“I think most people that have been doing this at least for a little bit understand the cycles of the season,” Price said. “I was listening to something the other day, and they’re talking about the Cardinals or Blue Jays or Texas, three good teams that have gotten off to slow starts. They’re not all of a sudden bad teams. That’s how it is. The questions come based on how well the team’s playing. Hey, you guys are playing really good. We talk about how good the players are. The team goes through struggles, and we talk about who’s not playing well. It’s the nature of the beast.”
The Reds opened this 10-game homestand at Great American Ball Park with a 7-2 record. They’re 7-4 now after a 5-1 loss Thursday and a 10-4 loss Friday. They had an early 1-0 lead in the first game and an early 3-0 lead Friday.
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The Reds bullpen began the day with a 1.13 ERA, the second-best mark in baseball. Reds relievers allowed five earned runs in 39 2/3 innings in the first 10 games and then allowed eight earned runs in the sixth and seventh innings Friday.
“They really took the momentum from us and continued to pile on,” Price said. “It was a tale of two ballgames: three nice innings and six not-very-nice innings.”
The four-run sixth came against two Reds relievers who had combined to allow one earned run in nine innings. Blake Wood entered the game with a 1.93 ERA in five appearances. Wandy Peralta had not allowed a run in four games.
An inning later, Michael Lorenzen allowed four earned runs on four hits. His ERA jumped from 0.00 — he had not allowed a run in four appearances — to 5.14.
In his third start of the season, Scott Feldman allowed two earned runs on four hits with five walks in five innings. He walked the bases loaded in the fifth and escaped with an inning-ending double-play, pumping his fist as he left the mound with a 3-2 lead.
The Reds played longball to get on the board in the early innings. Zack Cozart hit a two-run home run in the second. Joey Votto hit a solo home run in the third.
Cozart continues to swing a hot bat. He entered the game with a .481 average. He was 3-for-3 Thursday in a 5-1 loss to the Brewers.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Brewers at Reds, 1:10 p.m., FS Ohio, 700, 1410
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