Another One Run Loss for the Cincinnati Reds

Picking up their 33^rd one-run loss of the year, the Cincinnati Reds fell 3-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday afternoon.

In what was an anemic offensive performance from both clubs, the Pirates took advantage of their short boom in the first inning that would carry them through nine innings.

Coming into the game, Neil Walker was 1-for-11 in his career against Alfredo Simon. Clearly not following protocol, Walker clobbered a fastball that was as straight as an arrow and launched it beyond the fence in right centerfield.

Allowing three runs before he could even get out of the first inning, it appeared Simon had reverted back to his ways that have become all too familiar in the second half. He would serve up a double to Russell Martin and a base hit to Josh Harrison, but after the second inning, he would not allow a hit.

Not backed up by any substantial offensive output yet again, Simon was stuck with the hard luck loss on Saturday. Striking out an uncharacteristically high six batters, Simon had the entire arsenal work past the first inning. Retiring 12 in a row and 15 of the final 16 batters he would face, the Big Pasta delivered another saucy outing, coming up just a bit short.

Coming off three consecutive miserable starts, Vance Worley regained his form on Saturday—a tradition opposing pitchers have become accustomed to in 2014. The only hit the Reds collected through the front five innings was a blast off the bat of Todd Frazier that not even Josh Harrison could track down.

Billy Hamilton would get the Reds second hit of the game on a bunt single in the sixth inning, but would quickly be eliminated off the basepaths when he was gunned down by Russell Martin, his 20^th time caught stealing in his rookie campaign.

Worley’s downfall would come after drilling Devin Mesoraco in the seventh before allowing an opposite field base hit from Brayan Pena. Pirates’ manager Clint Hurdle would then turn the game over to his left-handed juggernauts in Justin Wilson and Tony Watson.

The only other run the Redlegs would scoot across came from indecision on the part of first baseman Ike Davis. Zack Cozart drilled a sky-high pop-up into the Pennsylvania sky, just to have Davis, second baseman Neil Walker and right fielder Andrew Lambo fail to communicate and the ball fall in, allowing Mesoraco to scamper around and score for their second run.

With Jason Grilli being shipped off to Los Angeles, Tony Watson moved into the eighth inning role, and former set-up man Mark Melancon became the new closer. The duo would show the Redlegs why they are believed to be one of the league’s most formidable backend of a bullpen, retiring all six batters they would face, including Melancon whiffing Pena to seal the game.

As the season winds down, the Reds most glaring stat is quite simply their 19-33 record in one-run games.   Continuously coming up on the short end of the stick this season, their final 26 games will be simply a matter of playing out the schedule and driving for a higher salary.

With a shot at 20 wins still on the table, Johnny Cueto takes to the hill at 1:10 p.m. on Sunday against his most familiar foe in recent memory, Francisco Liriano.