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Thursday, May 11 12:35pm ET
Boone's HR in ninth caps Cincy rally | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A season already full of misfortune and misery got a whole lot worse for the San Diego Padres. The slumping Padres blew two sizable leads, had reliever Rodney Myers tear up his knee fielding a bunt and wound up losing their sixth consecutive game Thursday, 11-9 to the Cincinnati Reds. Aaron Boone's two-run homer off the right-field foul screen in the bottom of the ninth finished off a deflating day for the Padres, who left town after only their third 0-6 road trip in their 32-year history. "You don't think it can get worse, but it does and it's happened right now," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We're finding different ways to beat ourselves." The afternoon started with great promise for the Padres. After scoring only one run in the last 24 innings, they got five in the first two off Rob Bell. Bret Boone hit a two-run homer and Bell let in a pair of runs on consecutive wild pitches. But Padres starter Rodrigo Lopez took Dante Bichette's comeback grounder off his right ankle in the first, then gave up four consecutive hits to open the second. Just like that, the Reds had cut it to 5-4. Bichette and Ken Griffey Jr. hit solo homers to put the Reds ahead, but Bret Boone had a two-run inside-the-park homer as the Padres surged ahead again 9-6. Over? Not the game and not the Padres' misfortune. Myers came on to try to hold a 9-8 lead in the eighth and gave up an infield single to Michael Tucker. Pokey Reese bunted to the third-base side of the mound, and Myers crumbled when he planted his left foot on the artificial turf while fielding it. Myers tore the tendon below the kneecap and will be out for the season. "I've seen it before on turf," Bochy said. "This is the worst stuff in the world. It should be banned." San Diego already has sent 11 players, including six pitchers, to the disabled list. Tony Gwynn, disabled by a sore knee, didn't make the trip. Matt Whisenant relieved and gave up Dmitri Young's tying sacrifice fly. Whisenant then walked Bichette to open the ninth and gave up Aaron Boone's fourth homer, a slicing drive that hit the foul screen -- only his second opposite-field homer in the majors. "It just feels good to help the team in that situation," Boone said. "I thought I got a pretty good piece of it. I was just hoping the hit would stay fair." His brother, Bret, watched from second base as the ball stayed fair just long enough, providing a fitting ending to the Padres' afternoon. "That's the pitch you throw to Aaron right there," Bret Boone marveled. "His power is out over the plate. It was a good pitch, down and away, and he hit a home run." The Reds piled out of the dugout, formed a semicircle around home and bounced up and down while pummeling Boone _ a scene repeated often during their enchanted 96-win season of 1999. "It's starting to be fun like last year," manager Jack McKeon said. While the Reds' celebrated, a drink dispenser was tossed from the Padres' dugout in frustration, leaving ice and a puddle on the turf. Danny Graves (4-0) gave up a double to Bret Boone in the ninth but got the win. The Reds hit four homers in all. Griffey's solo shot in the fifth was his 10th of the season and the 408th of his career, tying Cal Ripken Jr. for 28th on the list. It was the first time that two brothers homered against each other in the same game since the Boones did it last Sept. 1. It was only the eighth time that brothers playing against each other homered in the same game. Bret Boone's inside-the-park homer was the strangest play of the afternoon. With the Reds ahead 6-5, Dave Magadan led off the sixth with a walk from Manny Aybar and Boone got a hit into the left-field corner. The ball caromed past Young and rolled along the wall as the husky outfielder gave chase and Boone circled the bases, sliding feet-first into the plate just before catcher Eddie Taubensee got the throw. Notes: The Padres had 0-6 road trips in 1974 (Pittsburgh and St. Louis) and 1975 (Los Angeles and San Francisco). ... It was the ninth multihomer game of Bret Boone's career and the 13th inside-the-park homer by a Padre. The last one was Gwynn's grand slam in Los Angeles on June 26, 1997. ... Young, who missed the last two games because of a stomach virus, doubled in his second at-bat, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games. It's the longest streak by a Red since Hal Morris hit in 29 games in 1996. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard San Diego Clubhouse Cincinnati Clubhouse Familiar lament: Padres blame artificial turf for Myers' injury
Reds give Deion permission to leave Triple-A team
Cincinnati's new park: 568 feet from home plate to Ohio River
RECAPS Boston 11 Baltimore 4
Cincinnati 11 AUDIO/VIDEO   Dante Bichette talks about the Reds' win over the Giants.wav: 56 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Sean Casey knew the Reds had all the resources to beat the Giants.wav: 58 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6   | |||||