Cincinnati stumbles against Brewers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds' chances of winning two games in a row and securing the series win against the Milwaukee Brewers stumbled Saturday afternoon with a 6-0 shutout loss at Great American Ball Park.
The loss in front of 37,519 comes one day following a 10-inning win by the Reds, making Sunday's winner also the winner of this three-game series. Before Saturday's loss, the Reds were 4-0 against the Brewers this season.
Last season, the Reds went 9-6 against the Brewers, who are 28-39 on the season. The Reds fall to 41-28 with the loss, in second place in the NL Central, 3.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Everybody is operating on a low energy level, but you still have to play and you still have to hustle," Reds manager Dusty Baker said, who celebrated his 67th birthday Saturday. "It seems like we have to address it a couple times a year, and we'll address it.
"At this point in time, we shouldn't really have to address it, but it seems a couple times a year you really have to. It shows up in situations usually when something happened and you get pulled off the bag … I'm not going to harp on it, but we'll address it."
This was the first home shutout for the Reds since Aug. 31, 2011 against the Philadelphia Phillies. This game also marked the first time the Brewers have shut out a team this season.
Milwaukee scored first, with a two-run second. The first run crossed the plate with Jonathan Lucroy scoring on a wild pitch by Homer Bailey, allowing Logan Schafer, who singled to centerfield and stole second, to move to third base on the wild pitch.
Schafer scored on a sacrifice fly to to centerfield by Juan Francisco for the two-run lead.
From there, scoring just didn't go in favor of the home team.
That was just the beginning for the former Red. In his next at-bat in the fifth inning, Francisco just kept the ball fair, hitting his sixth home run of the season to the corner of the left-field foul pole (344 feet), scoring not only himself, but Schafer (who doubled to lead off the inning) for a 4-0 lead with no outs. Also in the inning, Norichika Aoki doubled to right field with two outs.
"I made a couple mistakes they hit down the line, and they put a couple good pitches in play," Reds starter Homer Bailey said. "It is a tough one to swallow. It was either walking a bunch of people, or they were banging them off the walls.
"We saw a Great American home run again … what do you do? It looks like it is going foul, hangs in the air for about 20 minutes and get out by about two feet. It is just the ball park we play in. I think it is the first one I've given up here all year."
The Brewers continued to add to their lead in the sixth, lighting up the home team for two more runs and a six-run advantage. The scoring began with Aramis Ramirez forcing a walk, followed by a single to centerfield by Lucroy. Schafer continued to do whatever he felt like doing to the Reds at the plate, this time hitting his second double. The two-base hit went to the corner of left field, scoring Ramirez and Schafer. When trying to convert the double into three bases, Schafer was thrown out at third.
The winning pitcher was Yovani Gallardo. The right-hander pitched six shutout innings, walking just two and striking out five in 96 total pitches. Gallardo (6-6) even had a base hit of his own, a single to right field to lead off the third inning.
"He had a lot to do with it," Baker said of the Reds' play. "When he's on, he's tough as it gets. He's an all-star, so don't let his ERA or record fool you. When he's on, he's very tough.
"Like I've always said, I don't like to see a good pitcher one game under .500 because he'll pitch his best game to get back to .500. When I looked up at his record being 5-6 (before the game), I was like, 'Oh man.' He can pitch, we didn't muster much off him."
Bailey (4-5) was charged with the loss. Bailey, a right-hander, went seven innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and one walk. He struck out four and had two wild pitches.
Bailey has a 3.40 ERA at GABP this season, consisting of seven games and 45 innings pitched (has allowed 17 earned runs in that span).
"They are kind of a tough team to pitch to," Bailey said of pitching to the Brewers. "They swing early and often, and we knew that going in. We were into some good counts, but when trying to get deeper into a count or trying to set things up, they automatically ambush you."
"That's more what happened (Saturday). They are a good hitting team, and their record doesn't indicate how good of a hitting team they are."
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Cincinnati had opportunities in the early innings as they left three runners stranded off two hits and one walk in innings two and three.
In the second, Jay Bruce walked with one out, but it became the second out of the inning off a fielder's choice hit into by Todd Frazier. Xavier Paul gave the Reds another base runner with a single to centerfield, but the inning ended with a fly out.
Bruce is batting .395 in his last nine games (15-for-38).
The Reds left Zack Cozart stranded in the third following a two-out infield single and were retired in order in the fourth.
The fifth inning was almost a repeat of the third with Ryan Hanigan being left stranded on the bases following a one-out hit, and again, in the ensuing inning, the Reds were retired in order.
One of the better chances to score their first runs of the contest was squandered in the seventh with two runners left standing on the bases. Bruce led off the inning with a single to centerfield, and two outs later, Hanigan gained his second hit, this time with a base hit to left field. Pinch-hitter Donald Lutz was unable to bring them in as he struck out to end the inning.
Again, Cincinnati had a lead-off base runner in Shin-Soo Choo to start the eighth, but a 6-4-3 double play gave the Reds two outs. Joey Votto ended the inning with a fly out to left field.
The ninth was no better for the Reds, as they were too far back to make a comeback. Bruce hit a double to the centerfield wall with one out.
J.J. Hoover and Manny Parra pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings for the Reds in relief of Bailey.
For Milwaukee, Tom Gorzelanny, Donovan Hand and Jim Henderson kept the shutout intact.
GAME NOTES: This was the 79th shutout in GABP history … Reds relievers have an ERA of 1.20 in past five games (15 innings, two earned runs) … Todd Frazier had his hitting streak snapped at four games … Brandon Phillips had his six-game hitting streak snapped … Xavier Paul is batting .301 in his last 24 appearances at the plate … Zack Cozart has a five-game hitting streak.
The loss in front of 37,519 comes one day following a 10-inning win by the Reds, making Sunday's winner also the winner of this three-game series. Before Saturday's loss, the Reds were 4-0 against the Brewers this season.
Last season, the Reds went 9-6 against the Brewers, who are 28-39 on the season. The Reds fall to 41-28 with the loss, in second place in the NL Central, 3.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Everybody is operating on a low energy level, but you still have to play and you still have to hustle," Reds manager Dusty Baker said, who celebrated his 67th birthday Saturday. "It seems like we have to address it a couple times a year, and we'll address it.
"At this point in time, we shouldn't really have to address it, but it seems a couple times a year you really have to. It shows up in situations usually when something happened and you get pulled off the bag … I'm not going to harp on it, but we'll address it."
This was the first home shutout for the Reds since Aug. 31, 2011 against the Philadelphia Phillies. This game also marked the first time the Brewers have shut out a team this season.
Milwaukee scored first, with a two-run second. The first run crossed the plate with Jonathan Lucroy scoring on a wild pitch by Homer Bailey, allowing Logan Schafer, who singled to centerfield and stole second, to move to third base on the wild pitch.
Schafer scored on a sacrifice fly to to centerfield by Juan Francisco for the two-run lead.
From there, scoring just didn't go in favor of the home team.
That was just the beginning for the former Red. In his next at-bat in the fifth inning, Francisco just kept the ball fair, hitting his sixth home run of the season to the corner of the left-field foul pole (344 feet), scoring not only himself, but Schafer (who doubled to lead off the inning) for a 4-0 lead with no outs. Also in the inning, Norichika Aoki doubled to right field with two outs.
"I made a couple mistakes they hit down the line, and they put a couple good pitches in play," Reds starter Homer Bailey said. "It is a tough one to swallow. It was either walking a bunch of people, or they were banging them off the walls.
"We saw a Great American home run again … what do you do? It looks like it is going foul, hangs in the air for about 20 minutes and get out by about two feet. It is just the ball park we play in. I think it is the first one I've given up here all year."
The Brewers continued to add to their lead in the sixth, lighting up the home team for two more runs and a six-run advantage. The scoring began with Aramis Ramirez forcing a walk, followed by a single to centerfield by Lucroy. Schafer continued to do whatever he felt like doing to the Reds at the plate, this time hitting his second double. The two-base hit went to the corner of left field, scoring Ramirez and Schafer. When trying to convert the double into three bases, Schafer was thrown out at third.
The winning pitcher was Yovani Gallardo. The right-hander pitched six shutout innings, walking just two and striking out five in 96 total pitches. Gallardo (6-6) even had a base hit of his own, a single to right field to lead off the third inning.
"He had a lot to do with it," Baker said of the Reds' play. "When he's on, he's tough as it gets. He's an all-star, so don't let his ERA or record fool you. When he's on, he's very tough.
"Like I've always said, I don't like to see a good pitcher one game under .500 because he'll pitch his best game to get back to .500. When I looked up at his record being 5-6 (before the game), I was like, 'Oh man.' He can pitch, we didn't muster much off him."
Bailey (4-5) was charged with the loss. Bailey, a right-hander, went seven innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and one walk. He struck out four and had two wild pitches.
Bailey has a 3.40 ERA at GABP this season, consisting of seven games and 45 innings pitched (has allowed 17 earned runs in that span).
"They are kind of a tough team to pitch to," Bailey said of pitching to the Brewers. "They swing early and often, and we knew that going in. We were into some good counts, but when trying to get deeper into a count or trying to set things up, they automatically ambush you."
"That's more what happened (Saturday). They are a good hitting team, and their record doesn't indicate how good of a hitting team they are."
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Cincinnati had opportunities in the early innings as they left three runners stranded off two hits and one walk in innings two and three.
In the second, Jay Bruce walked with one out, but it became the second out of the inning off a fielder's choice hit into by Todd Frazier. Xavier Paul gave the Reds another base runner with a single to centerfield, but the inning ended with a fly out.
Bruce is batting .395 in his last nine games (15-for-38).
The Reds left Zack Cozart stranded in the third following a two-out infield single and were retired in order in the fourth.
The fifth inning was almost a repeat of the third with Ryan Hanigan being left stranded on the bases following a one-out hit, and again, in the ensuing inning, the Reds were retired in order.
One of the better chances to score their first runs of the contest was squandered in the seventh with two runners left standing on the bases. Bruce led off the inning with a single to centerfield, and two outs later, Hanigan gained his second hit, this time with a base hit to left field. Pinch-hitter Donald Lutz was unable to bring them in as he struck out to end the inning.
Again, Cincinnati had a lead-off base runner in Shin-Soo Choo to start the eighth, but a 6-4-3 double play gave the Reds two outs. Joey Votto ended the inning with a fly out to left field.
The ninth was no better for the Reds, as they were too far back to make a comeback. Bruce hit a double to the centerfield wall with one out.
J.J. Hoover and Manny Parra pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings for the Reds in relief of Bailey.
For Milwaukee, Tom Gorzelanny, Donovan Hand and Jim Henderson kept the shutout intact.
GAME NOTES: This was the 79th shutout in GABP history … Reds relievers have an ERA of 1.20 in past five games (15 innings, two earned runs) … Todd Frazier had his hitting streak snapped at four games … Brandon Phillips had his six-game hitting streak snapped … Xavier Paul is batting .301 in his last 24 appearances at the plate … Zack Cozart has a five-game hitting streak.