Reds Lose To Brew Crew, Rockies On Deck

The Reds lost the rubber match against the Brewers. After whetting the appetites of loyal fans, the Redlegs dropped a 5-4 decision to the Brew Crew. Right-hander Jimmy Nelson had a shaky start, but got over his nerves and helped the Brewers get the win. The Rockies are waiting.

The Reds’ modest winning streak was halted, and the frustration is mounting. The Reds had another decent start from Brandon Finnegan, yet couldn’t capitalize on the effort. Finnegan gave up four runs over 6.1 innings of work. The loss drops him to 1-4 on the year. He spoke candidly via the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“It’s really easy to get frustrated, it’s easy to make excuses too, at the same time. I don’t question anybody’s effort. Everyone’s out there wanting to do the same thing. We want to win. It doesn’t matter if we’re rebuilding or not. We’ve got the talent on this team to win, and I think we can.”

The Reds absorbed most of the damage from the top of the Brew Crew’s lineup. Milwaukee’s 1-2-3 hitters – Jonathan Villar, Hernan Perez, and Jonathan Lucroy – went 5-for-7 and drove in all five of the team’s runs. They also collected three walks.

The Reds went up 2-1, while Nelson struggled. He was able to retire only one of the first seven hitters he faced. After focusing, Nelson retired 17 of the final 21. He finished the outing with two earned runs and five strikeouts.

“All we can do as starters is try to put up zeros and give us a chance to come back,” Nelson said, via Cincinnati Reds. “That’s what the guys did. It was good. I found my fastball a little better after those first couple of innings.”

The Reds will try to get back on the positive side of things, when they start play against the Colorado Rockies. The four game series begins with a Memorial Day battle. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. EST at Coors Field.

When the teams last met, the Reds were able to take two of three. Things have changed since then. The Reds have endured a nasty losing streak and tons of pitching woes. Dan Straily (2-2, 2.98 ERA, 52 K) will toe the rubber for the Reds. The Rockies will counter with Chad Bettis (4-3, 4.90 ERA, 44 k). The last time Bettis faced the Reds, he came away with a no-decision.

Straily is a bright spot for Cincinnati. Manager Bryan Price is impressed with his pitching efforts.

“There’s some natural deception and movement,” Price beamed.

“He’s got a slider that’s a swing-and-miss pitch, has a really nice changeup, so he’s got a nice three-pitch mix. He uses his curveball, mixes that in a little bit.”

What’s great about the Reds playing the Rockies at Coors Field? Joey Votto owns the park. Votto has a batting average of.361 (26-for-72), three homers, five doubles and 14 RBIs. The Reds could benefit from his bat coming to life during the series.

Carlos Gonzalez is in the midst of a hot streak that could burn the Reds. Gonzalez is smacking the ball at Coors, too. He’s played a key role, going 14 for 28 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in his last seven home games against the Reds.

In order to get things going, the Reds need to discover a good combination of timely batting and the revival of the pitching staff. The Reds have averaged 3 runs and hit.191 over the past 12 games. Eugenio Suarez is mired in a career-worst 0-for-27 slump, while Votto has hit.155 with two homers over his past 16 games.

Adding injury to insult, veteran Brandon Phillips may be watching from the dugout. He appeared to have tweaked his ankle, trying to make a play on Sunday.

[Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images]