaps, Bailey's heroics had inspired him. Or maybe Cueto was simply chomping at the bit to build on his solid 12-win year of 2010. Whatever it was that motivated him, Cueto was even better than his teammate Bailey. He was, in fact, lights out.

In a sterling outing, the long-haired righty worked six-plus scoreless innings, permitted just five hits, issued a lone walk while fanning four.

For someone just getting into the swing of things, Cueto was remarkably sharp. His fastball had zip and his off-speed pitches possessed bite. Demonstrating very good control, Cueto was able to keep Chicago off-balance and frustrated. He simply shut the door on the Cubbies.

With much more of a track record than Bailey, Cueto looks like a cinch to be a force for the Reds. As long as he can stay healthy, it can be assumed that Johnny be good.

The welcomed return of the young bucks Bailey and Cueto gives the Reds rotation a much more dynamic look. They make the starting staff decidedly more formidable. They give it tremendous upside. Now, at long last, the Reds finally have their starters intact and squared away.

No knock against righties Mike Leake and Sam LeCure, who filled in during the absences of Bailey and Cueto. But, at this stage, those two seem better suited to middle or long relief. Neither have the gifts nor the pizazz that Bailey and Cueto bring to the table.

The scuffling Reds were in need of a boost. They longed for a lift that might get the club headed in a more positive direction. Well, messieurs Bailey and Cueto provided just such a push.

They gave Cincy just the right antidote in the form of a couple of powerful shots to the arm.