Ugh. This game was both painful and sickening. Frankly, I want to talk about it as little as possible, so here are the highlights:

• Eric Milton looked like trouble in the first inning, but he settled down and gave the Reds 7 strong innings, only allowing two runs and one home run. It seems like a rare occasion lately when you can say that Milton pitched good enough to win, but then I guess technically he didn't with the way the offense has been playing lately. C'mon, Eric, why didn't you allow negative runs? This loss is all on you!
• Scott Hatteberg continues to do what Scott Hatteberg has been doing all season. He reached base 4 times on Thursday with three walks and the Reds first hit to lead off the bottom of the seventh. If you have any doubt that Scott Hatteberg has been the Reds best hitter this season, then I don't like you because I don't like people who disagree with me. Please don't make me not like you.
• Jerry Narron finally figured out a way to get Hatteberg, Rich Aurilia, and Edwin Encarnacion into the lineup at the same time. Did you know that Rich Aurilia knows how to play more than just third and first base? That's right, he played second base on this night. Now if Narron could just remember that Aurilia was a shortstop for most of his career and get McClayton out of there. That's probably too much to ask.
• Uh, Gary Majewski didn't allow a run. That's good, right?

And that's it for the highlights. It was a pretty pathetic game, as you can tell by the lowlights:

• Ken Griffey Jr.'s meager hitting streak came to end with an 0 for 4 night with 2 strikeouts and 5 men left on base. His last strikeout came with 2 men on in the ninth on a ball that was in the dirt and about 6 inches outside of the plate. Ugly.
• Adam Dunn followed Junior in the batting order and tried to mimic his every move. Dunn went 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts and 4 men left on base. Dunn has now struck out in 8 of his last 9 at bats since he hit home run #32 on Tuesday.
• The Reds hit into 3 double plays on the night. It got so bad that we were cheering when the second out did not result in a double play.

Okay, you know, I'm starting to get that nauseous feeling that I had watching the game last night, so I'm going to stop right there. At least those stupid Dodgers are out of town. Now the Braves come back for a three game set. Twenty-four year old rookie Chuck James (4-2, 4.87) takes the mound on Friday night for Braves up against Aaron Harang (11-7, 3.62). It'll be the first time James has faced the Reds, so look for the offense to continue to struggle. Yippee!