Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds seem to have at least one game like yesterday’s every year. They had a 7-2 lead heading into the 8th, and the bullpen had a spectacular implosion that resulted in a painful loss. Many teams have done this to the Reds, including the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals. And now add the Los Angeles Dodgers to that list.

Everything was going great for the majority of the game. Johnny Cueto started and followed up his complete game effort last start with 7 strong innings of 2-run baseball. The offense provided more than enough runs by scoring 7, including a 3-run home run from Joey Votto.

But the bullpen failed the second it was given the ball in the 8th. Nick Masset was the first hapless fellow, getting only 1 of the 4 batters he faced out. Bill Bray was next. He came in to face one batter with the bases loaded, whom he promptly walked. Then Logan Ondrusek completed the 8th inning’s orgy of sucking by allowing a grand slam to tie the game.

The game eventually headed into extra innings, but the Reds were already done. The 8th inning killed them again. Carlos Fisher ended up getting the loss by allowing 4 runs in the 11th, but you could make a good case that any of those pitchers from the 8th was deserving.

The series with the Dodgers is even now, and despite the painful loss, the Reds still have a chance of taking the series today, assuming they can bounce back.