Boxscore

The Reds lost another heartbreaker last night 4-3.

Mike Leake was the starter for the contest. He was recently swapped in the rotation with Mat Latos, ostensibly because he’s too similar to Bronson Arroyo to have them starting back to back, and not because Latos has been pretty terrible lately. Leake put in a strong performance yesterday, allowing 2 runs (earned) on 5 hits through 8.0 innings pitched.

It was Aroldis Chapman who got the short end of this game by blowing the save in the 9th inning. He managed to strike out one, but then Joe Mauer smacked a double to left, setting up Josh Willingham to homer them both in. The Reds had the bottom of the inning to recover, but that didn’t turn out to be enough time.

On the offensive side, Wilson Valdez continues to inch his way into our hearts, but it’s still a long road, especially when he grounds out to end the game. He went 2-for-5 last night with a run scored and an RBI, which helped bring his AVG up to .237 and OBP to .244. Perhaps these are not the traditional numbers of a #2 hitter, but they’re better than almost all the starting pitchers.

The other RBI were brought in by Joey Votto who broke his 2-game hitless streak with a 2-run home run in the eighth inning. Votto was on deck when the game ended.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 39-32. Today they begin a series with the Brewers in Cincinnati. Latos (5-2, 5.20 ERA) takes on Yovani Gallardo (6-5, 4.22 ERA). First pitch at 7:10 p.m.

Boxscore

Sigh. Last night’s game started off so well.

Chris Heisey hit a 2-run home run in the first inning with Zach Cozart on base to give the Reds an early lead. But starter Homer Bailey wasn’t up to the task of holding the lead against one of the worst teams in the majors. Bailey allowed runs in the second, third, and fourth, giving up the early lead.

But the offense was up to the first loss of the lead. In the bottom of the fourth, with the Reds down 3-2, Scott Rolen came to the plate with a man on and launched his third home run of the season. The Reds had a 4-3 lead.

Bailey settled down for the fifth, pitching a scoreless inning, but he got into trouble in the sixth and couldn’t make it out. And with the bases loaded and one out, manager Dusty Baker brought in newly activated reliever Bill Bray. Bray failed, allowing 2 inherited runners to score.

This lead loss was one the offense couldn’t overcome, despite opportunities.

The loss brings Cincinnati’s losing streak to a season-high 4 games in a row. They turn to Johnny Cueto to stop it this afternoon at 4:10pm EDT.

Boxscore

Before Cleveland, the Reds were on a 6-game winning streak. After Cleveland, they own a 3-game losing streak. The latest in the string of putrescence was last night’s 1-8 loss.

Bronson Arroyo started for the Reds and managed to get himself out of trouble every inning until the 4th, when his start ended. In 4.0 innings, Arroyo allowed 5 runs (earned) on 8 hits and 2 walks.

Alfredo Simon’s line doesn’t look too much better. In the next 2.2 innings, he allowed 3 runs (0 earned) on 3 hits and 2 walks. That’s not really fair, though, since the Indians benefited from having a runner called safe at second who was out by 5 feet. It would have been the third out, so I like to think the reason Simon’s runs are unearned are because of an error on the umpire.

J.J. Hoover and Logan Ondrusek put in 0.1 and 1.0 innings of hitless pitching apiece, but it wasn’t really relevant at that point.

It was a dreary day one the offensive side as well. No one had more than one hit and not a single guy walked. The lone RBI for the Reds belongs to Willy Harris, filling in the traditional role of DH: every AL team uses their worst hitter for that position, right?

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 38-30. They are now leading the NLC by only 2.5 games. The Reds have yet another day off today before playing host to the Minnesota Twins on Friday. Nick Blackburn (3-4, 7.48 ERA) leads the charge for the Twins against Homer Bailey (5-4, 4.03 ERA) for the Reds.

Boxscore

What a tough break for the Reds. They held their own in a pitcher’s duel all the way into extras, only to have their once-ace give it away in the 10th.

Mike Leake started for the Reds and gave ’em all he could. He went beyond his normal pitch count through the 7th, hoping his offense would break the 1-1 tie. In his 7.0 innings pitched, he allowed 1 run (earned) on 6 hits and a walk, but alas, he wasn’t eligible for the win when he left the game.

Sean Marshall came in for the 8th and 9th innings. Two whole innings? Why, that’s the exact opposite of the LOOGY role that Dusty Baker had knocked him down to when he didn’t come strong out of the gate as closer. Marshall allowed 0 runs on 2 hits.

And maybe it’s good that Marshall is finally working his way back into Baker’s good graces, because Aroldis Chapman continues to struggle in the closer role. He got one guy out in the 10th, but also let a guy on before serving up a walk-off home run pitch to Asdrubal Cabrera.

There’s not much to say as far as the offense goes. Zack Cozart went 3-for-5 and scored one of the Reds’ 2 runs. Chris Heisey only went 1-for-5 but got an RBI and a run scored.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 38-29. They close out the series and this season’s games against the Indians tonight at 7:05 p.m. Bronson Arroyo (3-4, 3.84 ERA) takes on Justin Masterson (3-6, 4.38 ERA).

Boxscore

Last night’s game for me was like Las Vegas: exhaustingly active but ultimately disappointing. The Reds dropped the first of the series with the Indians 9-10.

Mat Latos took the mound and was just terrible. In 4.0 innings pitched he allowed 7 runs (earned) on 8 hits, including 3 home runs. Before the game Chris Welsh and George Grande were talking about how Latos could eventually challenge Johnny Cueto for the #1 title, and maybe they’re right, but we sure didn’t see it last night.

Sam LeCure came in for the next couple innings. His line pales in comparison to Latos’s, but it still isn’t any good, allowing 2 runs (earned) on 3 hits. Even J.J. Hoover gave up 1 run (earned) on a hit in his 1.0 inning contribution. Only Logan Ondrusek, who pitched the eighth, didn’t increase the Indians’ score.

But the Indians’ pitching was almost equally terrible. The Reds had chased Derek Lowe after 5.0 innings, and he didn’t even do anything fued-fueled crazy things against Dusty Baker. Boooooooring.

Jay Bruce was the most potent of the offense. He went 3-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBI. Brandon Phillips also had a good night, going 3-for-5 with 1 RBI. You know a lot of runs scored when Joey Votto is mentioned third: 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, and even that is just the same as what Ryan Ludwick did.

But despite all that, it was really Scott Rolen who was the offensive story of the game. After being on the DL for over a month with an inflamed shoulder, he was back in the line-up, playing third and batting seventh.

There was always the possibility that Baker would cram Rolen into the clean-up spot, since that’s where he was before going on the DL, but he never really belonged there and I was relieved to see him in the 7-hole. It apparently agreed with him. He had one of his best performances of the year, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 38-28. They continue the series in Cleveland tonight at 7:05 p.m. Mike Leake (2-5, 5.05 ERA) takes on Josh Tomlin (3-4, 5.56 ERA).