Yoshinobu Yamamoto silenced Cincinnati's bats as the reeling Reds suffered their seventh loss in eight games, overshadowing another multi-hit performance from the surging Elly De La Cruz.
The Cincinnati Reds fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Tuesday night, dropping their second straight game of a seven-game homestand and their seventh loss in their last eight games, dating back to their series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
During that stretch, the Reds have been outscored by 47 runs, 67-20, and have been hurt greatly by their 20-run shutout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 11.
Rhett Lowder got the start for the Reds, going five innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits. He struck out four and walked two. This was a rather bounce-back performance for Lowder, who has allowed 13 runs combined in his last two starts against the Dodgers and the Brewers, spanning just 7.1 innings pitched.
Lowder gave up one run in the second inning and two in the third. Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández hit a two-run home run in the third, scoring Kyle Tucker. This followed Hunter Feduccia's second-inning single, which scored Max Muncy.
Cincinnati put runners on in the first inning when Carlos Jorge and Elly De La Cruz walked. Sal Stewart then had an uncompetitive at-bat, popping out to the pitcher, and JJ Bleday flew out to right, moving Jorge to third.
With a big two-out at-bat and a chance to strike first, Eugenio Suarez grounded out to third to end the inning.
Elly De La Cruz continued his hot streak, recording two of Cincinnati’s three hits. In his last 22 games, De La Cruz is hitting .427 with a 1.255 OPS. He has 10 doubles, seven home runs, and 15 runs batted in. It’s one of the best stretches of his career; unfortunately for the Reds, they are 9-13 in that stretch.
Alex Freeland hit a left-field home run for an insurance run in the seventh inning, giving the Dodgers a 4-0 lead. Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a stellar seven innings, allowing just one hit, striking out seven and walking two, the aforementioned first two batters of the game that Yamamoto faced. It was the second time this season he had only allowed one hit, and the fourth time he had allowed no earned runs in a start.
The Reds' loss pushed them to 70-81 and further into last place in the NL Central, 24 games back of first place and five games behind the third-place Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, who are tied in that spot. Left-handed starter Andrew Abbott will try to bounce back against Blake Snell in Game 3 of a four-game series against Los Angeles.
