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Reds lose ground in division race as 'pen
falters
Arroyo's solid
start wasted as Brewers rally back late
reds.com
MILWAUKEE -- The Reds were sitting pretty with less than three innings
to play on Sunday, firmly grasping a 5-1 lead against a Brewers offense
that had done essentially nothing through six innings against starter
Bronson Arroyo.
Then the wheels fell off.
Late walks turned into late Milwaukee runs, and Carlos Gomez took the
air out of the Reds' dugout with a game-saving catch that elicited déjà
vu for the visitors before Sean Halton sent them packing with a
walk-off solo home run and a knot in their stomachs.
The result was a 6-5 Reds loss, their fourth in the last six games
against the Cubs and Brewers -- each battling to stay out of the
National League Central-division cellar, while the Reds are lobbying
for a playoff position.
"That's probably as crushing of a defeat as we've had all year," Arroyo
said.
The Reds were in position to keep pace in the NL Central, but instead,
Cincinnati is now 3 1/2 games behind the Pirates and the Cardinals, who
both won on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Nationals closed to within 4 1/2
games of the Reds for the second NL Wild Card spot.
"Boy, that really hurts big time," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
"You've got to feel the sting today and get over it tomorrow because
we've got another series tomorrow. This does hurt. It really hurts."
The Reds start a three-game series with the Astros on Monday before a
pivotal three-game weekend set with the Pirates to conclude
Cincinnati's final road trip of the season.
But they were just happy to escape Miller Park on Sunday.
After taking five of the season's first six meetings against the
Brewers, the Reds dropped eight of the final 13 to their NL Central
rivals, including six of 10 in Milwaukee.
On Aug. 16, the Reds lost a game at Miller Park when Jonathan Lucroy
launched a two-run walk-off home run against closer Aroldis Chapman.
OnJuly 9, Cincinnati came up just short when Gomez leaped to take away
what would have been a go-ahead home run from Joey Votto for the final
out.
Gomez was at it again on Sunday.
After the Brewers tied the game at 5 with three runs in the eighth
inning, Jay Bruce sent a ninth-inning Jim Henderson pitch over Gomez's
head in center field that looked like it might have carried over the
center-field wall for a three-run home run. But Gomez had other plans
as he jumped high to grab the ball before crashing into the wall, much
like he did more than two months ago to Votto.
It was not clear if the ball would have carried over the wall had it
eluded Gomez, but if it was on its way over, it would be the fifth
robbed home run for Gomez this year.
For the rest of this story and more, go to reds.com
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