Cardinals 5, Reds 2

Guaranteed Loss Night. Just after you witness what a great team the Reds could be after they put a win together like last night, they go out and do the usual: solid starting pitching, not enough hits, shaky defense, and a give-it-up bullpen.

NOTABLE THINGS

Pitching: Bronson Arroyo goes 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and a walk, K'ing 2, and ends up with an earned run, bringing his ERA further down to 2.86. What more do you want from the guy? And yet, you know the Reds will lose when he pitches. It's been done all 5 starts, while Arroyo personally remains at 0-3. Hard to be that man, but hopefully it won't get to him. Just sad is all. A great effort. SaarLOSE came on in the 8th and didn't get anybody out, walking 2 and allowing 2 hits, giving up 4 runs, 2 of them earned. Once again, I ask if you remember how we wanted this guy to be our 5th starter and were pumped up to have him in the bullpen. Do you remember? I do, because I was excited. Not anymore. Coutlangus came on and got his out, then Santos got the remaining two outs, giving up a walk.

Hitting: Hamilton was pretty much the only highligh, leading off and going 1/3 with his 6th homer of the year. Dunn hit a double and Hatteberg knocked him in for a single in the 9th. Alez Gonzalez had the most hits with 2, but they didn't amount to anything. Good to see him doing so well, though. The Reds didn't put up much of a fight offensively, but they leave their fair share of men on base. That's a stat that I haven't looked through. Most times a man has been left on base. I am sure the Reds are pretty dang high in that category, due to a fair amount of hits but not a lot of RBI's. Somebody should check that out.

Fielding & such: Gonzo was the culprit again, and now I'm REALLY not buying into the defense only approach from this guy, just like Narron, who tells people constantly he wasn't signed only for his defense, but you can tell with his offense that Gonzo is a good player. And that's been true, but now he's all about offense, as he makes his 3rd error of the year, and maybe the most costly one of the season. His bad throw allowed a run to score on the actual play and prolonged the inning, adding another run on a sacrifice fly that would not have happened if the throw was made. Score could have been 3-1 Cardinals, and sure the Reds only got one run but maybe mentally they would have been ready to get 2 runs instead of having to get 4. It's hard to get on a guy like Gonzo when he has been swinging the bat very well and had some great moments in defense, but I'm pretty sure we signed him to be flawless defensively and he hasn't been that. Maybe that's a high standard, but he was treated like a god so maybe he should act like one.