Giving up a three-run lead in the eighth inning is never a good thing, but the Cincinnati Reds picked a particularly bad day to do it Sunday in Milwaukee as the three teams sharing postseason races with them all won.
Early on Cincinnati looked like it was headed toward victory No. 85 on the season thanks to RBIs by Joey Votto, Ryan Ludwick, Zach Cozart and Todd Frazier (2), but starter Bronson Arroyo faltered in the seventh inning when he walked three out of the first four Brewer batters and had to be replaced by Sam LeCure. The first of four Cincinnati relievers called upon by manager Dusty Baker limited the damage to one run by getting Sean Halton to ground out (scoring Jonathan Lucroy) and coaxing a fielder's choice out of Jeff Bianchi, but the comeback was underway.
J.J. Hoover allowed the hosts to tied the game in the eighth by allowing a Jean Segura 2-RBI triple and sac fly to Lucroy, then Halton finished it with a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth off Zach Duke.
Meanwhile, division foes Pittsburgh and St. Louis both won to remain tied atop the NL Central and put 3.5 games between them and the Reds.
Also coming out on the smiling side of the scoreboard was Washington. The hard-charging Nationals have finally awoken from a nearly season-long slumber to surpass the .500 mark and pull within 4.5 games of the Reds in the race for the second wild card spot in the NL.
Washington has won eight of its last 10 while the Reds are just 6-4 in that span, but there could be good news on the horizon from the schedule makers because the Nationals will play host to Atlanta (owner of the NL's best record) in a series beginning Monday while the Reds will head to Houston.
Cincinnati's former division foes the Astros have a major-league low 51 wins, though the Reds certainly aren't in position to take anything for granted after losing consecutive series to sub-.500 clubs in the Cubs and Brewers. That came on the heels of a seven-day stretch that saw them go 6-1 against the Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After three games in Houston, the Reds go to Pittsburgh for three before returning home to play host to the 67-82 Mets for three games then conclude the season with three more against the Pirates in Cincinnati.
In addition to playing the Braves, the Nationals have a home series remaining with the lowly Marlins before finishing the season on the road against the Cardinals and D-backs.
Also on the bright side for the Reds? They have ace Johnny Cueto scheduled to start the series opener against the Astros after missing the past 2 1/2 months with a strained lat.
