By Hal McCoy
The Cincinnati Reds versus the Los Angeles Dodgers is a MisMatch with two capital Ms.
For the fifth straight time this year and 10th straight overall, the Dodgers treated the Reds like Tinker Toys during a 4-0 win Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park.
During the five straight wins, the Dodgers have outscored the Reds, 31-7.
The Reds have struck out 47 times and Reds pitchers have walked 25.
It was the 17th time the Reds have been shut out, most in MLB. And it was their 81st loss, meaning one more defeat and they will finish the season under .500.
They have lost seven of their last eight with two more games dead ahead with the Dodgers. They are a season’s worst 24 games out of first place.
The only challenge left is to see if they can scramble out of last place in the National League Central. With 11 games remaining, they trail the fourth-place St. Louis Cardinals by 4 1/2 games.
For the second time in less than a week the Reds were helpless against LA pitcher Yosh Yamamoto.
Last week in Los Angeles, Yamamoto held the Reds to one run, three hits, one walk and struck out 10 over seven innings.
On Tuesday he held the Reds to no runs, one hit, walked two and struck out seven to win both games with a 0.64 earned run average.
Yamamoto is a tough task anywhere, especially on the road where he owns a 1.77 earned run average over 12 starts.
Yamamoto walked the firsrt two batters he faced, Carlos Jorge and Elly De La Cruz — two on and no outs in the first inning.
And the feeling for the Reds was, “We gotta get him now, can’t let him off the hook.”
They didn’t. He jumped off the hook swinging right hooks.
Sal Stewart popped up, JJ Bleday flied to right and Eugenio Suarez grounded out.
And the game was over.
Yamamoto retired 21 of the final 22 he faced, the only blemish a two-out double by De La Cruz in the third inning, extending his on-base streak to 22 games.
But after De La Cruz doubled, Stewart struck out on his way to stranding five runners he and struck out his last three times.
The Dodgers scored a run off Cincinnati starter Rhett Lowder in the second that began when he hit Max Muncy with a pitch with one out.
Tommy Edman, enmeshed in a 0 for 23 slump, bounced a ground ball single to left and Hunter Feducccia grounded a run-scoring single up the middle for a 1-0 LA lead.
Then it was deja vu.
On Monday, Reds starter Nick Lodolo had two outs and nobody on in the fourth. He walked Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernandez homered.
On Tuesday, Lowder had two outs and nobody on in the fourth. He walked Tucker and Hernandez homered.
The Reds should demand a blood test on Herandez to make sure he isn’t an AI concoction.
He has hit safely against the Reds in 23 straight games. In the five games this year, he has nine hits, four homers, a triple and eight RBI.
After Yamamoto departed, the Reds had a legitimate chance to pull off a comeback in the ninth inning against lefthander Tanner Scott.
Pinch-hitter Dane Scott opened the ninth with a full-count walk. De La Cruz singled to left, his second hit and two of the three hits the Reds had all night.
That put runners on third and first with no outs.
Stewart struck out again. Pinch-hitter Jose Trevino struck out on three pitches and Eugenio Suarez struck out on three pitches.
And that was that — just as it always is that was that against the Dodgers, World Series champions the last two seasons.
It seems as if Reds manager Tito Francona is describing how mean and ugly opposing pitcher are every night. And Tuesday was no exception as he talked briefly about Yamamoto.
“You know how many times I’ve been asked about our pitchers and I say you have to respect a couple of pitches?” he said. “With him it’s five and I know he has two different kinds of fastballs.
“It’s the two different fastballs, slow curves. . .it’s a pretty good repertoire,” he added.
Lowder faced Yamamoto last week in LA and gave up seven runs, seven hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings during a 14-1 loss.
He was much better Tuesday — five innings, three runs, five hits, two walks and two hit batters.
“A lot of pitches,” said Francona of Lowder’s 91-pitch night. “It was too bad because he had a three or four-pitch inning going in the fourth. Then the walk and the home run.
“That’s happened more than a few times to us during this last stretch,” he added. “I actually thought he was throwing better the last inning (1-2-3 with a strikeout).
“There will be times when he goes back out for the sixth, but people forget he hasn’t pitched a lot.”
Lowder’s velocity was up about 1 1/2 miles an hour from his previous start and Francona said, “Yes, and that’s a great sign.”
But the Reds offense sign is a Stop sign.