The Enquirer/Zach Buchanan
SAN DIEGO – In his Petco Park office after a 4-2 loss to the Padres on Wednesday, Reds manager Bryan Price couldn’t help but ponder the off-then-on nature of his team. The Reds had dropped six in a row, every game of this West Coast road trip. Before leaving Cincinnati, they’d won four straight.
They were 10-21 on the road, but 19-15 at home. They were a team whose offense often could win games despite abhorrent starting pitching. But then Wednesday, the Reds got six strong innings from rookie left-hander Amir Garrett – who’s had a Jekyll-and-Hyde season of his own – only for their offense remain silent and their lockdown bullpen to falter in the late innings.