By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

John Bale deserved better. Bale's six-inning, three-hit, nine-strikeout performance earned him a no-decision in the Reds' 3-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday before a crowd of 23,309 at Great American Ball Park.

D'Angelo Jimenez is tagged out at second base in the 5th inning. (Tony Jones photos) | ZOOM |

"You can't ask for much more than six innings of shutout ball," Reds manager Dave Miley said.

It was the eighth loss in nine games for the Reds and the 16th straight they've lost to the D'backs.

The script has been pretty much the same in every game in the Reds' tailspin: good pitching, awful offense. The Reds have scored a total of 10 runs in the eight losses.

Ray Olmedo's RBI single in the fourth broke a 22-inning scoreless skid, and the 1-0 lead was still intact when Bale left after six.

Arizona won it with three runs off Felix Heredia in the eighth.

Wednesday's game begged the question: Why did Bale spend 3 1/2 months in the minors while the Reds had the worst starting pitching in the National League?

Bale joined the Reds on July 31, just as Aaron Boone and Co. were departing.

Had he and Jose Acevedo been here early on, the salary dump might have been avoided.

Adam Dunn rounds third and heads for home Wednesday during the Reds' 3-1 loss to Arizona. | ZOOM |

Bale's start Wednesday was his second in the majors. He walked only one to go with a career-high nine strikeouts.

Bale, a 28-year-old left-hander, was signed three days after being released by the New York Mets on May 3.

"(Player development director) Tim Naehring called me about him," Miley said. "I remembered him from a few years before. He was a top prospect. I said if he's anything like I saw, he's a very usable guy."

Bale pitched well at Triple-A Louisville - 4-1 with a 3.30 ERA and four saves - but it's doubtful he would have gotten a shot if not for the Reds' injuries and trades.

"With (lefties Kent) Mercker, Gabe White and Heredia, I didn't know if I'd get a chance," Bale said.

Starting was a surprise to Bale, who made one spot start at Louisville. But with Jimmy Haynes and Ryan Dempster on the disabled list, the Reds took a flyer.

"Tonight was kind of emotional for me," Bale said. "It was in-your-face time for the Mets."

Now if he could find a cure for the Reds' offense.

The Reds' first inning had that Groundhog Day feel. D'Angelo Jimenez singled, and an out later, Sean Casey reached on an infield hit. A hit meant a run - but the Reds couldn't deliver. Adam Dunn grounded to first, and Jason LaRue struck out. It was the Reds' 79th strikeout in the last eight games.

Olmedo, in the lineup to give Barry Larkin a night off, lined one into center to give the Reds a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning.

The first batter Heredia faced, pinch hitter Quinton McCracken, led off the eighth with a double that fell between center fielder Pena and right fielder Reggie Taylor in deep right-center.

Pena initially called Taylor off the ball. Taylor then made a stab at it, but it fell.

Craig Counsell sacrificed McCracken to third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly.

Arizona	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Kata 3b-2b	3	0	0	1	0	1	.297
Cintron ss	4	1	1	0	0	0	.294
LGonzalez lf	4	1	1	2	0	1	.312
Hillenbrand 1b	4	0	0	0	0	2	.289
SFinley cf	4	0	2	0	0	1	.302
Mondesi rf	4	0	2	0	0	1	.311
Spivey 2b	2	0	0	0	0	2	.251
Baerga ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.325
Randolph p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Moeller c	1	0	0	0	0	0	.277
Barajas c	1	0	0	0	1	0	.221
McCracken ph	1	1	1	0	0	0	.232
Villarreal p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Mantei p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
MBatista p	2	0	0	0	0	2	.073
Counsell 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	.251
Totals	31	3	7	3	1	10

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
DJimenez 2b	5	0	3	0	0	1	.321
JCastro 3b	4	0	1	0	0	1	.252
Casey 1b	4	0	1	0	0	0	.298
Dunn lf	4	1	2	0	0	0	.217
LaRue c	4	0	1	0	0	2	.239
WPena cf	3	0	0	0	1	1	.164
Olmedo ss	3	0	1	1	1	0	.292
Taylor rf	4	0	1	0	0	1	.200
Bale p	2	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Stinnett ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.253
Wagner p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Heredia p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
Reitsma p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
Stenson ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	35	1	10	1	2	8

Arizona	000	000	030	-3	7	0
Cincinnati	000	100	000	-1	10	0

LOB-Arizona 4, Cincinnati 9. 2B-McCracken (5). HR-LGonzalez (21), off Heredia. RBIs-Kata (15), LGonzalez 2 (79), Olmedo (9). SB-SFinley (9), Mondesi 2 (3). CS-SFinley (8), DJimenez (4). S-Counsell. SF-Kata. GIDP-LaRue.

Runners left in scoring position-Arizona 2 (Baerga, MBatista); Cincinnati 5 (LaRue 2, Bale, Stinnett 2).

Runners moved up-Dunn.

DP-Arizona 1 (Spivey, Cintron and Hillenbrand); Cincinnati 1 (LaRue and JCastro).

Arizona	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
MBatista	6	9	1	1	2	6	94	2.86
Randolph W, 7-0	1	1	0	0	0	0	15	3.77
Villarreal H, 5	1	0	0	0	0	1	11	2.33
Mantei S, 17	1	0	0	0	0	1	11	2.58

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Bale	6	3	0	0	1	9	94	0.71
Wagner H, 2	1	1	0	0	0	1	16	3.00
Heredia L, 5-2	BS, 3	1	3	3	3	0	0	14	2.87
Reitsma	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	3.98

WP-Heredia.

Umpires-Home, Fieldin Culbreth; First, Terry Craft; Second, Charlie Reliford; Third, Marty Foster.

T-2:44. A-23,309 (42,263).