It was a game involving two teams going in opposite directions — LA is heading north with its fourth straight win and Cincinnati is heading south with its fourth straight loss. And the 2-6 Reds occupy last place in the National League Central.
Just as they did Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series, the Reds fell 3-0 behind and spent the rest of the evening trying to scratch and claw their way back.
Reds starter Vladimir Gutierrez gave up runs in the second and third and was charged with the third run in the fifth.
He gave up a leadoff double to Max Muncy in the second and walked Justin Turner, putting two on and no outs. He nearly escaped unscathed by retiring two straight, but Chris Taylor singled home a run.
Turner tried to score from second on Taylor’s hit but left fielder Aristides Aquino threw him out.
The Dodgers made it 2-0 in the third on a single by Gavin Lux and a two-out triple by Trea Turner, extending his hitting streak to 26 games.
LA filled the bases with nobody out in the fifth, ending Gutierrez’s night. Jeff Hoffman nearly escaped damage when he retired the first two, but he walked Justin Turner on four pitches to force in a run and pushing the Dodgers lead to 3-0.
The Reds put their first batter on base in each of the first three innings against LA starter Tony Gonsolin but couldn’t find home plate. They had the bases loaded with two outs in the third, but Aquino struck out. He is 1 for 10 for his career with the bases loaded.
Joey Votto opened the sixth by getting on base the hard way … relief pitcher Tyler Anderson’s change-up off Votto’s batting helmet.
Votto and Anderson exchanged words, but nothing else materialized and the Reds finally scored. With two outs, Mike Moustakas singled and Kyle Farmer singled to score Votto as the Reds slinked to within 3-1.
After Farmer’s single, LA’s Anderson retired seven straight and turned the ninth over to Dodgers new closer Craig Kimbrel.
He rushed through the Reds 1-2-3 in the ninth for his 374th career save.
The Reds collected only five hits, stranded eight and were 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Gutierrez absorbed his second loss of the season and is 0-3 over his last seven starts with no quality starts. On Friday he worked four innings and gave up three runs, five hits, walked three and struck out three.
The Reds were without injured second baseman Jonathan India and center fielder Nick Senzel. Tommy Pfam returned to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a hand injury and extended his hitless streak to start the season to 0-for-18.
Rookie Hunter Greene, a Los Angeles native and the last Reds pitcher to win a game, tries to end his team’s losing streak Saturday night against the Dodgers and left hander Julio Urias.
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