Royce Clayton beats Pokey Reese's tag for a double. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        CHICAGO — Maybe the Reds can revive their recent surge in the next several days. But their 5-0 interleague loss Tuesday night to the Chicago White Sox suggested they'll struggle to do so.

        The Reds (25-37), who had won four of their previous five games, floundered against Chicago's David Wells, who fired seven shutout innings. Wells happens to throw left-handed — a trait shared by four of the next five starting pitchers Cincinnati's scheduled to face.

        “We don't know how to act. We've probably seen four or five left-handers all year,” Reds manager Bob Boone jokingly said before the game.

        Boone actually wasn't far off. The Reds are 6-6 against lefty starters. That record could plummet, given the mostly formidable collection of the southpaws they're due to face: Chicago's Mark Buehrle, who has thrown 24 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings; Colorado's Mike Hampton, who's 9-2 with a 2.98 ERA; and former Red Denny Neagle, whose 5-2 record shows he has adjusted to Colorado. The Reds might have a shot against Colorado's Brian Bohanon, who took a 7.40 ERA into his start Tuesday against Seattle.

Former Red David Wells was nearly untouchable. | ZOOM |

        A Comiskey Park crowd of 21,687, which included 6,200 day-of-game ticket-buyers inspired by the White Sox's weekend series victory over the crosstown rival Cubs, watched Wells (5-5) precipitate the Reds' third shutout defeat of the season.

        The Reds should have notched at least one run in the sixth inning, when they loaded the bases with one out.

        Ruben Rivera then hit a one-hopper to third baseman Joe Crede. After Sean Casey was forced at second base, Rivera appeared to beat the relay to first, which would have scored Brady Clark. But umpire Kerwin Danley called Rivera out, completing a double play while prompting brief arguments from Boone and first-base coach Bill Doran.

        Boone was still seething after the game.

        “I don't know how (Danley) missed that call,” Boone said. Noting that ballpark video boards don't show replays in such situations, Boone added: “They don't do it because they don't want to be embarrassed. He should be embarrassed. I thought that was horrible.”

        Rivera said he sped to the clubhouse, saw a televised replay and received an apology of sorts from Danley on the way back to the outfield. “I said, "That wasn't really even close,'” Rivera related. “He said, "I know I made a mistake.'”

Ex-Red Paul Konerko hits a two-run homer. | ZOOM |

        Cincinnati starter Elmer Dessens (5-3), who was 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA in his previous six starts, matched Wells until former Red Paul Konerko delivered a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Chicago's Magglio Ordonez, who's batting .419 (18-for-43) in his last 10 games, added a three-run homer in the sixth.

        Boone was also unhappy about his hitters. “We took some horrible swings at some bad pitches,” he said, observing that Wells threw “100 percent fastballs” in his final two innings.

        But players considered Wells, who also worked out of two-on, two-out jams in the fourth and seventh innings, much more deceptive.

        “It seemed like every time you swung, it was a ball, and when you didn't, it was a strike,” Alex Ochoa said. “It's weird. The (radar) gun says 90 (mph), but it (Wells' fastball) seems like it gets there a little quicker. It has a little finish to it.”

        “He was throwing his fastball where he wanted to and a little two-seam sinker away. He was mixing it up really well,” said third baseman Juan Castro. “He wasn't throwing that hard, but he had that cutter with late movement which was working for him.”

        Nobody in the Reds' lineup was with the club in 1995 when Wells helped Cincinnati coast to the NL Central title as a trading-deadline acquisition. Only three (Ochoa, Rivera and Donnie Sadler) had faced him before.

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