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Cincinnati Reds close out winless homestand with 8th straight loss overall, 5-4 to Arizona

gordon wittenmyer, cincinnati enquirer
·4 min read
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While talking a few days ago about the gauntlet of contenders and pitchers on the schedule the past couple weeks, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India immediately mentioned the other gauntlet:

“The travel I think is the biggest thing for us,” India said. “I haven’t traveled as much in the beginning of a year. It’s a lot of travel.”

Uh-oh.

The Reds’ longest road trip of the year, both in terms of games and miles from home, starts Friday night in San Francisco.

Hunter Greene pitched into the sixth inning Thursday but had to battle much of the day. He allowed three earned runs, two of which scored after he had left the game, on four hits and five walks.
Hunter Greene pitched into the sixth inning Thursday but had to battle much of the day. He allowed three earned runs, two of which scored after he had left the game, on four hits and five walks.

And it just got a lot longer after their biggest comeback and biggest scoring output of the month went for naught in a 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks that dropped these playoff-minded Reds to their eighth consecutive loss — their longest losing streak since a nine-gamer capped that historically bad 3-22 start in 2022.

Thursday’s loss on Corbin Carroll’s run-scoring single in the eighth — after the Reds rallied for three runs to tie it in the seventh — finished off the Reds’ first winless homestand since June of that 100-loss ’22 season and made them just 4-12 since opening a six-week stretch of games against nothing but playoff contenders.

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As if that didn’t look rough enough, this team that scored more than three runs in a game for the first time this month Thursday gets three more games against the defending NL champs in Arizona after the Giants three game series — followed by seven games in 11 days against Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and the $300 million, NL-favorite Los Angeles Dodgers. Four Dodgers games are in L.A. with three at GABP.

Playoffs?

PLAYOFFS?!

Did somebody say playoffs?

The Reds have a lot of season left to climb out of the hole they’ve dug these last few weeks. They had the same 16-21 record at the 37-game mark a year ago before going on a four-month surge that put them in contention for a playoff spot.

Will Benson slides into second base with a double in the fifth inning Thursday. Benson also had a walk and two strikeouts.
Will Benson slides into second base with a double in the fifth inning Thursday. Benson also had a walk and two strikeouts.

But even that start didn’t include an eight-game losing streak.

Only twice in franchise history have the Reds made the playoffs after a season in which they had an eight-game losing streak.

On the bright side, they went to the World Series both of those years, in 1990 and 1961.

On the other hand, heads up Friday. No Reds team has ever lost nine in a row and gone on to make the playoffs.

Did somebody say heads up?

For the added life the lineup showed Thursday compared to recent weeks, they ran themselves out of multiple scoring chances.

Elly De La Cruz is picked off second in the sixth inning Thursday. He later delivered a run-scoring single in the Reds' tying rally in the seventh.
Elly De La Cruz is picked off second in the sixth inning Thursday. He later delivered a run-scoring single in the Reds' tying rally in the seventh.

That included Elly De La Cruz leading off the sixth with a walk, stealing second and then getting picked off as he broke for third as Logan Allen whirled to second.

Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin called the mistake “unacceptable” during the Reds game broadcast.

It looked especially costly when Spencer Steer followed with a walk, followed by a Jake Fraley single. The Reds didn’t score in the inning.

After producing their first inning of more than a run this month — rallying to tie in the seventh on a De La Cruz RBI single and two-run single by Steer — the Reds had speedy pinch-runner Stuart Fairchild on first with one out in the eighth, trailing by a run.

But he lost track of Jeimer Candelario’s fly to center as he slid into second on a steal attempt and was easily thrown out at first for the inning-ending double play.

Bell suggested those plays will get addressed but also operates from an aggressive stance when it comes to managing the Reds’ formidable team speed.

As for what can be done in a broader sense after yet another close loss that dropped them to 1-7 in one-run games — after leading the league in one-run wins last year.

“It’s all my responsibility,” Bell said. “It’s a players game for sure but of course that’s my job. We’re all definitely working hard. It’s a team effort. We came up short today. The big thing for us is it’s no more than that. We came up short. But we can’t continue to dwell on that.

“We’ve got obviously a long way to go. Every single game’s incredibly important to us. And then we move forward.”

Forward is westward for now. And what looks like the toughest road trip in at least two or three years.

India’s gauntlet.

“Especially going west coast and coming back so much,” he said. “It’s definitely tough on our bodies and sleep schedules. But that’s part of it. And I think we’re making the best of it.”

One more time. One more, long trip.

And if they can come away from the road trip with even a few wins, the schedule loosens and the final four months of the season has a chance to open up.

“We definitely expect more out of ourselves,” India said. “But we’re fighting.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds lose 5-4 to Diamondbacks as losing streak hits 8