Houston end of road for Reds' streak
When Morgan Ensberg lofted one to left, Adam Dunn got himself in position to make a throw.
"I thought the guy at second might tag up," Dunn said.
There was no tag up because the ball ended up in the Crawford Boxes above left field for a three-run home run - the decisive blow in the Houston Astros' 5-2 victory over the Reds before a crowd of 29,971 at Minute Maid Park Tuesday night.
"That's a tough way to give up three runs," Dunn said.
"It's a flyball," Ramon Ortiz said. "Here, it's a home run."
Bad things happen when the Reds come to Houston. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak and reminded the Reds that there's winning on the road and there's winning at Houston.
The Reds had won 14 of 16 away from Great American Ball Park coming in. But they are 1-6 at Minute Maid this season and 5-19 over the last three years.
And, oh yeah, they face Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt in the final two games of the series here.
This is a big series for the Astros, who are tied with the Mets, a half-game behind the Marlins and Phillies, in the National League wild-card race.
This one got away fast.
"I was pitching good," said Ortiz, who fell to 8-10. "But I (didn't) make good pitches in the fifth."
The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the fifth - only to have the Astros score five runs in the bottom of the inning.
Five runs in about five minutes.
"One bad inning, five runs," Ortiz said. "That's baseball. It's crazy."
Rough starts have been a rarity recently for the Reds.
The Reds came into Tuesday on a 21-game run in which their starters were 13-4 with a 2.69 ERA.
Ortiz looked as though he'd keep the streak going. Through four innings, he had allowed only two singles.
The Reds weren't having much better luck with left-hander Wandy Rodriguez. They had two hits through four innings.
But Sean Casey led off the fifth with a double. Dunn nearly made it 2-0. He missed a home run by a foot or two when a ball he hit hooked just foul. But Dunn did get Casey in with a single.
The Reds appeared to be in business when Jason LaRue followed with a walk.
But Edwin Encarnacion popped out on the first pitch.
"He's a young guy," Narron said. "He's overanxious. I don't mind him swinging at the first pitch. I wish he had gotten a ball he could drive."
Ortiz bunted into a fielder's choice. And Felipe Lopez popped out on the first pitch he saw to end the inning.
The Astros weren't down for long. Adam Everett led off the fifth with a single. After failing in two bunt attempts, Humberto Quintero singled through Ortiz's legs.
"That was the key at-bat of the game," Narron said. "(Quintero) couldn't get the bunt down, and Ortiz couldn't put him away."
The Astros sent up Mike Lamb to pinch hit for Rodriguez, a curious move given how he was pitching.
But Lamb delivered an RBI single. Willy Taveras got a run home with a sacrifice fly.
Craig Biggio singled. Then came Ensberg's homer. And it was 5-1.
The Reds did not threaten again until the ninth. Jacob Cruz, pinch hitting for Wily Mo Peña, singled off closer Brad Lidge with one out.
Casey and Dunn then walked to load the bases.
Javier Valentin was sent up to pinch hit for LaRue. He grounded out, scoring Cruz, to make it 5-2.
Encarnacion struck out to end it.
Source: http://news.enquirer.com/
"I thought the guy at second might tag up," Dunn said.
There was no tag up because the ball ended up in the Crawford Boxes above left field for a three-run home run - the decisive blow in the Houston Astros' 5-2 victory over the Reds before a crowd of 29,971 at Minute Maid Park Tuesday night.
"That's a tough way to give up three runs," Dunn said.
"It's a flyball," Ramon Ortiz said. "Here, it's a home run."
Bad things happen when the Reds come to Houston. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak and reminded the Reds that there's winning on the road and there's winning at Houston.
The Reds had won 14 of 16 away from Great American Ball Park coming in. But they are 1-6 at Minute Maid this season and 5-19 over the last three years.
And, oh yeah, they face Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt in the final two games of the series here.
This is a big series for the Astros, who are tied with the Mets, a half-game behind the Marlins and Phillies, in the National League wild-card race.
This one got away fast.
"I was pitching good," said Ortiz, who fell to 8-10. "But I (didn't) make good pitches in the fifth."
The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the fifth - only to have the Astros score five runs in the bottom of the inning.
Five runs in about five minutes.
"One bad inning, five runs," Ortiz said. "That's baseball. It's crazy."
Rough starts have been a rarity recently for the Reds.
The Reds came into Tuesday on a 21-game run in which their starters were 13-4 with a 2.69 ERA.
Ortiz looked as though he'd keep the streak going. Through four innings, he had allowed only two singles.
The Reds weren't having much better luck with left-hander Wandy Rodriguez. They had two hits through four innings.
But Sean Casey led off the fifth with a double. Dunn nearly made it 2-0. He missed a home run by a foot or two when a ball he hit hooked just foul. But Dunn did get Casey in with a single.
The Reds appeared to be in business when Jason LaRue followed with a walk.
But Edwin Encarnacion popped out on the first pitch.
"He's a young guy," Narron said. "He's overanxious. I don't mind him swinging at the first pitch. I wish he had gotten a ball he could drive."
Ortiz bunted into a fielder's choice. And Felipe Lopez popped out on the first pitch he saw to end the inning.
The Astros weren't down for long. Adam Everett led off the fifth with a single. After failing in two bunt attempts, Humberto Quintero singled through Ortiz's legs.
"That was the key at-bat of the game," Narron said. "(Quintero) couldn't get the bunt down, and Ortiz couldn't put him away."
The Astros sent up Mike Lamb to pinch hit for Rodriguez, a curious move given how he was pitching.
But Lamb delivered an RBI single. Willy Taveras got a run home with a sacrifice fly.
Craig Biggio singled. Then came Ensberg's homer. And it was 5-1.
The Reds did not threaten again until the ninth. Jacob Cruz, pinch hitting for Wily Mo Peña, singled off closer Brad Lidge with one out.
Casey and Dunn then walked to load the bases.
Javier Valentin was sent up to pinch hit for LaRue. He grounded out, scoring Cruz, to make it 5-2.
Encarnacion struck out to end it.
Source: http://news.enquirer.com/
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