Cincinnati Reds News: NL Central out of reach, Homer Bailey loses again

Good Thursday morning Reds Country. The Reds were swept by the Pirates last night, officially closing the door on their chances in the NL Central. Homer Bailey wasn’t bad, but the Reds lost for the 19th time this season when Bailey takes the mound.

Well, it wasn’t a good road trip for the Cincinnati Reds. On Wednesday night, Cincinnati fell to Pittsburgh for the third consecutive game, helping the Bucs complete the 3-game sweep of the Redlegs.

NL Central is out of reach. It’s not as though Cincinnati Reds fans were holding out hope, but Wednesday’s 2-3 loss to the Pirates officially eliminated the Reds from winning the NL Central crown. The Reds last won the division in 2012.

The Reds, coming off an impressive road series win against the St. Louis Cardinals, are now 4-11 in their last 15 games. All of those games have come against NL Central Division opponents. The Reds are 59-81 on the season and 19 games back in the Wild Card. They’re one loss away from their fifth consecutive losing season.

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Peraza gets double-digit dingers on the year. Jose Peraza is having a breakout season for the Reds in 2018. Last night against the Buccos, Peraza took a 1-0 fastball from Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon over the wall in left-center field.

The blast was Peraza’s 10th home run of the season and his 46th RBI on the year. Peraza’s struggled of late, only hitting .205 in his last 10 games. The homer, however, was Peraza’s 2nd during that stint, as he sent in one out of the park against the Milwaukee Brewers on August 28th.

Bailey falls again. Homer Bailey lost his 14th game of the season on Wednesday night. The Reds are now 1-19 when Bailey takes the hill. Bailey went 5 innings and allowed 3 earned runs. There was a bright spot during the game for Bailey as he recorded his 1,000th strikeout as a member of the Redlegs. He’s the 12th pitcher in Reds history to do that.

To be fair, the Reds have really not helped Bailey on offense when he’s been on the bump. The Reds have scored a grand total of 19 runs in the previous 8 games that the right-hander has started. Barely scratching across two runs per game does not help when your pitcher is struggling to get a win.

Home-cookin’: The Cincinnati Reds return to Great American Ball Park on Thursday night to tangle with the San Diego Padres. The Reds will send Luis Castillo to the mound. He’ll be followed in the rotation by Anthony DeSclafani, Matt Harvey, and Cody Reed.

While the Reds have not been great at home or on the road this season, their record at GABP is much better. The Reds are just 5 games below .500 while playing in the Queen City this season. Their road record is a disappointing 27-44 (.380).