Aaron Harang struggled on the mound as he only lasted 4 1/3 innings and the Cincinnati Reds lost to the Chicago Cubs by the score of 7-3.  Harang fell to 3-11 on the season as he gave up five hits and six runs including two home runs.  Definately not the way the Reds wanted to kick off their three game series with the Cubs.

Jeremy Affeldt also gave up one run in relief of Harang.  Gary Majewski pitched the seventh and eighth inning and only allowed one hit and zero runs.

The Reds struggled at the plate until the ninth inning.  They had two singles and a run early in the game off Ryan Dempster but then did not have a hit untl the ninth inning when they had three hits and scored two runs.  Paul Bako walked in the fourth inning with the bases loaded for one rbi.  Javier Valentin had a rbi double in the ninth inning before Jerry Hairston Jr. had a rbi grounded out in the same inning.

The Reds will try to get their first win of the series and tie the series at 1-1 on Wednesday.

Reds Blog

Johnny Cueto pitched a good ballgame for the Reds, but Chad Billingsley shut down the Reds offense as the Dodgers beat the Reds, 3-1.

Pinch-hitter Javier Valentin drove in the only Reds run with a groundout in the seventh.  Joey Votto collected two of the Reds’ six hits on the night.  Jeff Kent went three for four for the Dodgers.

Bluzer runs RedlegStats.com, the home of Absolute Average, an improvement over OPS.

Kevin Youkilis and Coco Crisp hit back-to-back homers in the top of the tenth to beat Mike Lincoln and the Reds, 6-4.  Edwin Encarnacion had sent the game into extra innings with a two-out, two-strike, bottom-of-the ninth homer off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.  Earlier solo homers by Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips, and a pinch-hit RBI single by Javier Valentin, accounted for the rest of the Reds runs.  Tim Wakefield and Edinson Volquez, the starting pitchers, duelled for seven innings before turning the game over to the bullpens.

Before the game, Danny Herrera was sent back to Louisville when Gary Majewski was reinstated from the bereavement list.

Bluzer runs RedlegStats.com, the home of Absolute Average, an improvement over OPS.