Sean Casey signs autographs for kids that came to batting practice before the game. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        The Reds were not climbing any stairways to heaven Saturday night. Rather they were descending the stairwell into the sub-.500 club.

        Cincinnati was blasted 11-2 by the lowly Milwaukee Brewers before 21,288 jeering fans at Cinergy Field.

        The Reds' second straight loss to the Brewers dropped their record to 66-69 this season.

        The Reds' race now is not with the Cardinals and Astros; it is with oblivion. They are 10 back following a Cards' doubleheader sweep Saturday.

        Reds starter Chris Reitsma, who only four days days earlier had pitched well enough against St. Louis to get the victory, was hammered. The Brewers tagged him for five home runs, and a total of six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Chris Reitsma rubs his face after giving up his 4th homer. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        Pitching on one day's less rest than normal affected Reitsma's stuff — even catcher Kelly Stinnett said so — but Reitsma wouldn't use it as an excuse.

        “I stunk,” he said. “I wasn't quite as crisp ... but that's no excuse. I let the team down and I feel bad. I gave it my all ... In a case like that, I've got to dig deep and figure something else out. I didn't. I tried all the tricks, and it didn't work.”

        The third of the home runs — a 447-foot blast by Brewers' right-fielder Ryan Thompson — landed in a second-level stairwell outside Great American Ball Park.

        So eager was Reitsma to wash the taste, smell and feel of this outing from his system, he cued up some game tapes of past good performances.

 

Reggie Taylor is greeted my teammates after a 2nd inning homer. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

;       “It's one of those days where I know I'm better than that,” he said. “I'm just trying to shake it off and forget about it.”

        On Aug. 11, the Reds were 61-55, only two games behind St. Louis. Since then, they are 5-14 and have lost an additional eight games in the standings.

        Figuratively, the Reds resemble Saturday's promotional Sean Casey rubber duckie that Adam Dunn beheaded before the game and stuck on a seat in Casey's cubicle in the locker room.

        The two home runs Brewers' catcher Jorge Fabregas hit were his first two of the season; the one by Brewers center fielder Alex Sanchez was the first of his career.

Todd Walkeris out at 2nd whle Milwaukee SS Jose Hernandez relays to first. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        “The difference between Chris' pitches in and away was (three to five miles an hour),” said catcher Stinnett. “He was 87 (mph) in and 90-92 away. That's a pretty big difference when you're trying to pitch in. He threw (four days ago instead of five); it probably had something to do with it.”

        Reitsma, who normally has a devastating changeup, wasn't fooling anybody on Saturday.

        “When you don't establish the fastball as well as you want to, everything else suffers,” he said.

        The last of the Brewers' five home runs was hit by the appropriately named Matt Stairs.

        The Reds are trying to climb up the down staircase now.

Brewers 11, Reds 2 Reds Box, Runs With season winding down, Silva's thoughts turn to Mexico Is Cincinnati the baseball town it once was? Cinergy countdown No. 11 Oh, brother, where art thou? Reds chatter Brewers deal infielder Loretta to Astros Eight weeks of talk, emotion Cards sweep Cubs in doubleheader Dodgers 4, Astros 0 Marlins 3, Pirates 2 Indianapolis 4, Louisville 0 John Fay's MLB power rankings

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