Astros 7, Reds 5: Bullpen Meltdown III

The dreaded eighth inning again. The Reds score three, then give up three and lose 7-5. For my money, it was the worst loss of the year from an emotional standpoint.

If the bullpen gets the final six outs, the Reds go home 5-4 on the trip and feeling good about themselves because of the rally in the eighth. Instead, they go home 4-5 on the trip and wondering if the any lead is safe late.

To his credit, Mike Stanton took all the blame. He called the writers over and then said this:

“That’s an utter and complete disgrace to go out there and do that. There’s no excuse for that. You've got to go out and make quality pitches.”

“I let the team down after we battled back. There’s no excuse for that. . . A major league pitcher is supposed to go out there and get the job done. I didn't do that.”

You've got to admire his candor. But the Reds could really use Bill Bray's arm right now.

On an up note, Ken Griffey Jr. might not look like he did in '95 but he's looking like he did in '05. And he had a pretty good year that year.

That rally in the eighth, by the way, kept Eric Milton from being the first Red to lose his first five starts of the year since Joey Jay in 1963. Joey Jay is one of the first Reds I remember so that was a long, long time ago.

I've got a 6:45 a.m. flight. Will blog at you tomorrow.