The Reds dropped their fourth in a row Tuesday night, losing 9-5 to the Cubs at Wrigley.
For the first time this year Aaron Harang wasn’t lights-out. That fact combined with a poor bullpen performance spelled the fourth straight defeat for Cincinnati. The team that looked so efficient and solid in taking two of three from Arizona and Milwaukee seems like a completely different group from the one that had the nightmare weekend and the start to this series.
Offensively the performance tonight was marginally better, but still not good enough to win. The Reds managed to get just one run out of a bases loaded, no out situation courtesy of a Ken Griffey Jr. double play. He did provide the Reds’ second and third runs of the night with his second homer of the year, however, putting the Reds on top 3-2 at the time.
However, Harang wasn’t Harang. He was close on his pitch locations but if you look at the replays of the homers by Mark DeRosa in the second and Derek Lee in the fifth, Harang just missed Bako’s target, but missed into the hitting zone rather than missing outside. It’s amazing when you watch where mistake pitches go versus where the catcher framed it, how often the pitcher just barely missed the target. I wouldn’t say Harang was terrible; he wasn’t walking guys and didn’t make a ton of mistakes, but the Cubs have a good lineup. Everybody’s going to give up dingers to Derek Lee. Mark DeRosa, though, is not a guy you want beating you.
Lee’s homer made it 5-3. The Reds got one back in the top of the seventh to make it 5-4 on Jeff Keppinger’s fielder’s choice where he was robbed of a hit by Cubs 2B Mike Fontenot, playing there due to Alfonso Soriano’s weird leg injury in the first forcing Mark DeRosa to move from second to left field. Griffey’s double play ended the inning, the rally and effectively the night for the Cincinnati offense.
Joey Votto had a dinger leading off the ninth, his first of 2008. The end of the Milwaukee series and the Pirates series made it look as if he was coming out of his funk, and Dusty has rewarded him with regular starts. Votto didn’t seem to be seeing the ball well from Cubs starter Ryan Dempster; he had three poor at-bats off the Chicago starter, first striking out on three pitches, second getting behind 0-2 before fighting back to a full count and flying out, then grounding into a double play. So on the night… maybe he’s coming out of it, maybe he isn’t.
The bullpen had a rough night. The usually-nasty Jared Burton came into a one-run game in the seventh and gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Aramis Ramirez and DeRosa had the RBIs in the Cubs’ rally. Jeremy Affeldt got Felix Pie to end the inning, but the damage was done. The Cubs would get more in the eighth.
I don’t see how Todd Coffey can possibly be long for this team. He’s been just terrible this year, came into tonight with an ERA in the 7s and promptly gave up a two-run dinger to Ryan Theriot, the guy he’d relieved Jeremy Affeldt to face with one gone in the eighth. He’s got a good fastball with a lot of movement, but he’s really prone to mistakes, and it just killed him tonight. It’s getting to be an issue of how much the Reds are willing to put up with before saying enough is enough. Were I Dusty I wouldn’t have any confidence whatsoever inserting him in any situation other than a complete blowout game, either winning or losing side. It’s the only situation he seems to be able to consistently get batters out.
The loss drops the Reds to 6-8 on the year, losers of four straight after the solid start. Tomorrow Josh Fogg takes on Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano in one of the great pitching mismatches of all time. If the Reds are going to get a win in the Windy City, though, it had better come Wednesday; Thursday afternoon the Cubs throw a solid lefty in Ted Lilly, and you know what that means. Cincinnati is now in fifth place, four back of the Cardinals for the division lead.
Game time tomorrow is 8:05 Eastern, 5:05 here in paradise. Peace.
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