Bullpen dooms Reds in late innings
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CINCINNATI — The L.A. Dodgers just wouldn't go away.
The Reds held a five-run lead, lost it. They kept the score tied through 10 innings, then lost that. Losing both the lead and the tie, that left only one thing, and the Reds lost that, too … the game.
In an 11th inning where Carlos Fisher imploded by allowing four runs (three earned), the Dodgers defeated the Reds 11-8, Saturday at Great American Ball Park.
Fisher (0-3) had a variety of problems in his relief appearance, after which he was charged with the loss.
"It was a real tough way to lose it, especially making mistakes like throwing the ball away and not covering first base," Fisher said. "Just can't do that here. You are going to get hit and walk guys, but you have to play strong defense."
Cincinnati (30-29) threatened in their half of the 11th, scoring one run and bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs, but a win wasn't in the books for the third-place team in the NL Central.
Fisher pitched 2-3 of an inning, as he was the seventh of eight pitchers the Reds were forced to send to the mound.
The 11th inning for the Dodgers looked like this: a leadoff single by Juan Castro, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Dioner Navarro, a single by Tony Gwynn and an RBI base hit by Jamey Carroll (4-for-5) that scored Castro.
It kept going.
After the single by Carroll that gave the Dodgers the lead, Aaron Miles singled to right field, scoring Gwynn. Andre Ethier took first on an error, as Fisher threw the ball in the outfield on a force-out attempt at second, scoring Carroll. The fourth run of the inning was Miles, scoring on a fielder's choice by Kemp.
"It just kind of slipped. I stood up too tall and just babied it a little bit, Fisher said. "I should have tried to make a stronger throw, but it just got away from me.
"It was just a bad day all around for me."
The Reds led by five runs after seven innings, but that changed with the bat of Kemp.
Kemp, who tallied a career-high six RBIs, hit a lead-off home run in the seventh (off Johnny Cueto) and a grand slam in the eighth off of Logan Ondrusek, tying the game at seven.
"I made a bad pitch. He's a good hitter, and he did what he's supposed to do. He hit it out of the park," Ondrusek said. "It was supposed to be a fast ball in, but it stayed more around the middle, around the waist. We didn't do our job today as a whole … apparently it wasn't our day."
In the ninth, the Dodgers (27-32) had runners on first and second, but Jose Arredondo worked out of a jam to keep the game tied. Francisco Cordero pitched a scoreless 10th inning.
The Reds used eight pitchers on the day.
"We had some big insurance runs at the time, but I guess you can never have enough insurance runs," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "They hit some balls through the infield, and then the walk to Ethier and the grand slam by Kemp … We still had some opportunities, but the big hit eluded us."
Baker talked about his bullpen.
"Fisher had a tough time today … a real tough time," he said. "Then it just kind of came unglued. We were out a man (Edgar Renteria with a sore back), and we were out of pitching."
Early on, the Reds trailed 1-0, with just one hit in the first five innings. That changed in the sixth with a swing of the bat by the reigning NL MVP.
Joey Votto, who has two home runs this month, sent the baseball 378 feet over the right field wall, with two outs, bringing Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips along for the ride, putting the Reds in the lead at 3-1.
The Reds seemed to be in control, taking a 7-2 lead after seven innings, with a three-run, four-hit seventh.
Jay Bruce began the inning with a walk, but later on he became the second out in the inning when he was thrown out at the plate. Later on, two runs were scored on a hit to shallow centerfield by Chris Heisey, which scored Ramon Hernandez and Paul Janish. Stubbs doubled in Heisey, putting the Reds up five runs.
The Dodgers' first run came in a third inning with a two hits and two sacrifices. Dioner Navarro began the third with a lead-off single, advancng bases when he was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Clayton Kershaw, moved to third on a base hit by Carroll. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Miles.
For the way the 23-year-old Kershaw pitched in the first five innings (facing the minimum 15 batters), he seemed to lose his stuff in the sixth, and in the seventh it was gone as he was relieved by Mike MacDougal with two outs.
Kershaw pitched 6 2-3 innings, as he was perfect through the first 11 batters he faced. He finished by allowing six hits, six earned runs and two walks. He struck out nine.
Earning the win was Javy Guerra, the first of his career. In his 1 1-3 innings of relief, he allowed two hits and no runs.
Reds starter, Johnny Cueto had a no decision as he pitched seven innings. He allowed five hits, two earned runs and walked one. Cueto struck out three.
Cueto has five quality starts in '11, as he hasn't given up more than three runs in any start this season.
"Johnny threw a great game," Baker said.
GAME NOTES: Phillips broke an 0-for-13 skid in the sixth inning … Four Reds had two hits (Stubbs, Phillips, Votto, Hernandez) ... Votto has reached the bases safely 56 of his 58 appearances this season (He's hit safely in 20 of his last 24 games) … Jay Bruce has a six-game hitting streak … Heisey leads the Majors in pinch hitting with a .421 batting average (8-for-19) … Nick Masset snapped his streak of 7 straight scoreless innings … The Reds are 4-3 in extra-inning games this season … Miles and Casey Blake each had three hits for L.A. … The Reds had two errors … Time of game was 3:58 … the game was a sell-out.
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The Reds held a five-run lead, lost it. They kept the score tied through 10 innings, then lost that. Losing both the lead and the tie, that left only one thing, and the Reds lost that, too … the game.
In an 11th inning where Carlos Fisher imploded by allowing four runs (three earned), the Dodgers defeated the Reds 11-8, Saturday at Great American Ball Park.
Fisher (0-3) had a variety of problems in his relief appearance, after which he was charged with the loss.
"It was a real tough way to lose it, especially making mistakes like throwing the ball away and not covering first base," Fisher said. "Just can't do that here. You are going to get hit and walk guys, but you have to play strong defense."
Cincinnati (30-29) threatened in their half of the 11th, scoring one run and bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs, but a win wasn't in the books for the third-place team in the NL Central.
Fisher pitched 2-3 of an inning, as he was the seventh of eight pitchers the Reds were forced to send to the mound.
The 11th inning for the Dodgers looked like this: a leadoff single by Juan Castro, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Dioner Navarro, a single by Tony Gwynn and an RBI base hit by Jamey Carroll (4-for-5) that scored Castro.
It kept going.
After the single by Carroll that gave the Dodgers the lead, Aaron Miles singled to right field, scoring Gwynn. Andre Ethier took first on an error, as Fisher threw the ball in the outfield on a force-out attempt at second, scoring Carroll. The fourth run of the inning was Miles, scoring on a fielder's choice by Kemp.
"It just kind of slipped. I stood up too tall and just babied it a little bit, Fisher said. "I should have tried to make a stronger throw, but it just got away from me.
"It was just a bad day all around for me."
The Reds led by five runs after seven innings, but that changed with the bat of Kemp.
Kemp, who tallied a career-high six RBIs, hit a lead-off home run in the seventh (off Johnny Cueto) and a grand slam in the eighth off of Logan Ondrusek, tying the game at seven.
"I made a bad pitch. He's a good hitter, and he did what he's supposed to do. He hit it out of the park," Ondrusek said. "It was supposed to be a fast ball in, but it stayed more around the middle, around the waist. We didn't do our job today as a whole … apparently it wasn't our day."
In the ninth, the Dodgers (27-32) had runners on first and second, but Jose Arredondo worked out of a jam to keep the game tied. Francisco Cordero pitched a scoreless 10th inning.
The Reds used eight pitchers on the day.
"We had some big insurance runs at the time, but I guess you can never have enough insurance runs," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "They hit some balls through the infield, and then the walk to Ethier and the grand slam by Kemp … We still had some opportunities, but the big hit eluded us."
Baker talked about his bullpen.
"Fisher had a tough time today … a real tough time," he said. "Then it just kind of came unglued. We were out a man (Edgar Renteria with a sore back), and we were out of pitching."
Early on, the Reds trailed 1-0, with just one hit in the first five innings. That changed in the sixth with a swing of the bat by the reigning NL MVP.
Joey Votto, who has two home runs this month, sent the baseball 378 feet over the right field wall, with two outs, bringing Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips along for the ride, putting the Reds in the lead at 3-1.
The Reds seemed to be in control, taking a 7-2 lead after seven innings, with a three-run, four-hit seventh.
Jay Bruce began the inning with a walk, but later on he became the second out in the inning when he was thrown out at the plate. Later on, two runs were scored on a hit to shallow centerfield by Chris Heisey, which scored Ramon Hernandez and Paul Janish. Stubbs doubled in Heisey, putting the Reds up five runs.
The Dodgers' first run came in a third inning with a two hits and two sacrifices. Dioner Navarro began the third with a lead-off single, advancng bases when he was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Clayton Kershaw, moved to third on a base hit by Carroll. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Miles.
For the way the 23-year-old Kershaw pitched in the first five innings (facing the minimum 15 batters), he seemed to lose his stuff in the sixth, and in the seventh it was gone as he was relieved by Mike MacDougal with two outs.
Kershaw pitched 6 2-3 innings, as he was perfect through the first 11 batters he faced. He finished by allowing six hits, six earned runs and two walks. He struck out nine.
Earning the win was Javy Guerra, the first of his career. In his 1 1-3 innings of relief, he allowed two hits and no runs.
Reds starter, Johnny Cueto had a no decision as he pitched seven innings. He allowed five hits, two earned runs and walked one. Cueto struck out three.
Cueto has five quality starts in '11, as he hasn't given up more than three runs in any start this season.
"Johnny threw a great game," Baker said.
GAME NOTES: Phillips broke an 0-for-13 skid in the sixth inning … Four Reds had two hits (Stubbs, Phillips, Votto, Hernandez) ... Votto has reached the bases safely 56 of his 58 appearances this season (He's hit safely in 20 of his last 24 games) … Jay Bruce has a six-game hitting streak … Heisey leads the Majors in pinch hitting with a .421 batting average (8-for-19) … Nick Masset snapped his streak of 7 straight scoreless innings … The Reds are 4-3 in extra-inning games this season … Miles and Casey Blake each had three hits for L.A. … The Reds had two errors … Time of game was 3:58 … the game was a sell-out.
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