PHOENIX – When the Cincinnati Reds moved Eugenio Suárez to shortstop, and shuffled other spots in the infield, they gambled that the boost to their lineup would outweigh their defensive limitations.
For the first time all season, the Reds’ offense had an off night. It put a bigger spotlight on their pitching and defense, things snowballed in a five-run fifth inning because of their lack of range in the infield.
It all added up to an 8-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday at Chase Field, snapping the Reds’ six-game winning streak. It was the first time that they failed to score at least six runs, though their three runs were enough to hold the franchise record for most runs through the first eight games of the season (66).