By HAL McCOY
Another game in Chavez Ravine, another defeat for the Cincinnati Reds. It’s becoming a perplexing habit.
The Reds gave their best effort Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough and the Los Angeles Dodgers scored a bottom-of-the-ninth walk-off victory, 5-4.
Corey Saeger’s two-out drive into the left field corner scored Yasiel Puig from second base against relief pitcher Tony Cingrani and the Reds lost in Dodger Stadium for the eighth straight time.
THE REDS CAME FROM three runs down in the sixth, tying the game, 4-4, on Devin Mesoraco’s three-run home run.
LA’s Alex Wood, 6-and-0 with a 1.29 ERA, started and left after 5 2/3 innings with two on and a 4-1 lead. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts lifted him in favor of Josh Fields.
Mesoraco turned on a 0-and-1 fastball and ripped it over the left center field wall to tie it.
THE REDS HAD A CHANCE in the eighth inning against Pedro Baez when Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez singled with one out. But Scott Schebler flied to center and Mesoraco, hoping for another three-run blast, popped to short.
Asher Wojciechowski started for the Reds and wobbled through the first inning, giving up three runs.
Chase Utley opened the inning with a single. Scooter Gennett, playing left field in place of Adam Duvall (under the weather), misplayed a line drive by Seager and the ball sailed over his head for a double that scored a run. Adrian Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 and rookie Cody Bellinger homered to make it 3-0.
WOOD WAS WORKING ON 29 straight scoreless innings in the fourth when Jose Peraza singled home Gennett, who had doubled, and the Reds trailed 3-1.
Puig doubled in the fifth and scored on Chase Utley’s double to make it 4-1.
Wojciechowski pitched five innings and gave up four runs and six hits. Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless inning, Michael Lorenzen pitched two scoreless innings.
Drew Storen started the ninth and ran into quick trouble.
He struck out Logan Forsythe, but gave up back-to-back singles to Yasiel Puig and pinch-hitter Justin Turner.
CINGRANI, WHO MADE two low pressure appearances since coming off the disabled list, replaced Storen in a high-leverage situation.
Cingrani struck out pinch-hitter Franklin Gutierrez. But Seager picked on the first pitch and sent it toward the left field corner. Gennett made a diving attempt but couldn’t come up with it and the game was over.
In the sixth inning, when Mesoraco hit the three-run home run, there could have been more.
Rookie center fielder Chris Taylor, playing because Joc Pederson is on the disabled list, leaped against the wall twice in the first, taking doubles away from Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett.