Defeat Puts Dodgers Up Against the Wall

A smashed clubhouse wall illustrated the frustration of pitcher Kevin Brown and the Dodgers, who followed a familiar script Thursday night in a 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Cincinnati Reds before 24,333 at Great American Ball Park.

The intense right-hander opened a two-foot-long hole near his dressing stall after a sensational seven-inning, 11-strikeout performance that, holding to form, wasn’t good enough for a club struggling to score regardless of the opponent.

Reggie Taylor, a defensive replacement in the eighth, singled to right with one out against Guillermo Mota (1-1), driving in Felipe Lopez from second with the winning run and capping a 3-hour 22-minute game. The Reds took two of three from the Dodgers and pitched much better than one would expect from a club with the National League’s worst earned-run average at 5.90.

The Dodgers scored only four runs in the series. On Thursday, Alex Cora had three of their eight hits, and the Dodgers stranded 13 baserunners.

Mike Kinkade’s two-out, pinch-hit, run-scoring double in the eighth tied the score, 2-2, and that was it until Taylor’s clutch hit against Mota, the Dodgers’ fifth pitcher. Felix Heredia (1-0), the Reds’ sixth pitcher, worked the 11th for the victory.

The Dodgers, who trail the San Francisco Giants by 8 1/2 games in the National League West, expected to be in a much better position.

“All of us are trying too hard,” said catcher Paul Lo Duca, in a two-for-30 slump after going hitless in five at-bats Thursday. “We’re just trying to do too much.

“I still can’t believe we lost this ballgame. To go extra innings and lose this game ... we should have won.”

As is the case when things go badly, they aren’t getting many breaks.

The Dodgers failed to score in the second with one out and runners in scoring position, Brian Jordan was thrown out at the plate in the sixth and Cincinnati left fielder Jose Guillen caught Lo Duca’s line drive against the scoreboard in the top of the 11th with the potential go-ahead run on second.

But that wasn’t the worst of it for the Dodgers, as the Reds scored a run in the seventh on what appeared to be a blown call at first base. The Dodgers are 9-13, and Brown is one of many Dodgers who are at wits’ end.

“People watching the game [on television] can see what was going on,” Brown said of the play at first in the seventh. “Stuff like that happens and changes the course of a game, and you’re not going to be happy about it. It’s not exactly what I wake up in the morning and say I look forward to have happen.”

After the Dodgers pulled even, 1-1, in the seventh when Jordan walked with the bases loaded, the Reds took a 2-1 lead after umpire Larry Poncino’s momentum-turning call.

Ryan Freel, running for Sean Casey with one out and the bases loaded, scored the go-ahead run while Poncino ruled that Juan Castro beat the throw to first, thwarting a double play. Second baseman Cora flipped to shortstop Cesar Izturis, who got the force at second and made a high throw to first baseman Fred McGriff.

TV replays appeared to show that McGriff, who stretched and leaped to catch the ball, had his foot on the bag before Castro arrived. Manager Jim Tracy argued, but it didn’t help.

“He was out. He missed the call,” said Tracy, whose club has averaged two runs in its 13 losses. “I had a tired pitcher on the mound, I was very well aware of that, but I had a star pitcher out there on the mound.

“I’m certainly not going to take the ball away from him, and have somebody else give up the hit while he stands in the clubhouse or dugout and watches it happen. He did what he had to do: He got the ground ball.

“The man was out at first. It cost us a run. I asked a question as to whether [McGriff] pulled his foot, and I got the wrong answer. [Poncino] said he beat it.”

Lo Duca was incensed.

“The first-base umpire made a terrible call -- bottom line,” he said. “It wasn’t even remotely close either.... It gets down to the point where some of these [umpires] want to get out of here. They don’t want to go to extra innings. Bad call.”