Reds stymied in series finale
BOSTON -- The Reds brought their cameras to snap pictures of historic Fenway Park.
But they didn't bring their bats.
A 6-1 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday night wrapped up a three-game set in which the Reds were punchless at the plate and swept out of Beantown in their first return to the city since the '75 World Series.
Over the course of the series, the Reds managed just four runs on 15 hits to Boston's 23 runs on 36 hits. They didn't notch a single RBI in either of the last two games.
"We scored four runs in three games," manager Dave Miley said. "That's not necessarily a good thing."
Well, no. Not necessarily.
The Reds weren't necessarily expecting such a poor performance at the plate following a six-game homestand that saw them average 9.5 runs per game.
"We felt we were swinging the bats well coming in here," Joe Randa said. "It's kind of hard to put anything together when they're throwing strike one and keeping you off-balance."
This series was anything but balanced. The Red Sox never trailed in any of the three games, and the Reds never seemed to be in contention.
Though the offense could certainly shoulder the majority of the blame for that fact, the pitching staff didn't help matters much.
Even Aaron Harang, who's been nothing short of the Reds' ace all season, didn't have it under the Fenway lights. The 4 2/3 innings on Wednesday amounted to his shortest outing of '05. But it was long enough to put the Reds in a hole they would never climb out of.
Facing right-hander Bronson Arroyo, the Reds picked up right where they left off the previous night. They didn't repeat their one-hit wonder performance of a night before, but they did go hitless until two outs had passed in the third, when Luis Lopez finally lofted a single off the Green Monster.
That was one of only three Reds hits the Monster's manual scoreboard operator was required to post through six innings.
"Arroyo was on top of his game," Randa said. "He was throwing strikes on both sides of the plate. When a pitcher's able to throw both pitches -- an offspeed pitch and a fastball -- for strikes, it definitely keeps you off-balance. We didn't generate much."
And while the bats were flailing away unsuccessfully at Arroyo's pitches, the Red Sox were battering Harang (4-5).
Harang gave up five runs on nine hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. The back-to-back doubles he served up to Edgar Renteria and David Ortiz in the third gave the Sox their first run, but he really let them come alive in a four-run fifth that knocked him out of the game.
Johnny Damon and Renteria jumpstarted that inning with consecutive singles, the latter of which was fumbled by right fielder Wily Mo Pena. Ortiz knocked both runners in with a double off the Monster.
When Manny Ramirez doubled and Kevin Millar drew a one-out walk to load the bases, it was clear Harang was struggling.
"I wasn't on tonight," the right-hander said. "I was leaving pitches up. I didn't get ahead early, so I was pitching behind to an offense that thrives on situations where a pitcher's behind in the count."
Bill Mueller thrived on that situation when he stepped up and drove in another pair of runs with a single over the head of second baseman Ryan Freel to make it 5-0. That was it for Harang, and that was basically it for the Reds, too.
They continued to go down without much incident as the game wore on. When Ken Griffey Jr. crossed the plate on a wild pitch by Arroyo (5-3) in the seventh, it was the first run scored by the Reds in 16 innings of play.
They were put out of their misery by reliever Keith Foulke in the ninth. And when Jason LaRue struck out swinging to make the final out and lost control of his bat in the process, it was a fitting ending to the series.
"You go four or five days where you swing the bats well, and three days here, where we scored four runs," Miley said. "They've got some good pitching. I guess we just have to make better adjustments."
Indeed, because any snapshots taken from this road trip were not worth saving for the scrapbook.
Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/
But they didn't bring their bats.
A 6-1 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday night wrapped up a three-game set in which the Reds were punchless at the plate and swept out of Beantown in their first return to the city since the '75 World Series.
Over the course of the series, the Reds managed just four runs on 15 hits to Boston's 23 runs on 36 hits. They didn't notch a single RBI in either of the last two games.
"We scored four runs in three games," manager Dave Miley said. "That's not necessarily a good thing."
Well, no. Not necessarily.
The Reds weren't necessarily expecting such a poor performance at the plate following a six-game homestand that saw them average 9.5 runs per game.
"We felt we were swinging the bats well coming in here," Joe Randa said. "It's kind of hard to put anything together when they're throwing strike one and keeping you off-balance."
This series was anything but balanced. The Red Sox never trailed in any of the three games, and the Reds never seemed to be in contention.
Though the offense could certainly shoulder the majority of the blame for that fact, the pitching staff didn't help matters much.
Even Aaron Harang, who's been nothing short of the Reds' ace all season, didn't have it under the Fenway lights. The 4 2/3 innings on Wednesday amounted to his shortest outing of '05. But it was long enough to put the Reds in a hole they would never climb out of.
Facing right-hander Bronson Arroyo, the Reds picked up right where they left off the previous night. They didn't repeat their one-hit wonder performance of a night before, but they did go hitless until two outs had passed in the third, when Luis Lopez finally lofted a single off the Green Monster.
That was one of only three Reds hits the Monster's manual scoreboard operator was required to post through six innings.
"Arroyo was on top of his game," Randa said. "He was throwing strikes on both sides of the plate. When a pitcher's able to throw both pitches -- an offspeed pitch and a fastball -- for strikes, it definitely keeps you off-balance. We didn't generate much."
And while the bats were flailing away unsuccessfully at Arroyo's pitches, the Red Sox were battering Harang (4-5).
Harang gave up five runs on nine hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. The back-to-back doubles he served up to Edgar Renteria and David Ortiz in the third gave the Sox their first run, but he really let them come alive in a four-run fifth that knocked him out of the game.
Johnny Damon and Renteria jumpstarted that inning with consecutive singles, the latter of which was fumbled by right fielder Wily Mo Pena. Ortiz knocked both runners in with a double off the Monster.
When Manny Ramirez doubled and Kevin Millar drew a one-out walk to load the bases, it was clear Harang was struggling.
"I wasn't on tonight," the right-hander said. "I was leaving pitches up. I didn't get ahead early, so I was pitching behind to an offense that thrives on situations where a pitcher's behind in the count."
Bill Mueller thrived on that situation when he stepped up and drove in another pair of runs with a single over the head of second baseman Ryan Freel to make it 5-0. That was it for Harang, and that was basically it for the Reds, too.
They continued to go down without much incident as the game wore on. When Ken Griffey Jr. crossed the plate on a wild pitch by Arroyo (5-3) in the seventh, it was the first run scored by the Reds in 16 innings of play.
They were put out of their misery by reliever Keith Foulke in the ninth. And when Jason LaRue struck out swinging to make the final out and lost control of his bat in the process, it was a fitting ending to the series.
"You go four or five days where you swing the bats well, and three days here, where we scored four runs," Miley said. "They've got some good pitching. I guess we just have to make better adjustments."
Indeed, because any snapshots taken from this road trip were not worth saving for the scrapbook.
Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/
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