Todd Walker looks forlornly at the scoreboard on a steamy night at the ballpark. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        The days dwindle, the Reds lose. The only consolation? So did the Cardinals and the Astros. But no longer is that enough. The Reds must win, and Wednesday, with a good chance early to do it, they didn't.

        In Cincinnati's 11-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers before 23,258 fans Wednesday night at Cinergy Field, the Reds had the Dodgers' Hideo Nomo on the ropes but couldn't knock him out.

        “I pitched with him in Detroit and that's the kind of pitcher he is - get him early, if you can,” said Reds starter Brian Moehler, who gave up all four of his runs in the fourth inning of his six-inning night.

        The feeling was that if the Reds had delivered the big hits early, this game would have come out differently.

        “We couldn't get it done early,” said Reds manager Bob Boone. “We couldn't get the big hit to knock him out “

Shawn Green trots past Brian Moehler after his fourth-inning HR. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Moehler (2-2, 1-1 with Reds) didn't pitch badly. But in the fourth, he gave up back-to-back home runs to Paul Lo Duca and Shawn Green, a single to Brian Jordan, a walk to Eric Karros, a double to Mark Grudzielanek and a sacrifice fly to Cesar Izturis.

        “The pitch to Green is the one I'd like to have back,” Moehler said. “A changeup up and away. I faced him a lot over in the American League. He's a very good mistake hitter. He got his arms extended and really drove it.”

        The word on Moehler when he was traded to the Reds from Detroit on July 23 was that when he missed his spots he would get drilled. The fourth inning was a textbook example of that.

        At that point the Reds were trailing only 4-2, having scored two runs in the first inning on a leadoff double by Todd Walker, single by Aaron Boone, sacrifice fly by Adam Dunn and double by Ken Griffey Jr.

Adam Dunn reacts after fouling a ball off his leg. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        “It just doesn't change (in terms of having to win every night),” manager Boone said. “Win one, maybe you can win two in a row, win two in a row, maybe you can win three in a row. There's no more pressure to it than that.”

        Nomo is having a good year - he came into the game with a 10-6 record and a 3.33 ERA - but the Dodgers are one of the teams the Reds must beat to earn the wild-card playoff berth, and the Reds are supposed to be good run producers, are they not?

        Well, not enough so far.

        A better-hitting group probably probably would have scored more than two runs off Nomo in the first inning. The Reds left Griffey on second base and Austin Kearns, who walked, on first. Russell Branyan flew out to left, and Barry Larkin flew out just short of the warning track in center.

        In the second inning, the Reds squandered a leadoff walk by Jason LaRue, a sacrifice bunt by Moehler and a single by Walker. Aaron Boone flew out to right and after Dunn walked to load the bases, Griffey grounded out to second base.

Aaron Boone slides under Eric Karros for a first-inning single. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        In the third inning after a leadoff single by Kearns, Branyan struck out, Kearns was caught stealing and Larkin grounded out.

        At least in the seventh inning, the Reds were able to get on the board against right-handed reliever Paul Quantrill - but they didn't get enough on the board, given the opportunity.

        LaRue led off with a single, pinch-hitter Brandon Larson moved him to third with a perfectly executed hit-and-run, and Walker lined a sacrifice fly to center.

        But Boone then struck out looking - he went back to the dugout shaking his head, unhappy with the call by home-plate umpire Gerry Davis - and in came left-handed reliever Jesse Orosco to strike out Adam Dunn and leave Larson on base.

        The Reds were still in it, though, down only 4-3. But reliever Scott Sullivan gave up two big runs to the Dodgers in the eighth.

        First came a one-out solo home run to deep right-center by Adrian Beltre to make it 5-3, and then an infield single to Karros, a walk to Grudzielanek and a single to Izturis to load the bases . Marquis Grissom hit a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3. In came the newly-activated Gabe White and out went an RBI single by Tyler Houston and a two-RBI double (9-3) by Paul LoDuca to left-center.

Dodgers 11, Reds 5 Reds Box, Runs Rare Wagner card found - maybe White activated; Reitsma sent down Getting Kearns out is almost a no-no Reds Notebook: Chen's confidence up Beltre leads Dodgers out of homer slump Marlins 8, Cardinals 5 Mariners 5, Tigers 2 Red Sox 2, Angels 1 Contenders tweak rosters at deadline Arbitrator could OK contraction Louisville 6, Indianapolis 3

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