Boxscore

The Reds wasted a lovely start by Mat Latos yesterday afternoon to notch their fourth loss in a row.

In 7.0 innings of work, Latos allowed just 1 run (earned) on 3 hits and a walk. He struck out 8. Seriously, as this guy gets older and gets better control over his Mr. Hyde side, he’s going to be a serious weapon.

Sadly for him, though, a W was not in the cards. Jonathan Broxton came in for the next .2 innings and gave up 2 runs (earned) on 3 hits in that amount of time. Logan Ondrusek got the last out in the eighth. He didn’t allow any runs or hits, but did give up a walk.

Now, giving up 2 runs in .2 innings isn’t good, but I propose it wasn’t really the problem here. The first place team in the division ought to be able to come back from a 1-run deficit to the fourth place team in the division. The offense only managed 6 runs in the whole 3-game series with the Brew Crew. I’d say the Milwaukee clubhouse manager replaced the Reds usual bats with Folgers Crystals, except the lack of offense started in the last game before the road trip.

FYI, the team’s two RBI belong to Dioner Navarro who hit a home run in the top of the third with Miguel Cairo on first base. The only Red who collected more than one hit on the night was Latos. He’s a weapon, I tell ya.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 66-45. Tonight they head to Chicago to try to change their luck against the Cubbies. Chris Volstad (RHP, 0-8, 7.22 ERA) leads the charge for the Cubs against Mike Leake (RHP, 4-7, 4.51 ERA) for the Reds. First pitch at 8:05 p.m.

Boxscore

The Reds looked like crap last night, notching their third loss in a row and securing the series loss against the Brewers.

Johnny Cueto started for the Reds and actually didn’t look like crap. In 7.0 innings of work he allowed 3 runs (earned) on 6 hits and 0 walks. Sean Marshall and Sam LeCure didn’t look like crap either, when they shared the eighth inning and didn’t allow a run on 2 hits collectively.

I guess I would have been more specific to say that the offense looked like crap yesterday. You might say it’s due to the Brewer’s hot rookie right-hander Mike Fiers, who held the Reds to 1 run on 3 hits through 8 innings. Fiers is having a helluva season, but the Reds are up 12 games on this team. They’re letting its rookies take them to school?

FYI, those 3 hits came from Zack Cozart, Xavier Paul, and Ryan Hanigan. The one RBI belongs to Brandon Phillips who sacrificed Cozart in in the seventh. And that’s all that separated Fiers from a perfect game. Not so much as a walk or a HBP for anyone else. What is this? May all over again?

The loss brings the Reds record to 66-44. They’re 1 game behind the Nationals for the best record in baseball, but it’s harder to be happy about that right now. They try to redeem themselves and avoid the sweep this afternoon. Mat Latos (RHP, 10-3, 3.94 ERA) goes against Randy Wolf (LHP, 3-8, 5.57 ERA). First pitch at 2:10 p.m. and this game is on t.v., if you’d like to bear witness.

Boxscore

This is about the time of year when the baseball dolldrums start to set in for me. As if the back-to-school activities weren’t distracting enough, everything in the sport itself is starting to blend together. The sample sizes are so large that even spectacularly good performances and spectacularly bad performances don’t really impact things to much.

Take, for example. Bronson Arroyo, who started for the Reds last night. He came out of the game looking like Badroyo for sure: 5 runs (earned) on 10 hits in 5.1 innings. But even in this morning’s harsh light, his line today (7-7, 4.05 ERA) barely looks any different than it did at this time yesterday (7-6, 3.87 ERA).

I guess my point is that, even though I know, intellectually, that each game has the same significance, at this point in the season, each individual game just doesn’t feel as important. I don’t know if people are freaking out about the fact that this is the Reds’ first losing streak since early July, but speaking for myself, I’m having trouble mustering up any outrage.

Of course, who cares what I think? It’s the players who have to keep up their intensity, and I don’t think we really saw that so much yesterday. Scott Rolen may have put in the best performance of everyone, having gotten on base 4 times with 2 hits and 2 walks. Or maybe Zack Cozart, with his solo shot in the seventh. Each scored 1 run. Not exactly mind-blowing performances, but the best the Reds had to offer yesterday.

Mr. Intensity himself, Joey Votto, is soon to be back, though. He’s on the road trip with the team, but no one’s saying whether he’ll actually take the field. Maybe having Votto out for an extended stretch will turn out to be just what the Reds needed for victory: having to make up for his absence being a kick in the pants immediately after the All-Star break, then, just as the team is coming down from its adrenaline rush, bringing him back in to actually kick everyone in the pants.

In the meantime, it was still a loss, and it dragged the Reds’ record all the way down to 66-43. The series continues tonight at 8:10 p.m. when Johnny Cueto (RHP, 14-5, 2.52 ERA) takes on Mike Fiers (RHP, 5-4, 1.88 ERA).