Pair of home runs not enough for Reds
CINCINNATI -- The offense is asking the pitching staff to be perfect, and the pitching staff is asking the offense to show a little life.
Negotiations between the Reds' two sides are at a standstill these days.
What's not at a standstill is the Reds' losing streak, which grew to four games with Thursday night's 5-2 loss to the Braves in front of 23,362 at Great American Ball Park.
Brandon Claussen fought an uphill battle in each of his 5 2/3 innings of work, and the offense, save for a pair of solo home runs from Joe Randa and Adam Dunn, did little to counter against John Smoltz.
You can take the team out of Fenway, but you can't take the Fenway funk out of the team. The Reds struggled just as much in their home environment as they did during the three-game sweep in Boston this week.
"Basically, that's how it's been the last four games," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "We've been falling behind early to some good pitchers."
The Reds were behind early -- very early -- in this one when Claussen (3-4) gave up a home run to leadoff man Rafael Furcal on the fourth pitch of the game. Toss in a single by Marcus Giles, a double by Andruw Jones and a sacrifice fly from Andy Marte, and the Reds found themselves in a 2-0 hole before their first at-bat.
A tone had been established for Claussen's brief outing, in which he let the leadoff hitter either homer or reach base in each inning he pitched.
"I didn't have one easy inning out there," he said. "My back was up against the wall."
So was the collective back of the Reds. And that wall wasn't budging with Smoltz (6-5) on the mound.
His eight innings of work, in which he gave up just two runs on four hits with no walks and nine strikeouts, were a simple case of domination of a club dealing with a lumber shortage.
"We've been facing guys who are throwing the ball well," Dunn said. "When [Smoltz] is locating all his pitches like he was tonight, it's tough. It seems like the last four games, we've struggled offensively and the pitchers have been on their game."
Even when Smoltz made his first mistake in the fourth -- a 1-2 pitch left over the middle for Randa that resulted in a solo home run to right-center -- his offense was ready to counter.
Brandon Claussen / P
Born: 05/01/79
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: L
More info:
Player page
Stats | Splits
Gallery
Team Site | Shop
This time around, it was Giles who led off an inning with a homer off Claussen, sending the left-hander's first pitch of the fifth into the right-field seats to make it 3-1.
Still, for all his troubles at the outset of each inning, Claussen did pitch his way out of some jams. He also struck out a career-high nine batters. But the combination of those two feats ran his pitch count up to 107 midway through the sixth.
Claussen said that count wasn't aided by home plate umpire Jerry Meals.
"The outer half of the plate was taken away from me," Claussen said. "I don't throw 95 mph, and if they don't give me the outer half, that's like fighting with one arm behind my back. So I had to pitch a different ballgame and start challenging guys on the other half. And if you pitch in and you don't get it in there, they're going to hit the ball."
The Braves didn't have any trouble hitting the ball against reliever Matt Belisle, either. They also didn't have any trouble working the basepaths against the young right-hander.
Julio Franco got on board in the seventh with a leadoff single against Belisle, then proceeded to steal second and third base. That made for an easy RBI double for Johnny Estrada later in the inning.
It was the first time since July 17, 1994, that the 46-year-old Franco stole two bases in a game. Belisle was all of 14 years old that last time.
Miley, to say the least, wasn't pleased with what he saw.
Adam Dunn / LF
Born: 11/09/79
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 240 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: R
More info:
Player page
Stats | Splits
Gallery
Team Site | Shop
"Basically, [Belisle] fell asleep," Miley said. "He was in one-look mode, and Mr. Franco took advantage of it."
The 43-year-old Miley showed respect of his elders with that remark. But this game and the three that preceded it had to make him feel older than he is.
If home runs carried additional worth for length, perhaps Dunn's 455-foot solo blast over the center-field batter's eye would have brought the Reds back in this one.
"It's only four games, but it is frustrating," Dunn said of the losing skid. "Especially with the way we put up runs before that."
The Reds aren't putting up many runs these days, and the pitching staff isn't doing its part, either. Perhaps both sides are in need of a change in bargaining stance.
Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/
Negotiations between the Reds' two sides are at a standstill these days.
What's not at a standstill is the Reds' losing streak, which grew to four games with Thursday night's 5-2 loss to the Braves in front of 23,362 at Great American Ball Park.
Brandon Claussen fought an uphill battle in each of his 5 2/3 innings of work, and the offense, save for a pair of solo home runs from Joe Randa and Adam Dunn, did little to counter against John Smoltz.
You can take the team out of Fenway, but you can't take the Fenway funk out of the team. The Reds struggled just as much in their home environment as they did during the three-game sweep in Boston this week.
"Basically, that's how it's been the last four games," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "We've been falling behind early to some good pitchers."
The Reds were behind early -- very early -- in this one when Claussen (3-4) gave up a home run to leadoff man Rafael Furcal on the fourth pitch of the game. Toss in a single by Marcus Giles, a double by Andruw Jones and a sacrifice fly from Andy Marte, and the Reds found themselves in a 2-0 hole before their first at-bat.
A tone had been established for Claussen's brief outing, in which he let the leadoff hitter either homer or reach base in each inning he pitched.
"I didn't have one easy inning out there," he said. "My back was up against the wall."
So was the collective back of the Reds. And that wall wasn't budging with Smoltz (6-5) on the mound.
His eight innings of work, in which he gave up just two runs on four hits with no walks and nine strikeouts, were a simple case of domination of a club dealing with a lumber shortage.
"We've been facing guys who are throwing the ball well," Dunn said. "When [Smoltz] is locating all his pitches like he was tonight, it's tough. It seems like the last four games, we've struggled offensively and the pitchers have been on their game."
Even when Smoltz made his first mistake in the fourth -- a 1-2 pitch left over the middle for Randa that resulted in a solo home run to right-center -- his offense was ready to counter.
Brandon Claussen / P
Born: 05/01/79
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: L
More info:
Player page
Stats | Splits
Gallery
Team Site | Shop
This time around, it was Giles who led off an inning with a homer off Claussen, sending the left-hander's first pitch of the fifth into the right-field seats to make it 3-1.
Still, for all his troubles at the outset of each inning, Claussen did pitch his way out of some jams. He also struck out a career-high nine batters. But the combination of those two feats ran his pitch count up to 107 midway through the sixth.
Claussen said that count wasn't aided by home plate umpire Jerry Meals.
"The outer half of the plate was taken away from me," Claussen said. "I don't throw 95 mph, and if they don't give me the outer half, that's like fighting with one arm behind my back. So I had to pitch a different ballgame and start challenging guys on the other half. And if you pitch in and you don't get it in there, they're going to hit the ball."
The Braves didn't have any trouble hitting the ball against reliever Matt Belisle, either. They also didn't have any trouble working the basepaths against the young right-hander.
Julio Franco got on board in the seventh with a leadoff single against Belisle, then proceeded to steal second and third base. That made for an easy RBI double for Johnny Estrada later in the inning.
It was the first time since July 17, 1994, that the 46-year-old Franco stole two bases in a game. Belisle was all of 14 years old that last time.
Miley, to say the least, wasn't pleased with what he saw.
Adam Dunn / LF
Born: 11/09/79
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 240 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: R
More info:
Player page
Stats | Splits
Gallery
Team Site | Shop
"Basically, [Belisle] fell asleep," Miley said. "He was in one-look mode, and Mr. Franco took advantage of it."
The 43-year-old Miley showed respect of his elders with that remark. But this game and the three that preceded it had to make him feel older than he is.
If home runs carried additional worth for length, perhaps Dunn's 455-foot solo blast over the center-field batter's eye would have brought the Reds back in this one.
"It's only four games, but it is frustrating," Dunn said of the losing skid. "Especially with the way we put up runs before that."
The Reds aren't putting up many runs these days, and the pitching staff isn't doing its part, either. Perhaps both sides are in need of a change in bargaining stance.
Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/
<< Home