Iglesias fails again in non-save assignment, Reds lose, 5-1

By HAL McCOY A pair of season-long bugaboos surfaced again for the Cincinnati Reds Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. ONE: Closer Raisel Iglesias is downright awful when he is asked to pitch in a non-save situation. It was 1-1 when manager David Bell asked Iglesias to keep it there in the […]

Reds play blunderball in 5-1 loss to Angels

By HAL McCOY The Chicago Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates all lost Tuesday night. That gave the Cincinnati Reds a chance to pick up a game on every team in the National League Central. The Reds also lost and while they didn’t lose ground, they missed a huge […]

DeSclafani is Jekyl-Hyde in 7-5 loss to Brewers

By HAL McCOY Baseball is about as easy to explain as the theory of relativity and not even Albert Einstein can quantify the game. Explain this, Albert. Explain how the Cincinnati Reds lost to the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday afternoon, 7-5. Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani began the game in Miller Park by striking out […]

Castillo struggles as Reds’ winning streak ends, 6-5

By HAL McCOY With seven-game winner Luis Castillo facing eight-game loser Jhoulys Chacin, with the Cincinnati Reds on a six-game winning and the Milwaukee Brewers on a five-game losing streak, Las Vegas would make the Reds odds-on favorite to win Saturday afternoon Baseball doesn’t work that way. Even though the Reds scored three runs in […]

A wild one, but Reds win sixth straight, 11-7, over Brewers

By HAL McCOY The baseball gods are not only smiling down on the Cincinnati Reds, they are covering their mouths to keep from giggling out loud. The Reds are in a period in which everything they touch turns to platinum. And it has translated into a six-game winning streak. It was evident again Friday night […]

Reds rip Brewers, extend winning streak to five

By HAL McCOY The Cincinnati Reds seem to be borrowing a message from the movie Network: “They’re mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it any more.” Suddenly, they are playing baseball with swagger and aggression and a mission, as the Milwaukee Brewers discovered Thursday night in Miller Park. The Reds took no […]

Miracle finish as Reds sweep Astros with three one-run wins

By HAL McCOY Diane Birch sang a song called, “Nothing But a Miracle,” and that’s exactly what happened Wednesday afternoon in Great American Ball Park. The Cincinnati Reds, down a run and down to their last out to the Houston Astros, pulled two rabbits out of one hat to snatch away an unfathomable 3-2 victory. […]

Reds beat Astros, Verlander by one again, 4-3

By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — It seemed like Mission Impossible for the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night, an assignment against one of baseball’s best pitchers, Justin Verlander, and against one of baseball’s best teams, the Houston Astros. They not only completed their project in Great American Ball Park, they recorded an A+ on their assignment, a […]

Wood takes giant step toward return to ‘The Bump’

By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — There was an Alex Wood sighting early Tuesday afternoon in Great American Ball Park. He was on the mound, wearing his game uniform, Cincinnati Reds jersey No. 40. Wood hasn’t thrown a pitch in anger yet this season due to back misery. So when he threw a brief batting practice […]