Reds Lose Heartbreaker to Dodgers, 4-3

May 26, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) pitches the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES- After a roller-coaster game that nearly saw Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu throw the second consecutive LA no-hitter in as many days, the Reds are left to pick up the pieces from a 4-3 loss.

Ryu pitched seven scoreless innings for the Dodgers, while also racking up seven strikeouts. He retired 21 straight Reds batters before Todd Frazier was able to smack a double to start the eighth inning. Chris Heisey hit his first RBI as a starter in 2014 with a sacrifice fly, bringing the score to 4-1. Ryan Ludwick and Brayan Pena would score off of a Billy Hamilton double, and for a moment, it looked as though the Big Red Machine was back against their old rivals.

An errant throw to home plate potentially could have scored Skip Schumaker, who was held up at third. The former Dodger was told to stay at third, and while we’ll never know if he would have scored, it certainly seems that in 20/20 hindsight, Skip possibly should have raced home. Looking back, that was the best chance the Reds would get to even the odds at 4 apiece.

The Reds were unable to capitalize on bad relief pitching by Dodger reliever Brian Wilson, who managed to load the bases and only earn one out. LA then called upon Kenley Jansen, a 26-year old imported reliever from the Netherlands to finish the job.

And Jansen was able to do just that. After a long clash with Brandon Phillips, with bases loaded, Jansen prevailed by striking out Phillips. That would prove to be another close opportunity the Reds had to threaten the lead.

In the ninth inning, the Reds found themselves where they have been all season: leaving base-runners on base. Two more were left on, bringing the team’s total to five runners left on base for the game.

Johnny Cueto had a very tough outing against the Dodgers. He only surrendered one earned run, yet three more crossed the plate while he was on the hill due to errors. Cueto gave up four hits through 6.1 innings pitched, and finds himself looking at a 4-4 record on the season. Johnny has a 1.83 ERA on the season.

Tomorrow’s game matches up Alfredo Simon (6-2, 2.31 ERA) against Zack Greinke (7-1, 2.01 ERA). The first pitch is scheduled for 10:00pm.

TV: ESPN

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