Braves' waste Vazquez's complete game

CINCINNATI — As if the Braves' struggles on offense weren't frustrating enough, they had to watch Reds pitcher Micah Owings make it look so easy.

A Gainesville native and former Georgia Tech standout, Owings stroked a three-run home run off Javier Vazquez to give the Reds a two-run lead in the fifth inning and provide the winning runs in a 4-3 Reds victory.

With the Red Sox and Yankees looming larger on the horizon, the Braves needed something to feel good about Wednesday night, but instead dropped to 0-2 in this series and 1-4 on this road trip.

The Braves got eight innings for a complete game from Vazquez, the first by a Braves pitcher this season. But he failed to win for the fifth consecutive start, despite throwing eight innings for the second consecutive outing.

Vaquez has allowed only 13 earned runs in 34 innings over that five-start span (3.44 ERA), but he's not getting the offense he needs. He allowed only four hits Wednesday, but two of them cleared the fence on homers by Jay Bruce and Owings.

The Reds got three runs in one swing from Owings, which is nothing new to the Braves.

The Braves remember all too well the night he had against them in August 2007 at Turner Field, when as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks he homered twice. Owings now has seven home runs for his career, three against the Braves. He is hitting .538 (7-for-13) in his career against the Braves, with two doubles, nine RBIs and six runs scored.

The Braves closed to within 4-3 in the seventh inning after Nate McLouth doubled to lead off the inning and scored on a pair of wild pitches by reliever Nick Masset. But both Chipper Jones and Brian McCann grounded out to strand Yunel Escobar at third base. It was the third runner the Braves left standing at third in the game.

Escobar had given the Braves a 2-1 lead on a two-run homer in the third inning, his seventh of the season, but the Braves didn't build on that momentum. They stranded a pair of runners at third base over the next two innings and then watched as Owings stole it back, with his bat, in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Braves finished the game 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

They worked Owings for 82 pitches in the first four innings, on at-bats such as Casey Kotchman's nine-pitch battle in the third inning before he flew out. Owings had 96 pitches through five innings, but the Braves couldn't knock him out with the key hit. He allowed them only two runs on six hits in six innings.

Until Wednesday, Vazquez had allowed only two earned runs in 14 innings and no home runs at Great American Ball Park. He was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts here, microscopic for such a hitter-friendly ballpark.