LOS ANGELES (News4usonline) – The final game of the Dodgers series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds was a tough one for fans at the ballpark. The Dodgers dropped their finale against Cincinnati by getting hammered by the National League Central-leading Reds, 9-0.
The defeat marks the second time on their current homestand that the Dodgers have lost two of the three games playing against an opponent. In their previous home series, the Dodgers also dropped two of three games against the Toronto Blue Jays, a team in third place in the American League East.
The loss also trims the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to two games over the San Francisco Giants.
With the Giants nipping at their heels, the Dodgers are going to have to step up their play against the Oakland A’s, their next opponent at home. Aside from playing the A’s, the month of August should prove to be favorable for the Dodgers as Los Angeles will entertain the Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Atlanta Braves at home.
According to their schedule, the Dodgers play 17 games at home during the month of August. Hopefully, outfielder Mookie Betts will be in the lineup. If he is, the Dodgers would get a significant boost to their hitting prowess.
With Betts out of the lineup against the Reds for the final game of the series, the Dodgers went listless over the course of nine innings, generating six very meaningless hits. The Reds didn’t have that problem, banging out 14 hits and producing nine runs.
Most of the damage was done against Dodgers pitcher Michael Grove, who gave up 10 hits and eight runs through six innings. The Reds didn’t waste time getting to Grove, scoring seven runs in the first three innings.
On the mound, Grove had the oddest of games. Even though he was responsible for giving up eight of Cincinnati’s nine runs and served up three home runs, Grove still managed to strike out 10 batters. Grove and three other Dodger pitchers combined to record 13 total strikeouts against the Reds. In comparison, Cincinnati pitchers, led by Graham Ashcraft’s six innings of work, could only muster six whiffs.
The Dodgers got five of their six hits off of Graham but could manage just one hit over the final three innings. For the Reds, Elly De La Cruz was the man of the hour, collecting four hits, including a home run during the matinee game. Designated hitter, Joey Votto, also had a big game for the Reds, collecting a home run and driving in three runs.
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, social justice, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University.