The Cincinnati Reds were a half-game out of playoff position when the Arizona series began Aug. 22. They've lost 3 straight overall.
PHOENIX – One of the best starting rotations in the majors since the All-Star break picked a bad time to get lost in the desert.
One night after trade-deadline addition Zack Littell struggled to get through three innings, Cincinnati Reds All-Star Andrew Abbott got hit hard in one of his roughest starts of the season.
The Reds lost both of those first two games of the three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, including an 10-1 decision in Abbott's start on Aug. 23.
And just like that, in the span of 26 hours, the Reds dropped from a half-game back of the New York Mets for the final National League wild-card position to 2 1/2 games back with 32 to play.
The Mets beat the Atlanta Braves both nights.
For the Reds, the crucial losses in a playoff chase to a team that sold at the deadline was made worse by the fact their vaunted starting pitching was mostly to blame.
Until the combined 10 runs allowed by Littell and Abbott in those seven combined innings, the Reds rotation had a 3.12 ERA in 33 games since the All-Star break, second in MLB only to the division-rival Cubs (3.02).
After Abbott (8-4) retired the first two batters in the first inning, four straight loud hits – including three doubles – gave the Diamondbacks a quick 3-0 lead. Two-run homers by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Geraldo Perdoma made it 7-0.
The Reds trailed 8-0 before scoring on Elly De La Cruz's double in the eighth and Austin Hays' two-out single.
It was the Reds' third consecutive loss after opening this nine-game, three-city road trip with a pair of victories in Anaheim against the Angels.
The rout gave the Reds a chance to provide low-leverage opportunities for big-league debuts for catcher Will Banfield and reliever Zach "Big Sugar" Maxwell – who flashed 100-mph velocity and a sharp slider during a five-strikeout, two-inning appearance (allowing a solo home run).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds rotation falters again as Reds fall to 2 1/2 behind Mets
Category: Baseball
