DaytonDailyNews.com

PHILADELPHIA — Singer Meat Loaf, who once sang the National Anthem before a Cincinnati-Philadelphia game, also sang a song called "It Just Won't Quit" in which he asked: "Is this a blessing or is it a curse? Does it get better, can it get any worse? Will it go on forever, or is it over tonight?"

If that isn't a description of the Cincinnati Reds then there isn't a cheesesteak in Philadelphia.

It's a curse and it keeps getting worse and it wasn't over Tuesday night during an 11-4 loss to the Phillies in Citizens Bank Park.

Most infected Tuesday was rookie pitcher Homer Bailey, officially handed his indoctrination papers to the major leagues. The Phillies crushed him for six runs and six hits in only 1 2/3 innings, and it would have been worse had the Reds not turned two double plays for him.

He gave up a two-out, two-run home run in the first to Ryan Howard when Bailey stubbornly shook off a call from catcher David Ross. And Bailey gave up hits to the first three batters in the second inning, plus walked the pitcher on four pitches when he was trying to bunt, and it led to a four-run Phillies splurge that ended his night only 44 pitches into the game.

Before the game, Bailey sat quietly at his locker in jeans, brown cowboy boots, a black T-shirt that said, "Keep Austin, Tex., weird," as he read a Larry McMurtry novel, "Streets of Laredo." But he forgot to take his six-shooter to the mound.

"One of those days every player has, and you are going to have good ones just as much as you're going to have bad ones," said Bailey. "You learn from it and move on."

What did he learn? Probably to listen to his experienced catcher.

"I shook off a changeup to throw a cutter inside to Howard," he said.

"Wrong choice. He hit it 350 feet for a home run. It was my call, and I probably shouldn't have shaken it off. I decided to challenge him and probably should have kept going away."

Said manager Jerry Narron, when asked if he thought about intentionally walking Howard with two outs and first base open, "Yeah, we did. We talked about how to pitch to him and got a little bit away from the game plan."

Bailey might have learned that if you go inside on Howard you better not leave it over the plate. After the home run, Howard struck out four straight times.

"Young players are going to have ups and downs, and this was one of those downs," said Narron. "He needs to locate better than he did. Couldn't throw strikes, simple as that. They have a big-league lineup, and you better not go in there half-stepping."

And isn't it time for somebody to tell Todd Coffey to quit sprinting from the bullpen to the mound so that he isn't huffing and puffing on his first pitch? He did it again Tuesday, then his first pitch to Carlos Ruiz was driven for a three-run double. First batters are hitting .355 against Coffey (11-31).

Adding to the misery, the Phillies pulled off a double steal on Bailey in the second inning that concluded with slow-footed catcher Ruiz stealing home while shortstop Alex Gonzalez tried to tag Michael Bourn at second, the first theft of home by the Phillies since Scott Rolen did it June 5, 1997, against the Cubs.

Bo Diaz was the last catcher to steal home for Philadelphia — against Pittsburgh on June 18, 1982.

"Gonzo tried to make the tag, but if he makes a good throw, (Ruiz) probably would have been out at home plate," said Narron.

Can it get any worse for a team that no longer is known in out-of-town newspapers as the Cincinnati Reds? It is always the Last-Place Reds, the Lowly Reds, the Worst-Record Reds, the Reeking Reds.

They lead baseball in one category — losses, 48 of them. And they have the fewest wins — 29, the only team in the majors with less than 30.

Before the sticky night ended, the Phillies had 16 hits, seven for extra bases, while the Reds had only seven hits that included bases-empty home runs by Josh Hamilton (12) and Adam Dunn (21), long after matters were determined.

Bailey, 2-1 with a 6.41 earned run average, was not as down as one might expect after his first major-league thrashing. More philosophical.

"There is so much you can learn, just so long as you remember it the next time you go out there," he said. "Keep it in your mind when go out there the next time."

At least one member of the Phillies, opposing pitcher Kyle Kendrick (2-0, 5.00) was excited about beating Bailey.

"I remember facing him in a minor-league All-Star game, and he came in throwing 99 and struck out the side," said Kendrick. "I was excited facing him because he is great."

Not on this night.