Reds Fall to Undefeated Kansas City

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The Reds' hitting woes continue in an 8-1 defeat at the hands of the undefeated Kansas City Royals.

The Royals are 8-1 while the Reds continue to struggle at 2-8.

"Life's not fun when you're not hitting," Dusty Baker said.  "How many times can you talk about it or write about it?"

The Reds had six hits and five were doubles. Unfortunately, they were widely spaced until the eighth inning when Kristopher Negron opened the inning with a double and Ryan LaMarre hit another two outs later.

Joey Votto, Devin Mesoraco and Jack Hannahan hit the other doubles.  Donald Lutz singled and is hitting .400 this spring.

It is the big hitters in the middle of the order who are off to a slow start.

"Jay (Bruce) only has one hit and no RBI," Baker said.  "Ryan Ludwick only has a couple hits and no RBI.  We are asking the younger kids to do a lot.  They are a little overmatched but that's ok.

The good news is Homer Bailey struck out five of the seven batters he faced.  He only pitched one inning Tuesday and two against the Royals.

"You're not really ready to face hitters yet, so it's good to get your feet wet and get into it slowly," said Bailey who used all of his pitches.

It is hard to do better than using strikeouts to retire five of the six batters.

"You can do six of six," Bailey said.

When rising through the minor leagues Bailey tried to strike everyone out.

"I just like outs.  I still try to strike everyone out but if they put it in play before two strikes I don't get there," Bailey said.

Bailey has set career highs for wins and innings in each of the last two seasons.  He stayed injury-free last season and was arguably the Reds' best pitcher the last six weeks of the season.

"He is a pitcher now," Baker said.  "He has power when he needs it and throws strikes to contact when he needs it."

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