The Los Angeles Dodgers went into Sunday’s game with the Cincinnati Reds in position to complete a sweep of the six-game season series. Odds figured to lie in their favor against 40-year-old Bronson Arroyo.
While the veteran right-hander allowed a two-out single to Justin Turner, Arroyo otherwise struck out the side in the first inning. Never mind the fact he never threw a pitch faster than 83 mph.
But the Dodgers got to Arroyo in the second inning. Austin Barnes singled with two outs, and it was followed by a Kiké Hernandez double. Kenta Maeda helped his cause with a two-run double.
Joc Pederson tacked on an RBI single before Arroyo could get out of the inning. Then in the third, Logan Forsythe crushed a two-run home run.
Justin Turner’s three-run blast in the sixth provided what appeared to be ample insurance, as the Dodgers’ lead swelled to 8-1. Turner’s base hit in the first inning had extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
What’s been a steady Dodgers bullpen allowed the Reds to climb back into the game. Grant Dayton, Josh Fields and Pedro Baez each allowed a home run.
Billy Hamilton’s RBI double off Baez in the eighth trimmed the Dodgers’ lead to 8-7. Baez walked Scooter Gennett but remained in the game to face Joey Votto, who represented the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs.
Votto drove a fly ball to deep left field that Hernandez managed to make an over-the-shoulder catch on as he crashed into the fence.
The loss was the Reds’ ninth in a row, which ties the longest losing streak by any team this season. Conversely, the Dodgers have won of their past 10 games to keep pace with the red-hot Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Dodgers’ season sweep was their first since they took all six games from the Reds in 2006.
