Cincinnati Reds Fall to Dodgers as David Holmberg Allows 3 HRs

W: Brett Anderson (7-7)

L: David Holmberg (1-2)

It looked like it would be a good night for the Cincinnati Reds after a Todd Frazier two-run home run in the first inning, but that would ultimately be the highlight of the offense in an 8-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Not only did the offense go quiet after the first, but David Holmberg also struggled all night long. In the first, he put two runners on, but induced a 6-4-3 double play and escaped without any damage. He wouldn’t be so lucky in the subsequent innings. Holmberg gave up five runs in the second, including home runs to Yasiel Puig and Kike Hernandez, sandwiched between two walks and a Jimmy Rollins RBI single. In the third, he made a pitch on the outside corner up in the zone to Justin Turner, who took it to the opposite field for a home run.

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Holmberg couldn’t get out of the third inning. His problem, aside from walking four batters, was that he kept elevating his pitches. That, combined with the hot weather in LA this weekend and the Dodgers’ propensity to hit the long ball this season (they lead the league in home runs), resulted in Holmberg’s short outing. He gave up seven earned runs through just two innings and only struck out three.

The bullpen of Pedro Villarreal, Ryan Mattheus and Jumbo Diaz combined for six innings of one-run baseball. That one run came off Villarreal in the fourth when Adrian Gonzalez homered. I guess if you’re looking for a positive from the pitching staff, it would be that Bryan Price didn’t have to burn his bullpen too much.

Other Notes:

• Joey Votto went 2-for-4 with a single and an RBI double. He extended his hitting streak to five and is now nine for his last 20. Votto went through a mini-slump recently, but seems to have come out of it relatively quickly. That’s what good players do.
• Frazier was the only other Reds batter with more than one hit. Although he went hitless in Friday’s game, he rebounded Saturday with the home run, a double and a walk. He’s now 6-for-13 in this series with LA. Is this be the start of a turnaround for the Reds All-Star?
• For those of you who have a hard time staying up (or couldn’t stay up because of work obligations) for these West Coast games, it’s over. The Reds return to normal hours next week with the upcoming 10-day homestand.

Up Next: The Reds wrap up the four game series with the Dodgers Sunday at 4:10 ET. Anthony DeSclafani (7-7, 3.75 ERA) will get the start for Cincinnati and will have a tough mound opponent in Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke (12-2, 1.59 ERA).