Since they hold the largest division lead in the Majors, a fan of another club might refer on Twitter to what the Reds are going through lately as, “#firstplaceproblems.”
Johnny Cueto hasn’t pitched very well lately, at least by the lofty bar he’s set all season. The offense isn’t chugging on all cylinders, either. And as the team with baseball’s second-best record, the 84-57 Reds lost a 5-1 game on Sunday and two of three in a series to the team with baseball’s worst record in the 44-96 Astros.
It marked back-to-back series losses for Cincinnati, which also dropped two of three to Philadelphia. The club has lost only four series since the All-Star break. As for Houston, it hadn’t won a road series since beating the White Sox in early June.
“You have these spells in a season. You just hope you time it right and continue to build momentum,” Reds first baseman Joey Votto said. “We have one goal in mind. As a unit, we will continue to push towards it. I am confident that we’ll continue to work behind the scenes to be a better ballclub when the season ends.”
The Reds still hold an 8 1/2 game lead over the second-place Cardinals in the National League Central with 21 games remaining. Their magic number to clinch remained 14, after St. Louis outlasted Milwaukee in extra innings on Sunday.
When the homestand began, Cueto hadn’t lost a day game all season. Now, he’s lost two in a row after he tied his season’s shortest outing with four innings pitched. But a lot was done to him in that limited time. He allowed four runs on nine hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Foiled in his bid for 18 wins again, Cueto is now 17-8 and with a 2.71 ERA, lost his NL ERA lead to 18-game winner R.A. Dickey (2.64) and possibly some momentum for the NL Cy Young Award.
Cueto came in with a 2.79 ERA over his previous six starts, so it’s not exactly a slump that the right-hander is experiencing. He allowed four runs and eight hits over seven innings in Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Phillies.
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