(06-05-2011 12:55 PM)ctipton Wrote:  “Sometimes you wake up stiff, and that’s what happened to him,” Baker said.

I remember those days.

(06-04-2011 07:17 PM)Bearcat04 Wrote:  Leave it up to Reds pitching to allow the collective group of Carroll, Miles, Gwynn Jr, and Castro to combine for 10 hits. Great work by the bullpen after being handed a 7-2 lead in the 8th.... 4 IP, 10 H, 9 R, and 4 BB.

Back to 4.5 games out.

.....and Paul Daugherty wrote an article questioning why fans don't go to more games. Hmmm.

Cards tie it up in the 9th with Cubs, 2-2.
Brewers beat Marlins late.
Pirates losing 7-3 in 9th, so Reds don't move into 4th place yet.

Another walk-off HR for Pujols, so now 5.5 games out.

Lindblom? loads the bases with no-outs and then turns into Mariano Rivera. It looks like it's going to be one of those years. The Dodgers have a **** offense and they just destroyed Reds pitching the last two games.

Travis Wood is a batting tee.

Pitcher Chad Billingsley's homer, double help Dodgers down Reds

Associated Press

CINCINNATI -- Chad Billingsley had trouble finding the exact words to describe his game-turning at-bats.

"I don't really know how to talk about hitting," the Dodgers pitcher said.

No problem. His perfectly timed swings needed little elaboration.

Billingsley drove in a career-high three runs with a homer, a double and a bases-loaded walk, and Los Angeles beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-6 on Sunday to extend its domination of the series.

Matt Kemp added a two-run homer -- his third in a sequence of five at-bats -- as the Dodgers improved to 28-10 against the Reds since 2006.

Billingsley (5-4) lasted only five innings, but helped himself build a big lead.

He hit a solo homer -- the second of his career -- in the second inning off Travis Wood (4-4). Billingsley drew a bases-loaded walk during the Dodgers' three-run third. His RBI double to the warning track in right field ended Wood's outing in the fifth and made it 8-4.

"Guys have been swinging the bats well lately," said Billingsley, batting .304 after his big game. "We jumped out on them early. I didn't have my best stuff from the get-go. I knew it was going to be a battle."

It ended with a rookie's great escape.

Josh Lindblom made his second big league appearance with none out in the ninth and loaded the bases. He retired Paul Janish on an infield fly, gave up a sacrifice fly to Chris Heisey and fanned Drew Stubbs to finish it.

"I think I was trying to be too fine to those first couple hitters, trying to get on the edges," Lindblom said. "I can't keep putting myself in those situations because eventually my luck's going to run out."

Los Angeles took two of three in the series, which included the Dodgers' biggest comeback win of the season. They rallied from five runs down to an 11-8 victory in 11 innings on Saturday that featured Kemp's solo homer, grand slam and season-high six RBIs.

Kemp's two-run shot off Wood in the first inning gave him 16 homers overall, one shy of Cincinnati's Jay Bruce for the NL lead. Kemp went 7-for-11 in the series with three homers and five walks.

"I feel real comfortable right now," he said. "I think a lot of us are. We've been swinging the bats really well."

Los Angeles won the last two games with long rallies, batting around three times in a span of seven innings. The Dodgers sent nine batters to the plate for three runs in the third.

Rod Barajas doubled over third base with two outs for a pair of runs, and Wood intentionally walked James Loney to load the bases and bring up Billingsley. Wood walked him as well, throwing a full-count fastball off the plate.

The left-hander gave up a career-high eight runs in 4 2/3 innings, putting more pressure on the NL's busiest bullpen. Reds relievers lead the league in innings.

Reds pitchers walked a season-high 10 batters -- two intentionally -- and four of them scored. The Dodgers had at least one baserunner in every inning and stranded 14 runners overall.

Stubbs hit a solo homer, and Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips drove in two runs apiece for the Reds, who have lost 13 of their last 18 games. They fell back to .500, a season-high 5 1/2 games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.

"That's just baseball," Heisey said. "No matter how good you are, you're going to have a stretch where things don't go your way, like the Red Sox at the beginning of the season. We're .500, but I think we're better. I know we're better."

Billingsley had a pivotal moment in the fifth, when the Reds got two runners aboard with two outs. The Reds sent up pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes, who was 5-for-7 against the right-hander with a homer. Billingsley got Gomes to line out to second baseman Aaron Miles.

Game notes
Billingsley's other homer was a solo shot off Josh Banks in San Diego on July 5, 2009. ... Reds manager Dusty Baker moved RHP Chad Reineke into the bullpen on Sunday, clearing the way for RHP Edinson Volquez to return from the minors and start on Tuesday against the Cubs. Baker said it's "a good maybe" that Volquez will be back. He was sent to the minors to fix his control problems. ... 3B Scott Rolen got the day off. He's got a bad cold and is in a 3-for-18 slump.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310605117

Chad Billingsley's bat helps Dodgers beat Reds, 9-6
The right-hander homers, doubles and walks with the bases loaded to make up for a shaky performance on the mound. Matt Kemp hits his 16th homer for the Dodgers, who have won three series in a row.


(Mark Lyons / EPA / June 5, 2011)
Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley (58) is congratulated by third base coach Tim Wallach after hitting a solo home run against the Reds in the second inning Sunday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

By Dylan Hernandez

June 5, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
Reporting from Cincinnati

Everyone hit for the Dodgers on Sunday.

Even the pitcher.

Make that, "especially the pitcher."

Chad Billingsley hit a home run and a double, drew a walk and drove in a career-high three runs in the Dodgers' 9-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

"Just on a hot streak, I guess," Billingsley said.

The Dodgers (28-32) might not be hot, but they're gradually edging their way toward respectability. With Matt Kemp hitting five home runs in his last 10 games –- his 16th of the season was hit in the first inning on Sunday –- the Dodgers have won two of three games in each of their last three series.

"We feel better," Manager Don Mattingly said. "Obviously, those guys out there are going to feel better when they start to put together two out of three, two out of three, two out of three."

Although the Dodgers have scored 20 runs in their last two games, Mattingly wouldn't declare that his team's offensive problems are something of the past.

A three-game series in Philadelphia will be a major test. The Dodgers will face Cliff Lee on Monday, Roy Oswalt on Tuesday and Cole Hamels on Wednesday.

"Those guys will be a test no matter what," Mattingly said. "I don't care what type of offense you have."

Kemp sounded particularly optimistic about the direction he and the team appear to be headed.

"I feel really good right now, I feel real comfortable," he said. "I think a lot of us are. We've been swinging the bats well. Hopefully, we can take this over to Philly tomorrow."

Kemp, who hit two home runs on Saturday, took Travis Wood deep in the first inning on Sunday to put the Dodgers ahead, 3-0.

With Andre Ethier on second and first base open with one out, Reds Manager Dusty Baker elected to intentionally walk Kemp in the third inning. The sequence started a three-run rally for the Dodgers, who increased their lead to 7-3.

Kemp drew two more walks, one in the seventh inning and another in the ninth.

"They were trying to throw things off the plate," Kemp said. "They weren't really trying to come in too much after the first couple at-bats."

Asked if he expects other teams to pitch around Kemp the way the Reds did, Mattingly said, "Probably depends. When you see it in your face for a couple of days, it's a lot easier to do it. Going into Philly, I'm sure they'll do what they do. If they see the same type of stuff, they're going to look at the numbers and if the openings are there, they'll do what they do."

The Dodgers' big offensive day, which included Billingsley's solo home run in the second inning and bases-loaded walk in the third, made up for their starting pitcher's shaky form on the mound.

"I didn't have the best stuff right from the get-go," Billingsley said.

With Billingsley's pitch count at 106 at the end of the fifth inning, Mattingly decided John Ely would replace him on the mound.

But the manager said he had second thoughts about taking the bat out of his hand.

"I thought about letting him hit there," Mattingly said of when Billingsley's turn to hit came up with two out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning.

Instead, Mattingly called on Ivan De Jesus Jr., who grounded into a force-out.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0606...2968.story

Dodgers knock Wood around in 9-6 victory
Reds fall 5 1/2 games behind division-leading Cardinals
8:30 PM, Jun. 5, 2011


AP Photo/David Kohl
Reds pitcher Travis Wood throws during the first inning.

Written by
Tom Groeschen

CINCINNATI -- Reds fans were in full Twitter panic mode during and after Sunday’s 9-6 loss to the Dodgers, but outfielder Chris Heisey advised patience.

Heisey, standing in a mostly empty postgame clubhouse, was asked by a reporter if the Reds’ situation has gone beyond “funk” or “slide.” Are there real concerns, with the Reds (30-30) a season-high 5½ games behind in the NL Central?

“I wouldn’t say that,” Heisey said. “No matter how good a team is … look at the Red Sox at the beginning of the year. You just go through a stretch where it’s not going your way. We’re .500 right now, and I know we’re a lot better than that.”

Quote:Reds fans wonder, with tweets including:

“I’m officially worried.”

“#Reds are in a bad place right now. #Hardtowatch.”

“Stop hanging your hat on storybook season where everything fell into place. This team is in trouble.”

The Reds’ 5½-game deficit is larger than any it faced during the 2010 NL Central title run. The Reds trailed by as much as five games last season, and the latest such occasion was May 4, 2010.

The Reds loaded the bases with none out in the ninth but produced only one run, a sacrifice fly by Heisey to make it 9-6. By then, several thousand of the 28,327 fans had departed Great American Ball Park.

Left-hander Travis Wood (4-4) had his worst day as a Red. It was 3-0 before the Reds even batted, with Matt Kemp hitting a two-run homer in the first inning.

Wood lasted 4 2/3 innings and allowed a career-high eight runs (all earned), as the Reds lost for a second straight day. Wood walked five and also allowed a homer to opposing pitcher Chad Billingsley.

Billingsley (5-4) went five innings, and was 2-for-2 at bat with a career-high three RBI.

“Woodie had a little tough time with the strike zone today,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “The pitcher drove in three, and that was the difference in the ballgame. We lost by three.”

Wood left the postgame clubhouse before reporters arrived.

Catcher Ramon Hernandez said Wood battled but had trouble getting ahead in the count.

“When you’re always pitching from behind and your breaking ball isn’t working, it’s pretty tough,” Hernandez said.

Baker had wanted Wood to pitch deep into the game, after the Reds used eight pitchers Saturday in an 11-inning loss. Wood instead was pulled after tossing 106 pitches.

Reds pitchers Sunday threw a hefty 208 pitches, walked 10 and allowed 13 hits, with six strikeouts.

“We’ve got to cut down on our walks, especially in this ballpark,” Baker said. “That’s a formula for disaster, when you’re walking people.”

Dodgers pitchers weren’t exactly Koufax and Drysdale, either, throwing 188 pitches.

Drew Stubbs hit a lead-off homer for the Reds, cutting the Cincinnati deficit to 3-1. It was Stubbs’ first homer since May 11.


AP Photo/David Kohl
The Reds' Drew Stubbs is congratulated by third base coach Mark Berry after Stubbs hit a solo home run off Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley in the first inning.

Billingsley homered to left in the second inning, giving L.A a 4-1 lead. For Billingsley, it was his second career homer and first since 2009.

Brandon Phillips hit a two-run single to bring the Reds within 4-3 in the second inning.

The Dodgers made it 7-3 in the third, as Rod Barajas hit a two-run double and Billingsley wlked with the bases loaded. Wood heard some boos after the Billingsley walk.

Joey Votto brought the Reds within 7-4 with an RBI ground-out in the fourth inning.
Billingsley doubled in another run to put the Dodgers up 8-4 in the fifth inning. The Dodgers made it 9-4 in the sixth off of Jeremy Horst, as Jerry Sands singled home a run.

Votto closed the gap to 9-5 with an RBI single in the sixth, off of Dodgers reliever John Ely, a Miami University product.

The Reds begin a three-game home series against the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

“We have places to improve, but we’re going to start clicking,” Heisey said. “I really believe that.”

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110...|FRONTPAGE

Went to the game on Saturday. Nice crowd and we kept cool in the shade with a decent breeze blowing through. Left after the 10th to get the boy home. Guess we didn't miss much.

Frustrating.

On the bright side they are only 3.5 games out of the Wild Card. Currently the Brewers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Braves are ahead of them and I don't see a runaway favorite there.

Figure out how to solve the SP and win some games. Losing back-to-back games in which you score 7 and 6 runs is ridiculous.

(06-06-2011 11:57 AM)Bearcat04 Wrote:  On the bright side they are only 3.5 games out of the Wild Card. Currently the Brewers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Braves are ahead of them and I don't see a runaway favorite there.

Figure out how to solve the SP and win some games. Losing back-to-back games in which you score 7 and 6 runs is ridiculous.

If Bailey and Volquez can come back and be effective, that would be a gigantic lift. I hate Volquez's attitude, but man it would be huge if he can come anywhere near his potential.