Tuesday night's 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers was a gut-punch for the Reds. It was a game the Reds led 4-2 through six innings and, just as they did Monday night, had the chance to break wide open early and often. The Dodgers are the measuring stick for every team in the National League, and the Reds are finding that out this week.

Those ingredients allowed the Reds to take a 4-2 lead into the seventh inning against the defending World Series champions. But the champs roared back to win, 5-4. They plated two runs against Reds reliever Graham Ashcraft to tie the game at four in the seventh inning.