Lately, the Reds have had some bad luck on the injury front, in addition to the other varieties of bad luck they were already experiencing:

• Brandon Phillips, who just came back from that ankle sprain, now apparently has an elbow like a balloon thanks to a pitch to it last night. I don’t know if he’ll be pinch-hit-homering right off an injury like that.
• Logan Ondrusek went on the 15-day DL yesterday with a strained right forearm. If only he’d been the problem.
• Zack Cozart still isn’t back from that hyperextended elbow, and may be considering surgery. I don’t know what surgery you do for a hyperextended elbow, but hopefully it’s more successful than the surgery countless kids have tried to give to their hyperextended Slinkies.

Here’s hoping for a change in the team’s luck, injury related and otherwise. In the post-game tonight, Joey Votto said that he still thinks the team can turn the season around. if he can avoid being the next one hurt, maybe so.

Reds lose again, and now even people who have liked what Dusty Baker has done in his time with the team (me included) are starting to rumble that maybe it’s time to make a change.

So I’ve been inspired to finally put together the photoshop that I’ve had in mind for a couple years now, before I lose the chance.

That’s right: notorious blogger-hating Director of Media Relations Rob Butcher, notorious Alonso-hating manager Dusty Baker, and notorious electricity-hating candle-making guy. Put them out, naves all three!

Yonder Alonso, the rookie with a great bat and no natural position to play on the field for Cincinnati Reds, now has one less position to try to play.

Alonso had been playing left field in AAA Louisville, and then spent some time there for the Reds. But that is no more.

Asked if Alonso would play left again, Dusty Baker said: “Not in the near future.”

Alonso was rough in left field over the weekend, but I think not playing him might be premature. I mean, this is a team that supported Adam Dunn playing left field for just about forever. A great bat can more than make up for bad defense.

The plan now, though, is to have him try playing third base some. I fear this may end up leading to a Brandon Larson type of situation.

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds finished a disastrous road trip today. Before it, they were fresh off sweeping the world champion San Francisco Giants and looking at doing about the same to two of the worst teams in the majors in the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs.

That didn’t happen. The Reds barely won 1 of the 3 against the Astros. And today, they were looking at the very real possibility of being swept by the Cubs.

Bronson Arroyo started and made it all the way until the 3rd inning before giving up a home run. He would give up another in the 6th, but at that point the Reds actually had a 6-2 lead. The second homer made it 6-4.

Not a problem. Turn it over to the bullpen, right? Not so fast. Since the All Star break, sending relievers Logan Ondrusek and Nick Massett into games has been the equivalent of throwing gasoline on a fire. They continued their suckage today and gave up the lead.

But then there was a miracle. The Reds actually got a hit when it mattered. In the top of the 8th, Ryan Hanigan had a one-out hit to drive in the winning run.

Aroldis Chapman held the lead in the bottom of the 8th by striking out the side, and Francisco Cordero didn’t screw things up in the 9th.

Dave Sappelt made his major league debut, hitting leadoff in the lineup, and went 1-5 with a run scored. He also had a couple great defensive plays, including one where he didn’t search for a ball in the Wrigley outfield ivy. That move cost the Cubs 2 runs.

Drew Stubbs, Todd Frazier, and Edgar Renteria all contributed home runs in the 8-7 win.

The Cincinnati Reds have had a tough go of it this year. Performances of several players has not been what was expected, injuries have plagued the team, and they’ve also been a bit unlucky.

The injuries continue. The Reds today put outfielder Chris Heisey on the disabled list.

Heisey is dealing with a strained left oblique. He was too sore to hit and play the field Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

To replace him, outfielder Dave Sappelt was called up from the Louisville Bats. In AAA, Sappelt was good, hitting .313 with a .387 on base percentage and 7 home runs and 27 RBI. Hopefully he can also avoid the injury bug.