Maloney vs. L.A. Saturday

Even though they didn’t end up using Micah Owings from the bullpen in the three-game sweep of the Brewers, the Reds decided that they will call up lefty Matt Maloney from Triple-A Louisville to fill Saturday’s rotation vacancy vs. the Dodgers.

Maloney last pitched on Sunday at Toledo and allowed four runs and six hits over six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. Overall at Louisville, he is 9-9 with a 3.08 ERA. Maloney made three starts for the Reds and  was 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA. He was optioned back to Louisville on June 20.

Even with Owings’ unused arm available, Justin Lehr saved a very spent bullpen with his 7 2/3 inning outing today in an 8-5 win. The Reds were down, 4-0, in the first inning. Lehr knew he would have to eat it even if Milwaukee kept running the score.

“After the first, I figured I was going to throw my pitch count no matter how many runs I gave up. So, I just kept plugging away,” Lehr said. “There was nothing you could do, I understood.  If we were down by six runs, I’m not coming out of the game at 50 pitches. It was nice to start getting some quick outs.”

Don’t look now, but the Reds have won four in a row. It tied a season high set May 24-27.

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