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 Paul Goldschmidt and Didi Gregorius each hit two-run homers and
Miley tossed six shutout innings, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks
to a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the finale of a
three-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Miley (7-7) pitched in and out of trouble much of the afternoon,
walking four with just one strikeout. But he was efficient enough to
help Arizona (47-61) take the series.
"He fights himself when he doesn't have to," said D-backs manager
Kirk Gibson. "We're working on that. He managed it pretty well
today. We played pretty well behind him."
Catcher Devin Mesoraco hit his 18th home run, a three-run shot, in
the ninth for Cincinnati (53-54) which has lost 10 of 12 since the
All-Star break.
Following the game, Reds manager Bryan Price shouldered
responsibility for Wednesday's loss, but catcher Brayan Pena said
there's plenty of blame to go around for the club's recent
struggles.
 "The skipper's been great. It's us not playing good," Pena said.
"It's not fair for him to put the blame on himself. We're a team --
one unit. When we're right, everybody's right. When we're not doing
good, everybody's not doing good."
Reds starter Alfredo Simon (12-6) was coming off a 4 1/3-inning
performance in his last start in which he gave up three runs and a
season-high nine hits.
Simon was more efficient with his pitches (105) on Wednesday,
allowing seven hits and two runs in seven innings. But his command
hasn't been on par with his first 17 starts which earned him a spot
on the National League All-Star team.
"He wasn't sharp early today," said Price. "He was kind of
side-to-side, but he made some adjustments. He made some outstanding
pitches with his sinker. He had them hitting the ball on the
ground."
 Simon rolled through the D-backs order, allowing only two hits
through five innings. But, that was before Goldschmidt's two-run
homer on his 0-1 pitch to put Arizona ahead 2-0 in the sixth.
"He put a good swing on it," said Simon. "That was just good
hitting. After that, I just tried to come back and do my job."
The post-All-Star break slump continued for the Reds who had runners
in scoring position in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings
but failed to score. Cincinnati went 1-for-11 and left 10 runners on
base.
Credit Arizona's defense.
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In the third, Cincinnati had two hits and a walk, but also had a runner
thrown out attempting to steal third and another thrown out at trying to
stretch a double. Gregorius made several nice plays at short.
"The defense made some plays when I needed them to," said Miley. "A lot
of bad things could've happened. I just didn't feel that good. There are
going to be those days."
Right fielder Gerardo Parra tripled and scored on left fielder Mark
Trumbo's sacrifice fly in the eighth to make the score 3-0.
Cincinnati scored its first run on right fielder Skip Schumaker's RBI
double in the eighth.
Gregorius' fourth home run, a two-run shot off Carlos Contreras, made
the score 5-1 in the ninth.
"He was trying to throw a strike there," said Gregorius, who played four
seasons in the Reds organization. "I'm feeling pretty good at the
plate."
Addison Reed allowed Mesoraco's three-run bomb in the ninth, but closed
the door for his 26th save.
"That's not a good place to turn your offense on, down four runs in the
ninth," said Price.
NOTES: Reds CF Billy Hamilton was given a day off on Wednesday. "I need
to stay aware that he's an everyday player at the big-league level
playing center field," said manager Bryan Price. "I have no concerns
about Billy. He competes and fights every single game." ... Despite
losing 9 of 11 since the All-Star break, Price doesn't believe the Reds
should be sellers at the trade deadline. "I think we're looking to get
better," Price said. "I don't think we're a team looking to 2015." ...
Arizona, which is expected to be active at the deadline, has 10 rookies
on its roster that, through Tuesday, had compiled 209 hits and 90 runs.
... Cincinnati scored a run in the eighth off RHP Brad Ziegler, ending a
19-inning scoreless streak for the D-backs bullpen.
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