The Reds lost to the Royals on Tuesday by a score of 9-8. But before you get all bent out of shape about it, consider this: the Royals were on a real hot streak, having just beaten the Brewers twice in a row.

Feel better now?

Eric Milton was flying high until he suddenly noticed that he was flying, realized that was impossible, and came crashing to earth. He enjoyed a 5-2 lead going into the sixth inning and a 5-6 deficit when the book was closed on his performance. When it was all said and done, he'd allowed six runs (earned) on seven hits and two walks through five and one-third innings.

Jason Standridge finished out the sixth and pitched to two batters in the seventh. He allowed another run (earned) on no hits and two walks. Esteban Yan worked the rest of the seventh inning and was actually the one who allowed Standridge's run to score, but other than that, his inning was scoreless on a walk. Kent Mercker worked a scoreless eighth.

By the time Todd Coffey took the mound in the ninth, the Reds had regained the lead at 7-8. However, Coffey served up a two-run homer for the eventual loss.

In the game wraps, Milton took responsibility for the game and felt very sorry for Coffey who took the official loss. And to Milton I say: Dammit, Eric, could you stop being sorry for a second? You took tons of responsibility in 2005, and look how that turned out. How about being a bit of a bad-ass for a change? I know you can do it. You've got the evil goatee.

OK, back to the game. There was plenty of offense. Ken Griffey, Jr. and Scott Hatteberg both hit home runs. Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, David Ross, and Javier Valentín all provided RBI.

To express his displeasure with the performance, after the game Bob Castellini extended the contracts of Wayne Krivsky and Jerry Narron.

The loss brought the Reds' record to 41-36. They would try to reclaim some of their dignity on Wednesday when Aaron Harang faced Scott Elarton.