Arroyo struggles again, Reds’ rally falls short
CINCINNATI — In the immediacy of a 6-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price misunderstood a question from a television reporter. He thought he had been asked about Bronson Arroyo’s job security.
Price was fresh off of watching the 40-yearold right-hander serve up four homers and allow six runs in 5 innings, Arroyo’s second consecutive rough start. Those two outings had come in a stretch in which the Reds had lost eight of nine games and gone a week without a starter completing six innings.
Nevertheless, the manager wasn’t about to entertain the idea that the Great Bronson Arroyo Comeback was nearing a halt.
“He’s a quality human being and he’s a big part of the culture here in our clubhouse,” Price said. “Talking about anything other than him making his next start … ”
The reporter jumped in to redirect Price to the question that was actually posed, and the manager lowered his defenses.
Arroyo has a 6.75 ERA in nine starts, but the Reds don’t have a lot of options. Three of the team’s top starters — Brandon Finnegan, Homer Bailey and Anthony DeSclafani — are on the disabled list. The starters in the rotation are the starters the Reds have left.
Arroyo put the Reds in a deep hole on Sunday, but they almost clawed their way back out of it again. A day after coming back from a 8-2 deficit, the Reds fought their way to within striking distance after trailing 6-1 in the sixth.
Jose Peraza tripled to start the sixth, and Joey Votto made it a three-run game with his 12th home run of the year. Later in the inning, Scott Schebler added a solo shot to bring his total to 12, as well.
“We’re kind of just getting behind and coming from behind, and that can be really tough and strenuous on an offense,” Schebler said. “We can only come through so many times.”