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Patterson HR pushes Reds past Diamondbacks in 10

Sep 15, 2008 - 12:56 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Corey Patterson became the latest player to deal a devastating blow to the Arizona Diamondbacks' playoff chances.

Patterson blasted a home run in the 10th inning to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Diamondbacks, 2-1, on Sunday.

The Reds had only two hits over the first nine innings, but Patterson's ninth homer of the season off the foul pole in right field against Jon Rauch (4-8) handed Arizona another tough loss and a second consecutive 10-inning defeat. The Diamondbacks have lost 8-of-9 while dropping one-run decisions in their last four losses.

"I just knew I wanted to put a good swing on it and not try and do too much," Patterson said. "I was hoping it was going to stay fair and it kicked off the pole, but I knew we had to stop them defensively to get the win."

The first two games of the weekend series between the teams were dominated by pitching, and Sunday was no different.

After winning the series opener, 3-2, Arizona dropped a 10-inning affair by the same score on Saturday before suffering another one-run defeat Sunday.

"It doesn't matter how you lose, it's hard to lose at this point in the year," Arizona starter Max Scherzer said. "We know the pressure is on to win and we are fighting for our lives to get to the postseason and not to get the win today it really hurts."

Johnny Cueto and Scherzer matched zeroes over the first three innings, but Jay Bruce broke the tie with his 18th homer - a solo shot - in the fourth inning off Scherzer.

Arizona tied the game one inning later on a Justin Upton home run, his 12th of the year.

Cueto pitched five innings, allowing one run and four hits. The righthander struck out four but allowed six walks, throwing just 59 of his 115 pitches for strikes.

"He really battled tonight," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He threw a lot of pitches but he battled."

Scherzer allowed two hits and three walks over six innings, striking out nine. The 24-year-old has struck out 20 in his last 11 innings.

"I had my slider today, and it was the one pitch that really allowed me to stay in the game and have success," Scherzer said.

Five relievers combined for four scoreless innings of relief for the Reds, with David Weathers (4-6) pitching a scoreless ninth to earn the win. Francisco Cordero allowed a pair of hits in the 10th, but escaped to record his 31st save.

The Diamondbacks, who left the bases loaded in the seventh and eighth, went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 16 runners on base.

"We have been miserable this homestand with runners in scoring position," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "We had numerous opportunities to scratch out a run, just get one hit to drive in a run, and we just couldn't do it."

Arizona (72-76) remains 4 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (77-72) in the National League West Division. The Dodgers dropped a 1-0 decision to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.