The Cincinnati Reds' relentless bats exposed the Arizona Diamondbacks' inconsistent rotation and bullpen.
Fresh off a dominant 9-0 victory, the Arizona Diamondbacks failed to win three in a row.
Instead, they were on the opposite end of an 11-5 defeat to the Cincinnati Reds, a team that has no business dominating them like the way this one played out.
Now 68-62, the D-backs, despite being six games over .500, are two games out of a Wild Card spot.
For reference, the Reds have Arizona's record reversed, 62-68, and are eight games out of that third and final spot.
Cincinnati didn't necessarily have one crooked inning that changed everything, but they scored in all but the second and ninth innings, proving just how inconsistent this Diamondbacks starting rotation and bullpen can be.
D-backs allow runs in all but two innings
Kevin Ginkel, who pitched the ninth inning, was the lone Diamondbacks pitcher to put up a zero in this game. Arizona only used four arms, but it's not great seeing 75% of their pitching staff in a game give up runs, especially this deep into the Wild Card race.
Michael Soroka fell to 8-4 on the year as he was only able to record 10 outs in this game. The pitcher who came in after him, Zack Littell, recorded one extra out on 21 fewer pitches, though these two combined to give up 14 hits and 10 earned runs.
The Soroka and Littell combination simply didn't work out in this game, and it's not like every set of pitchers Arizona brings to the mound in a certain game is going to deliver. That said, Littell allowed not one, not two, but three home runs, and these two walked a combined five batters while only striking out four.
This Reds team, one that is six games below .500, crushed four home runs off the D-backs pitching staff. A solo shot got the best of Dennis Santana in the eighth inning, and Arizona's offense, despite recording 10 hits, couldn't overcome their pitching staff, who gave up 11 runs on 16 hits.
Nolan Arenado and Tim Tawa go deep
Ketel Marte's absence remains on everyone's mind, but it's clear the Diamondbacks are going to have to put that in the rearview mirror if they want to keep pushing forward this season.
In total, four D-backs recorded RBIs in the six-run loss, but Nolan Arenado hit a two-out bomb in the fourth inning for his 21st of the year, and then Tim Tawa responded two innings later with a two-run shot of his own.
