Dodgers' Lowe beats Reds for first road win since August
Derek Lowe earned his first road win since last August by pitching into the sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their season-long domination of the Cincinnati Reds with a 6-1 victory on Wednesday night.
James Loney had a solo homer and a run-scoring double off Bronson Arroyo (4-6), sending the Dodgers to their sixth victory in seven games against the Reds this season. Juan Pierre broke the game open with a two-run triple in the seventh.
For Lowe (5-6), it was an elusive win. The right-hander hasn't won on the road since Aug. 22 at Philadelphia, going 0-6 in his next 11 starts away from Dodger Stadium. It wasn't entirely his fault: Lowe often has pitched well enough, but the offense hasn't helped.
He finally broke through against Arroyo, one of his teammates on Boston's 2004 World Series championship team. And he did it on a night when he wasn't even supposed to pitch.
Lowe was moved up a day after right-hander Hiroki Kuroda told the team he had a sore pitching shoulder on Tuesday. Lowe pitched on four days of rest, but his between-starts routine was thrown off by the change. Manager Joe Torre took him out after his 85th pitch in the sixth inning with the Dodgers up, 4-1.
Lowe gave up three hits, including Edwin Encarnacion's solo homer. His six strikeouts matched his season high.
The Reds lost for the 11th time in 16 games, a slump set up by their all-or-nothing offense. Cincinnati is 2-6 on a homestand that concludes Thursday, scoring a total of 17 runs.
Arroyo is in his own slump. The right-hander hasn't won since May 26, going 0-2 in his last four starts with a 6.33 ERA. He gave up seven hits and six runs in 6 1-3 innings, and threw a wild pitch that let in a run.
Loney has been a big problem for the Reds all season, batting .400 with a pair of homers and seven RBIs. The first baseman is having a big month overall, batting .396 in June. He hit his sixth homer in the fourth inning, then doubled home a run that made it 4-1 in the sixth.
Andre Ethier, who brought a 2-for-20 slump into the game, had a run-scoring single among his three hits. Pierre's two-run triple in the seventh off reliever Jeremy Affeldt made it 6-1.
Ken Griffey Jr. was out of the Reds' lineup for a second consecutive game because of illness. Rookie Jay Bruce took his spot in right field and made two of the game's two best defensive plays. Bruce made a diving catch on Pierre's liner in the third, then an over-the-shoulder catch of Blake DeWitt's drive to the warning track.
