Sal Romano survived the first inning without giving up a run, an area that has troubled him for most of his recent starts.
It was a couple of pitches left over the plate in the fourth inning that did most of the damage Wednesday in a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Great American Ball Park in front of a crowd of 19,762.
Romano, who entered Wednesday with an 11.21 ERA in his last four starts, allowed five runs on six hits in five innings. He struck out six.
On May 9, Romano had a 3.83 ERA and was starting to make a case for the most consistent starter in the rotation. Now his ERA sits at 6.83.
“I’m extremely frustrated," Romano said. "I’m not not working hard in between my starts to get better. It’s not the problem. I’ve just got to execute during the game and get guys out when I need to. I just haven’t been doing that the last month."
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In the top of the fourth inning, Gerardo Parra smacked an RBI single to right field, clapping when he saw teammate Trevor Story cross home plate. Three pitches later and Ian Desmond lined a hanging curveball into the left-center seats for a two-run homer and 4-2 lead.
The Reds, who lost their fourth straight game and dropped their record to 21-40, haven’t had a starting pitcher record an out in the sixth inning since May 27.
"I know there are a lot of good things I did today and the stat sheet doesn’t show it," Romano said. "But it doesn’t matter, I gave up five runs.”
Colorado’s backup catcher Tony Wolters, entering Wednesday with a .159 batting average, laced an RBI double down the right-field line past a diving Joey Votto in the second inning. He added another RBI single to right field in the sixth.
Wolters is hitting 5-for-9 against the Reds this season; 10-for-78 against the rest of baseball.
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Facing Rockies (31-29) starter Jon Gray for the second time in 12 days, the Reds struggled to deliver a big hit. They left 13 runners on base, hitting 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
"The pressure should be on the pitcher," said Reds right fielder Scott Schebler, who hit a pair of singles but left five runners on base. "Personally, for me, I’m putting pressure on myself to get the job done instead of understanding he’s the one in trouble. It’s definitely frustrating.
"Nobody is more to blame than me I feel like. I’ve been up there a bunch of times in the last couple of nights with guys on base and just haven’t gotten it done."
In the last two games, the Reds have recorded 28 hits. They've got two losses to show for it.
"That’s pretty much the story," Reds manager Jim Riggleman said. "We just have to get some timely hits. Getting three runs out of those hits today, that’s not enough."
Jose Peraza continued his nine-game hitting streak with an RBI single to center field in the second inning, scoring Scooter Gennett.
Jesse Winker opened the bottom of the third inning with a leadoff double, scoring on a sacrifice fly from Gennett. Winker had a diving catch in left field in the top of the inning.
In the fifth inning, Votto hit a double and quickly scored on another double from Gennett.
But the Reds couldn’t find ways to sustain a rally.
Rockies reliever Harrison Musgrove walked two of the first three batters he faced in the sixth inning. In trouble against the top of the Reds’ order, he struck out Tucker Barnhart and Votto to end the threat.
"It’s about trying to win ballgames and we’re not winning ballgames," Riggleman said. "Not too many pluses to really think about."
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