By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SAN DIEGO - Right about the time the Reds traded a good part of the present for some future pitching, a funny thing happened: The Reds started pitching well and quit hitting.
The Reds had a 3.24 team ERA over the five-game losing streak they took into Saturday's game against the San Diego Padres.
They had lost all five because they had hit only .205 over that span. As a result, they averaged 1.6 runs per game over the five games.
"We've got to find a way to push some runs across the plate," Reds manager Dave Miley said.
The Reds entered Saturday on a streak of 14 scoreless innings.
The lack of offense is fairly easy to explain. The Reds were no offensive juggernaut before the trades that sent Jose Guillen and Aaron Boone packing. And Guillen and Boone were the Reds' two best hitters this year.
Since they've left, the Reds had not scored more than five runs in any game entering Saturday.
Brandon Larson replaced Boone in the lineup. Larson went into Saturday 1-for-11 since his call-up from Triple-A Louisville. Twice in Friday's 1-0 loss, Larson struck out with the potential winning run at third.
Reggie Taylor and Wily Mo Pena are getting the bulk of Guillen's playing time. Taylor broke a 0-for-26 streak with a 12th-inning single Friday. Pena has been hitting better but still struggles against breaking balls.
Players who have been regulars all year have been struggling as well.
Adam Dunn entered Saturday 2-for-his-last-22; Jason LaRue was 0-for-his-last-8.
"We've had opportunities," Miley said, "and we've had the guys you would want to be up there."
The recent struggles point to what the Reds might be facing next year.
They will get Austin Kearns and Ken Griffey Jr. back, but there are some huge questions about the lineup: Will Barry Larkin be back; if not, who plays short? If Larson continues to struggle, who plays third? If Taylor continues to struggle, who is the fourth outfielder?
The Reds should have money to pick up second-tier free agents to plug some holes and guard against injuries. That will be one of the first jobs for the new general manager.
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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com
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