Cincinnati Reds 4, Phillies 2

Reds (6-7, 5-2 home), Phillies (6-7, 3-4 road)

WP: Bronson Arroyo (2-1, 4.05 ERA)

LP: Jeremy Horst (0-1, 9.53 ERA)

SV: Aroldis Chapman (3)

The Phillies are burning through their mulligans fast.

After Chase Utley rocketed a 2-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth to tie it in the eighth, a late fielding blunder and shaky bullpen proved the difference in a 4-2 win to the Cincinnati Reds.

Kind of like Game 2 against the Marlins days ago. And like the eighth inning all last season.

Two of these in a half is OK. But two in a week?

The Phillies failed to break .500 for the third time so far, and helped the Reds snap a 5-game slide.

Cliff Lee, Curbed

A spectacular outing done in by 2 gaffes: one on Lee (and maybe Erik Kratz), the other on Laynce Nix.

Lee surrendered just 2 runs on 5 hits through 7 innings. He sat down 18 of 20 out of the chute, 9 straight through the sixth.

But in the seventh, Lee put a 2-2 curveball to Jay Bruce the dirt, and Kratz couldn’t get his glove down. Joey Votto managed to swipe home to plate the Reds first run of the game.

It was scored a wild pitch.

Later in the at-bat, after 11 pitches, Lee walked Bruce. It was his first bases on balls issued in 44 2/3 innings, spanning back to Sept. 17 last season.

Lee took his first no-decision of the year.

The Other Guy

Suffice it to say that Arroyo impressed Monday.

He lasted 8 innings and allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits, and retired 11 in a row through the fourth.

The 36-year-old needed just 91 pitches, and threw 60 for strikes. Of the 28 batters he faced, 22 saw first-pitch strikes.

Aroldis Chapman sat down Galvis, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard to get out of the ninth. He fanned Rollins with a 90 m.p.h. slider, Howard with a 100 m.p.h. fastball.

He’s yet to allow a run this year.

Bats in the Cave

Utley crushed a game-tying 2-run pinch-hit home run in the eighth off Arroyo. Dom Brown plated the run after smacking a leadoff single earlier.

Those were just the fourth and fifth hits of the game for the Phillies, again, off Arroyo.

Revere, Rollins, Howard (all 0 for 4), and Kratz (0 for 3) went hitless. The Phillies 5 through 8 hitters saw just 3 at-bats each.

Needing Relief

Jeremy Horst opened the eighth. He let 3 of 4 batters reach, one an intentional walk to Votto to load the bases made necessary by a fielding slip-up by Nix (more below).

Adams took over to face the right-handed Phillips, who cracked a 2 RBI single to score 2 of Horst’s runners. Adams surrendered another single to Jay Bruce to again load the bases.

He got his next 2, one via strikeout. But the damage was already done.

Fielding Fun

Ben Revere. That’s about it for the positives.

(Watch Ben Revere's catch)

Nix in the eighth overplayed a liner off the bat of Zack Cosart, putting him on second and letting Derrick Robinson advance to third.

Then there was the Lee wild pitch. He also threw away a should’ve-been inning-ending double play starter to second, but got out of the inning two batters later.

Also: Jimmy Rollins rocked special No. 42 issue Jackie Robinson Air Jordans – plural because he rocked blue kicks for first pitch, and changed into a white pair in the sixth inning.

Next: RHP Kyle Kendrick against Homer Bailey at 7:10 p.m.

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