Bad inning leads to Reds loss
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CINCINNATI — One bad inning by Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Edinson Volquez was all it took for the Arizona Diamondbacks to split a four-game series with Reds Thursday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
A three-run third by the Diamondbacks led to a 3-1 win over the first place Reds. The Reds hold an 7.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals who play later tonight against the NL West leading San Diego Padres.
The disaster inning by Volquez occurred in the top of the fifth when Miguel Montero and Ryan Church drew back-to-back walks to start the inning for the Diamondbacks. Gerardo Parra tied the game with a double to score Montero. A one-out double by Stephen Drew put Arizona up 2-1 with Church crossing home. Drew's RBI hit extended his hitting streak to seven games (12-for-29, .414 avg.). A base hit by Kelly Johnson gave the Diamondbacks a two-run lead, scoring Parra.
The tough day by Volquez ended in the seventh after he was replaced by Bill Bray after 6 2-3 innings. Bray finished the inning by striking out Johnson on a called third strike.
Volquez (3-3) had seven strikeouts, while allowing three runs (all earned) on six hits and two wild pitches. He threw 85 pitches, 52 for strikes. His ERA dropped to 4.99. Three of the seven strikeouts came in the fourth inning.
The Reds (83-64) scored their only run in the bottom of the first inning.
In the first, Jonny Gomes, who led Cincinnati with two hits, hit a pitch to the centerfield wall where the ball bounced out of the glove of Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young (who slammed into the wall) for a two base RBI double, scoring Drew Stubbs who took the bases with a leadoff single.
The remainder of the game Cincinnati managed to tally eight hits but were unable to knock any in for runs.
"We had a couple of opportunities, but we just didn't get them home," Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
After the two-hit first, the Reds managed to gain at least one hit in five of the next eight innings, including a two-hit fourth where they had two of the first three batters reach base.
The Cincinnati fourth began with a double by MVP candidate Joey Votto, followed with a one out single by Jay Bruce. Votto extended his current hitting streak to six games where he is batting .304 with two home runs and four RBIs. But the Reds were unable to bring any runners home with a fly out by Ramon Hernandez and a strikeout by Juan Francisco.
In the next three innings, the Reds had three hits coming off the bats of Volquez, Gomes and Paul Janish. Gomes had a base hit in the sixth with one out but was forced out at second when Jay Bruce hit into a double play to end the inning. Janish's hit came with two outs in the eighth.
The winning pitcher for Arizona was Rodrigo Lopez, who gained his sixth win of the season (6-14). He pitched seven innings, allowing one run (earned) on eight hits and no walks. He ended the day with four strikeouts on 98 pitches (69 strikes). Lopez had a seven-game losing streak before Thursday. It was his first win since July 8 against Florida.
Juan Gutierrez gained his 10th save of the year (ninth consecutive), forcing two ground outs and one fly out in the ninth. Gutierrez hit Hernandez in the ninth inning with two outs.
Jared Burton made his 2010 debut for the Reds in the ninth inning where he recorded a scoreless inning. Logan Ondrusek pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Reds now hit the road for a nine-game road trip starting with the Houston Astros for three, followed with three against the Milwaukee and three with the Padres. They return to GABP on Tuesday, Sept. 28 with a three-game set with the Astros.
GAME NOTES: In his previous start Volquez went seven innings, allowing one hit and one walk with 10 strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates … Brandon Phillips had the day off. He was batting .127 in his last 13 games … The Reds are in first place for 32 straight days … Cincinnati is 54-25 against teams with below .500 records and 29-39 against teams with winning marks … The Diamondbacks are managed by 1988 World Series hero Kirk Gibson … In the second inning, Volquez retired three straight batters with fly outs to each outfielder … Orlando Cabrera snapped a four-game hitting streak where he was 8-for-21 with a .381 average … The Reds lost for only the 19th time this season when stealing a base (Stubbs, 25th) … Cincinnati pitching struck out the Diamondbacks 47 times in the four-game series … Attendance for the game was 22,090.
BOX SCORE
ARZ 000 030 000 — 3 6 0
CIN 100 000 000 — 1 8 0
LOB: ARZ 5, CIN 6
Game Time: 2:38
WP: R. Lopez (6-14)
LP: E. Volquez (3-3)[[In-content Ad]]
A three-run third by the Diamondbacks led to a 3-1 win over the first place Reds. The Reds hold an 7.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals who play later tonight against the NL West leading San Diego Padres.
The disaster inning by Volquez occurred in the top of the fifth when Miguel Montero and Ryan Church drew back-to-back walks to start the inning for the Diamondbacks. Gerardo Parra tied the game with a double to score Montero. A one-out double by Stephen Drew put Arizona up 2-1 with Church crossing home. Drew's RBI hit extended his hitting streak to seven games (12-for-29, .414 avg.). A base hit by Kelly Johnson gave the Diamondbacks a two-run lead, scoring Parra.
The tough day by Volquez ended in the seventh after he was replaced by Bill Bray after 6 2-3 innings. Bray finished the inning by striking out Johnson on a called third strike.
Volquez (3-3) had seven strikeouts, while allowing three runs (all earned) on six hits and two wild pitches. He threw 85 pitches, 52 for strikes. His ERA dropped to 4.99. Three of the seven strikeouts came in the fourth inning.
The Reds (83-64) scored their only run in the bottom of the first inning.
In the first, Jonny Gomes, who led Cincinnati with two hits, hit a pitch to the centerfield wall where the ball bounced out of the glove of Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young (who slammed into the wall) for a two base RBI double, scoring Drew Stubbs who took the bases with a leadoff single.
The remainder of the game Cincinnati managed to tally eight hits but were unable to knock any in for runs.
"We had a couple of opportunities, but we just didn't get them home," Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
After the two-hit first, the Reds managed to gain at least one hit in five of the next eight innings, including a two-hit fourth where they had two of the first three batters reach base.
The Cincinnati fourth began with a double by MVP candidate Joey Votto, followed with a one out single by Jay Bruce. Votto extended his current hitting streak to six games where he is batting .304 with two home runs and four RBIs. But the Reds were unable to bring any runners home with a fly out by Ramon Hernandez and a strikeout by Juan Francisco.
In the next three innings, the Reds had three hits coming off the bats of Volquez, Gomes and Paul Janish. Gomes had a base hit in the sixth with one out but was forced out at second when Jay Bruce hit into a double play to end the inning. Janish's hit came with two outs in the eighth.
The winning pitcher for Arizona was Rodrigo Lopez, who gained his sixth win of the season (6-14). He pitched seven innings, allowing one run (earned) on eight hits and no walks. He ended the day with four strikeouts on 98 pitches (69 strikes). Lopez had a seven-game losing streak before Thursday. It was his first win since July 8 against Florida.
Juan Gutierrez gained his 10th save of the year (ninth consecutive), forcing two ground outs and one fly out in the ninth. Gutierrez hit Hernandez in the ninth inning with two outs.
Jared Burton made his 2010 debut for the Reds in the ninth inning where he recorded a scoreless inning. Logan Ondrusek pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Reds now hit the road for a nine-game road trip starting with the Houston Astros for three, followed with three against the Milwaukee and three with the Padres. They return to GABP on Tuesday, Sept. 28 with a three-game set with the Astros.
GAME NOTES: In his previous start Volquez went seven innings, allowing one hit and one walk with 10 strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates … Brandon Phillips had the day off. He was batting .127 in his last 13 games … The Reds are in first place for 32 straight days … Cincinnati is 54-25 against teams with below .500 records and 29-39 against teams with winning marks … The Diamondbacks are managed by 1988 World Series hero Kirk Gibson … In the second inning, Volquez retired three straight batters with fly outs to each outfielder … Orlando Cabrera snapped a four-game hitting streak where he was 8-for-21 with a .381 average … The Reds lost for only the 19th time this season when stealing a base (Stubbs, 25th) … Cincinnati pitching struck out the Diamondbacks 47 times in the four-game series … Attendance for the game was 22,090.
BOX SCORE
ARZ 000 030 000 — 3 6 0
CIN 100 000 000 — 1 8 0
LOB: ARZ 5, CIN 6
Game Time: 2:38
WP: R. Lopez (6-14)
LP: E. Volquez (3-3)[[In-content Ad]]