LOS ANGELES — The Cincinnati Reds outhit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, but defensive mistakes and missed opportunities prevented them from turning those hits into a victory.
Ke’Bryan Hayes committed two errors, including a costly throwing error that allowed two runs to score, as the Reds fell to the Dodgers 6-3 at Dodger Stadium.
Cincinnati grabbed the lead almost immediately. Elly De La Cruz sent a pitch from Emmet Sheehan over the center-field wall in the first inning, giving the Reds a 1-0 advantage with his 24th home run of the season. It marked the third consecutive game in which De La Cruz has homered.
That was the only offense Cincinnati managed against Sheehan, who struck out 10 batters while allowing one run on three hits and one walk.
Chase Burns matched him early, working three scoreless, hitless innings in the start for Cincinnati. Burns walked one and struck out five before the Reds turned the game over to Brandon Williamson in the fourth.
The lead disappeared one inning later.
Teoscar Hernández and Alex Call reached base before Miguel Rojas hit a ground ball toward third. Hayes’ throw sailed away, allowing both runners to score and Rojas to advance to third as the Dodgers took a 2-1 lead without recording a hit in the inning.
Los Angeles broke the game open in the sixth. Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy reached ahead of Hernández, who launched a three-run homer to left field off Williamson and extended the Dodgers’ advantage to 5-1.
Williamson (3-4) was charged with six runs—three earned. He struck out four.
The Reds attempted to climb back into the game behind the long ball. Eugenio Suárez homered to center in the seventh inning, cutting the deficit to 5-2 with his 22nd of the season.
Héctor Rodríguez opened the eighth with a base hit, advanced to third and scored on Dane Myers’ groundout to pull Cincinnati within two. The Dodgers answered in the bottom half when Will Smith’s sacrifice fly brought home Muncy and restored their three-run cushion.
Evan Phillips retired the Reds in order in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.
Cincinnati went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and struck out 15 times. De La Cruz, Rodríguez and Carlos Jorge each recorded two hits, with Jorge collecting the first two hits of his major league career.
The loss dropped Cincinnati to 69-75.
What’s Next: The Reds continue their three-game series against the Dodgers on Tuesday night. Nick Lodolo is scheduled to start for Cincinnati against Los Angeles left-hander Tarik Skubal. First pitch is set for 10:10 p.m.
