Marlins 1B Derrek Lee misses a foul ball by Aaron Boone in the second inning. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Marlins stater A.J. Burnett struggled with his control Tuesday night and that ultimately doomed him when Austin Kearns hit a fifth-inning grand slam to lift the Reds to a 6-1 victory.

        Burnett (5-4) struggled with his curve all night, forcing him deep into counts. He walked five in five innings, including Barry Larkin with the bases loaded in the second, and got himself into more trouble in the fifth.

        “Everything was off,” said Burnett, who has walked 34 in 69 1-3 innings. “I got it back one inning, then lost it, then got it back. I've got to be consistent.”

        Burnett opened the fifth by walking Larkin, then gave up singles by Juan Encarnacion and Sean Casey that made it 2-1. The right-hander walked Adam Dunn on a full-count pitch, then went 3-0 on

        The win restored the Reds' good feelings. They were coming off a deflating series — three losses in four games in St. Louis, which whittled their NL Central lead to three games.

        “After losing three of four in St. Louis, we wanted to get something going,” Kearns said.

        The Marlins haven't been able to get anything going on their longest road trip in franchise history — four cities, 14 games. They're 2-6 on the trip and their pitchers have given up 17 homers in the eight games, including three grand slams.

        “A guy hits a grand slam, but five walks — that's unacceptable,” Burnett said.
       

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