Wed Jun 18 22:09:11 2008

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Dodgers leave the Reds feeling blue

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Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - James Loney went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs batted in, and the Los Angeles Dodgers cruised past the Cincinnati Reds, 6-1, in the middle contest of their three-game set at Great American Ball Park.

Juan Pierre went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI for the Dodgers, who have won two straight after a a five-game losing streak. Andre Ethier went 3-for-4 and knocked in a run, while Blake DeWitt doubled and scored.

Derek Lowe (5-6) held the Reds to a run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two, to pick up his first road win of the season.

Edwin Encarnacion homered for the Reds, who saw their losing streak run to four games. Bronson Arroyo (4-6), Lowe's teammate on the 2004 Boston Red Sox, allowed all six runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 frames to take the loss. Arroyo fanned six and walked just one.

The Dodgers used leadoff hits to pick up runs in both the first and second innings. In the first, Pierre started with a single, and moved to second when Jeff Kent was hit by a pitch with one out. After a Russell Martin fielder's choice moved Pierre to third, he came in to score when Arroyo uncorked a wild pitch.

In the second, Kemp led off with a single, swiped second base and was chased home on Ethier's single to left.

Encarnacion cut the lead in half in the home second, blasting a one-out homer to left-center.

Loney pushed the lead back to two runs with one out in the fourth, finishing off a nine-pitch at-bat with a colossal homer deep into the seats in right.

The Dodgers extended the lead to 4-1 on a pair of sixth inning doubles. DeWitt doubled to deep right to open the frame, and two outs later Loney smacked an RBI double to left.

Lowe was lifted with one out in the fifth after 85 pitches, and reliever Hong- Chih Kuo immediately ran into trouble. Jay Bruce greeted him with a single, then headed to third when Brandon Phillips smoked a double down the line in left. But, Kuo fanned Adam Dunn, then retired Encarnacion on a grounder to third to escape with the three-run lead intact.

Ethier doubled off Arroyo to start the seventh, and after Angel Berroa walked, Kuo bunted the runners to second and third. Jeremy Affeldt came on in relief but couldn't stem the tide, as Pierre blasted a fly ball over the head of Corey Patterson in center for a two-run triple.

Kuo kept the Reds at bay with 2 2/3 frames of shutout relief, and Cory Wade finished off the win with a scoreless ninth.

Game Notes

Before the game, the Reds optioned pitcher Homer Bailey to Triple-A Louisville and activated outfielder Norris Hopper from the 15-day disabled list. Hopper came into the game as a pinch-hitter and finished the game in center, going 1- for-1 with a walk in his first action since April 23...Lowe had dropped his first four decisions away from home this season...The Dodgers improved to 6-1 this year against Cincinnati...The Reds have scored just 17 runs over the first eight games of their current homestand, which concludes on Thursday.