It continues to go south for the Arizona Diamondbacks as they dropped yet another game at home on Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds. Johnny Cueto earned his 17th win of the year which is best in the majors and the Reds dropped the Diamondbacks 5-2.
Johnny Cueto pitched seven innings and only surrendered four hits to the slumping D-backs. After manufacturing one run in the first inning on a Jason Kubel sacrifice fly Cueto's offense responded with three of their own in the second inning which was enough for the ace to earn his major league best 17th win.
"All I can promise is to try and keep going because I want to win 20 games," Cueto said through a translator to the Associated Press. "I felt better as the game went on. I was able to gather more strength and continue."
The Diamondbacks felt confident with a 1-0 lead and Wade Miley on the mound. The rookie Miley has been pitching extremely well in his last couple of outings and hasn't allowed a run in his last 14 innings pitched.
After a leadoff single in the second inning by Todd Frazier veteran third basemen Scott Rolen drew a walk in a 15-pitch at-bat that setup the Reds rally.
With runners on first and second and nobody out Miley faced Chris Heisey who was able to bloop a single to right field which loaded the bases. The first run of the inning then scored on a wild pitch from Miley. With runners on second and third Ryan Hanigan hit a single to center field that scored two runs and gave the Reds a 3-1 lead.
It was a tough trip for Miley through the bottom of the order and although he didn't make too many bad pitches it was the quality at-bat of Scott Rolen which made him expend his energy to get through the bottom of the Reds' order in the second inning.
"Yeah, it's frustrating," Miley told Steve Gilbert at MLB.com. "You feel like you're making pretty good pitches and guys are getting hits. It's just good at-bats. That's what they're supposed to do; that's what they're trying to do up there. I've got to make better pitches."
The D-backs got themselves back in the game in the fifth inning. Ryan Wheeler led off the inning with a single off of Cueto. After shortstop John McDonald grounded into a fielder's choice Gerardo Parra hit his second double of the night to drive in McDonald to shrink the Reds' lead to one run.
Miley was able to calm down after the second inning and kept his team in the game. Miley pitched seven innings with five strikeouts and besides the three runs in the second he held the Reds scoreless for six innings.
Kirk Gibson brought the recently acquired Matt Lindstrom in from the bullpen to face the Reds in the eighth inning. Lindstrom failed to retire the first three batters he faced and gave up three consecutive hits. Brandon Phillips and Ryan Ludwick led off the inning with back to back singles. Todd Frazier then tripled to center field to score both runners and the Reds had a 5-2 lead which sucked the life out of the D-backs.
Lindstrom was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade involving Joe Saunders, the former left-handed starter for the Diamondbacks. It was a rough start for Lindstrom to say the least in his debut with Diamondbacks. Prior to tonight's game Lindstrom had a 2.72 ERA with the Orioles.
The Diamondbacks now have dropped five straight games and are 2-7 on the current homestand. The Reds will throw another tough starter in Matt Latos in a day game tomorrow against the young left hander Patrick Corbin. Latos is 10-4 with a 3.82 ERA this year and Corbin sports a 5-5 record with a 3.91 ERA.
Despite being without their injured star Joey Votto the Cincinnati Reds currently boast the best record in the major league and will be looking for their 80th win of the season on Wednesday. The Diamondbacks seek some much needed confidence tomorrow as they try to avoid consecutive sweeps at home. After Wednesday's game they prepare for a road trip against three division rivals in the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres.
Tags: Arizona, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baseball, Cincinnati Reds, Joe Saunders, Johnny Cueto, Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, San Diego Padres, Wade Miley
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