After the Reds fell to 7-23 with a 7-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park, Bailey was asked about the work he has done on improving his slider, and he said, "It's going so well our offense put up six runs and we still lost. Kudos to them for doing their job tonight. Nothing else to say other than I just didn't do mine."
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Reds starters have the worst ERA in baseball (5.60). Bailey’s ERA has risen in each of his last four starts and now sits at 4.81. He allowed a season-high five earned runs, including two home runs in the first inning, on six hits in five innings Tuesday.
“Homer’s doing everything he can,” interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “He’s battling. He just didn’t get the ball quite where he wanted it, and they stung him for it.”
Still hurting: Balloon's decorated Scooter Gennett's locker Tuesday in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse at Great American Ball Park. The second baseman turned 28.
Gennett got a day off for his birthday as he continues to battle a sore shoulder, though he did pinch hit in the sixth inning, grounding out in his only at-bat. An MRI revealed no structural damage in his sore shoulder, but the Reds will play it safe.
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“There will be a strong temptation to hold him out (Wednesday) with the off day Thursday,” Riggleman said. “I would think that would be the likelihood. If he somehow came in and said, ‘I feel great. Let me get in there,’ that would be different, but I don’t think he feels that way.”
Alex Blandino started for Gennett on Monday in a 6-5 loss to the Brewers, and Rosell Herrera took Gennett’s place Tuesday. It was the first career start for Herrera, who recorded his first career hit and went 1-for-4
Same plan: The Reds will stick with their four-man outfield rotation for the time being. They do expect it to work itself out eventually with one of the players falling out of the mix. Riggleman doesn't want to give up on the plan too quickly.
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Jesse Winker and Scott Schebler have hit well, boasting .309 and .313 averages, respectively. Adam Duvall (.170) and Billy Hamilton (.187) have not, though Duvall is tied for second on the team with 15 RBIs. Hamilton is such a strong defensive center fielder, he may stay in the rotation even if continues to have issues at the plate.
“He’s a valuable guy when he’s not hitting,” Riggleman said. “Obviously, there’s a huge difference when he is. We’ve all seen him when he’s on base at a .350 clip for a period of time and scoring runs and creating havoc out there. But when he’s not, he’s still the best defender in the league, I think, and he’s a weapon to pinch run and do some things for us late. We need Billy to get straightened out and be an igniter in our lineup.”
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