No Knock On Wood, Reds Fall to Cook and Rockies 1-0

Anybody got a horseshoe?

Travis Wood was brilliant again.  He avoided the Colorado bats until Chris Iannetta got good wood on 2-2 pitch  in the sixth inning.  Wood allowed nothing until the fourth.  Two singles in that inning represented more hits than he allowed in the previous 12 frames.

"He wasn't quite as sharp as he was against Philadelphia (Wood was three outs from a perfect game) but the pitch to Iannetta was a good one.  It was a changeup away and he went and got it," Baker said.

"I was trying to stay back," Iannetta said.  "Wood has a lot of movement on all his pitches.  He's always around the plate."

Wood had no regrets about the pitch selection.

"Would I have changed it? Now knowing that we lost 1-0 I might have changed it but he put a good swing on a good pitch," Wood said.

Wood has only allowed five earned runs in his four major league starts.  The Reds have scored two or fewer runs in three of his four starts and none in his last two.  In his other start, he was the emergency starter on three days rest and ran out of gas in the fifth inning.  He had to be removed on out short of qualifying for a victory in New York.

"It is going to happen," Wood said of the lack of runs to work with.  "We're a good hitting team but we're going to have some slumps.  We were scratching and clawing to get a run.  Today we fell a little short.  You can't worry about it.  You have to take one hitter at a time and give your team a chance to win."

Meanwhile, Aaron Cook, from nearby Hamilton was winless on the road.  He needed a change of luck.  Cook was 0-5 in road games.  He allowed just six harmless hits and was saved by a diving stop by Jonathan Herrera in the third inning that saved a run.

"Cook is very tough when he's on," Baker said.  "Today it was pitching and defense on their side."

"It was a matter of making my pitches," Cook said.  "I didn't think about my record on the road.  We take things one game at a time."

Still Cook is comfortable in his hometown and is 3-0 lifetime against the team he once cheered for.

"It always feels like home because I grew up here,"  Cook said.  "But the mound is still 60' 6" from home plate. It definitely was an important game."

The Reds threatened again in the ninth against Houston Street.  Drew Stubbs singled with one out. The count went to 2-1 on pinch hitter Ryan Hanigan.  Dusty Baker started Stubbs.

"It was 2-1 and Street is really quick to the plate.  He is like 1.2 (seconds) to the plate.  It is almost impossible to steal on him if the catcher can throw at all.  They had to throw a strike," Baker said.

Street is know for his slider and went with it for his final eight pitches, striking out Chris Heisey and Brandon Phillips to save the game for the Rockies.

"I was going to make them hit it," Street said.

"He only gave Heisey one pitch to hit, the 1-0 pitch," Baker said.  "It was a slider up.  Some guys want it so badly.  They want to be the hero.  They end up beat."

The last three Reds losses have been 1-0.  It is the fifth time this season the Reds have suffered 1-0 losses.

"They are killing us right now," Baker said.  "All of them we had opportunities with runners on third and less than two outs.  We just have to give them more time.  That's part of the situation when you have some young players.  We just got to keep preaching and talking.  They'll get it."