Reds Lose Marathon 5-4

After taking 2 in a row agains the Cardinals the Reds took on St. Louis Wednesday night in the 3rd game of a 4 game series at

Sep 4, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds center fielder Shin-Soo Choo watches from the dugout during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

GABP. After winning the first two games of this series both behind dominant outings by Mat Latos and Homer Bailey, Cincinnati sent Bronson Arroyo to the mound in hopes of another great outing.

In a game that lasted nearly 5 hours, Arroyo gave the Reds a great chance to win. Going 7.0IP only allowing 7H and 2ER Arroyo did everything the Reds could have asked for out of the veteran pitcher. Arroyo would be pulled after 7 innings and only 92 pitches, the move didn’t make sense then and doesn’t make sense now. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter due to the Red dormant offense.

Cincinnati’s offense started off strong loading the bases with only one out in the first. From there though the would squander a perfect chance to get up early on the Cards as Todd Frazier and Chris Heisey would both pop out. The second inning though the Reds offense broke through as Shin Soo Choo drove in Zach Cozart while advancing Ryan Hanigan to third. Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller would then throw a wild pitch to score Hanigan giving the Reds a 2-0 lead.

The fourth inning saw the Cardinals catch back up to the Reds and tie the game at 2. Matt Holiday hit a sac fly for the first run. Then Carlos Beltran scored on an awful error by Joey Votto. Arroyo running to cover first watched the ball fly nearly 10 feet over his head as Votto forgot where he was.

Brandon Phillips homerun in the 5th would mark the Reds last run until the 14th inning. After Todd Frazier’s single to lead off the 6th inning the Reds would not get another hit until Ryan Ludwicks single in the 14th inning. The offense Wednesday night started off looking like it would be a great night only to be placed on ice and frozen for 8 innings.

Billy Hamilton saw game action for the second night in a row. Wednesday night also saw Hamilton steal 2nd he is 2 for 2 on stolen bases in his career. Zach Cozart would single up the middle to easily score the speedy Hamilton. In back to back nights Hamilton has provided a crucial run for the Reds.

The relief pitching for the Reds was phenomenal until the 14th and 16th innings when Alfredo Simon and Logan Ondrusek would both give up homeruns to Matt Adams who entered the game after Allen Craig was injured at first. The Reds would not be able to over come those homers, they would lose 5-4.

Offensively the Reds looked great for the first 2 innings. They had a chance to blow the game open early, unfortunately they squandered that opportunity. Joey Votto would go 0-7, Jay Bruce 0-5 and Chris Heisey 0-7 on the night. The power of the order was hitless.

Errors led the Reds down a losing road as well. Votto’s awful throw to first over Arroyo’s head was the first error. Chris Heisey’s attmept to squeeze bunt in the 15th forced Choo off the bag at third catching him in a run down. The official scoring would be an attempt to steal home.

The Reds go for their first series win against the Cardinals this season Thursday night at GABP as Tony Cingrani takes on Lance Lynn.