Game of the day: Reds at Padres --Good Read

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MLB Fri, Jul 29, 2005
Game of the day: Reds at Padres
Andrew Folkes

Cincinnati Reds at San Diego Padres

The line: The Padres are -134 favorites. The Padres and Reds split the wins in four meetings this year.

The total: The total is set at 7 1/2. Four Red-Padres meetings have produced two unders and two overs.

Swagger to stagger: Padres torching bankrolls

The San Diego Padres have taken their supporters from the penthouse to the poorhouse over the past two months and all the losing is taking its toll on the club’s confidence.

"We don`t have the same swagger we had in May," center fielder Dave Roberts told the San Diego Union Tribune after Thursday’s 11-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I don`t know if you can have that swagger if you`re not winning. But we haven`t played that kind of baseball in a long time. When things go well, you expect them to go well. If you`re down three runs in the ninth, you still expect to win. We were very confident. Right now . . . there`s definitely a sense of urgency.”

The Padres stood at the 14 games over .500 and at the summit of the Covers.com money list at the end of May. But Thursday’s blowout loss to the Cards along with Friday`s 8-3 loss to Cincinnati marked 10 losses in 11 games, dropping their record to 51-52 and their backers 8.17 units into the red.

If, as Roberts suggests, there is a sense of urgency in the Padres clubhouse, it certainly isn’t coming from the rest of the NL West. Despite their recent woes, San Diego still sits atop its division and none of the other NL West clubs appear to have the talent or consistency to challenge for that spot.

So while their backers are losing their shirts, the Padres remain firmly planted in the playoff picture – not that that’s any comfort to this struggling San Diego team.

"We`re dead right now," said catcher Robert Fick. "I don`t know how that happens, but it has happened. You can`t point a finger at anybody; it`s everybody. I don`t know what it is."

Reds sticking by Belisle

He’s blown two of his last three save opportunities and cost his team’s backers a unit in Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Cincinnati Reds say they’re going to stick with reliever Matt Belisle.

“For a guy that`s never been a reliever to go out there and throw one inning, it`s not easy," said manager Jerry Narron. “The biggest thing about guys out of the bullpen that they have to deal with is when they fail and then come back the next day and get guys out. He`s going to get that chance.”

With Cincy up 3-2 over the Dodgers after six innings on Tuesday, Belisle was brought in to relieve starter Eric Milton. The 25-year-old hurler gave three hits and a run in the seventh, an inning that saw three Dodgers cross the plate. L.A. went on to win 7-4 as –163 favorites.

The following evening he gave up another four hits and two runs in the seventh blowing his club’ s 6-4 lead. The Reds managed a run in the ninth to steal a 7-6 win over L.A. at +151, but no thanks to their struggling reliever.

"My location was just a little bit off the last couple days," said Belisle. "But I still feel great, and I`m loving the situations."

Belisle`s struggles in his current role aren’t that surprising when you consider that all 123 of his minor league appearances were starts, and that he began the season with the Reds as a starter. As he noted, Belisle has some work to do on his control, but the biggest adjustment he needs to make is mental.

“This game is about dealing with adversity, it`s about dealing with failure,” said Narron. “He’s going to have to go back out and get back to where he was a couple weeks ago, and I think he will."

Books adjust to low scoring San Diego

The Padres were never what you’d call a heavy hitting team, but lately their offensive ineptness has gotten ridiculous. They’ve scored more than three runs just once in their last 10 games and were shutout twice through that span.

"It`s almost comical," starter Woody Williams told PE.com.

The team’s supporters probably don’t think so as the offensive woes have seen the Padres drop nine of their last 10 contests. But under backers are laughing all the way to the bank collecting four paydays in San Diego’s last six tilts.

However, the value may have dried up on the Padres` offensive drought. The books have set totals of 7 ½ runs on three of their last four contests.

Padres gold in Game 2s

Cincinnati faces a struggling San Diego team on Saturday, but it’s the Padres that hold the Game 2 edge.

The Padres are seven games over .500 in the second game of a series this season while the Reds are 14-19. That trend’s held true for the Padres even in the midst of their recent woes. They’ve lost nine of their last 10 tilts, but that lone victory came in Game 2 of their series with St. Louis, a 2-1 win as –137 favorites.

It’s the same with Cincy. The Reds have been on a roll lately winning six of their last 10, but dropped the second game of their last two series` – an 11-7 loss to Milwaukee July 23 and a 7-4 defeat to the Dodgers on Tuesday.
 

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