D-Backs bats were not hitting in a 11-5 loss to the Reds

One night after shutting out Cincinnati, the Arizona Diamondbacks found themselves on the other side of a one-sided result Saturday, falling 11–5 to the Reds at Chase Field.

Cincinnati collected 16 hits and scored in seven of the first eight innings. JJ Bleday led the attack by hitting for the cycle in his first four at-bats, becoming the eighth player in Reds history to accomplish the feat. Elly De La Cruz added four hits, including a home run, as Arizona struggled to slow the top of Cincinnati’s lineup.

The Reds took control early against Diamondbacks starter Michael Soroka. Bleday doubled home De La Cruz in the first inning, tripled and scored in the third, and drove in another run during a three-run fourth. Soroka departed after allowing six runs and six hits across 3⅓ innings.

Arizona finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth when Nolan Arenado launched his 21st home run of the season. Lars Nootbaar brought home another run in the fifth, but Cincinnati answered immediately with De La Cruz’s solo homer.

The Diamondbacks’ best response came in the sixth. Tim Tawa hit a two-run homer to left-center, scoring Arenado and trimming the deficit to 8–4. Any hope of a sustained comeback quickly disappeared, however, as the Reds continued adding runs against Arizona’s bullpen.

Bleday completed his cycle with a sixth-inning home run. Héctor Rodríguez followed with the first homer of his major-league career in the seventh, and Matt McLain added his 13th of the season one inning later. Cincinnati finished with four home runs.

Arizona recorded 10 hits but could not string together enough offense to match the visitors. Arenado scored three times, while Tawa went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Corbin Carroll and Nootbaar also finished with two hits apiece. Ryan Waldschmidt supplied the Diamondbacks’ final run with an RBI single in the eighth.

Reds starter Rhett Lowder earned the victory, while Soroka took the loss and fell to 8–4. The defeat dropped Arizona to 68–62 and evened the weekend series after the Diamondbacks’ 9–0 victory Friday.

For Arizona, the loss was a reminder of how quickly momentum can turn. After delivering a complete performance in the opener, the Diamondbacks were forced to play from behind almost immediately Saturday. They now enter the series finale looking to reset, contain Cincinnati’s dangerous lineup and secure another important late-season series victory.