Reds 8, Dodgers 1

And thus ends a five-game road trip on which the Dodgers went 1-4 and scored one run in each of the four losses, going 2 for 29 with RISP in those four games (they went 5 for 12 in the win). Not a lot of momentum to take into this monumental two-game set with the Snakes, especially with Haren pitching tomorrow night, but the Dodgers are going to have to beat good pitching sometime. … By the way, I didn’t get into tomorrow’s paper that Andy LaRoche will, as expected, begin his rehab assignment at Double-A Jacksonville at Montgomery tomorrow. He’ll DH in that game, then play 3B for the first time on Thursday night at Huntsville. Torre reiterated before the game that Andy will likely need the full 20 days because he didn’t have much of a spring training. … You’re also going to read a Juan Castro update in tomorrow’s paper, and my initial gut instinct is that the Dodgers are eventually going end up with this guy, whether it’s through a trade or waiting until the Reds release him and then signing him. Again, he’s no Babe Ruth, but he is a great glove man and he’ll be a great addition to this clubhouse. … Dodgers fall to 8-12, their worst start since they also went 8-12 in 1996. They made the playoffs that year as a wild card.