OAKLAND --
Thursday, with the Reds having lost eight of their previous 12 games, Dietrich avoided wardrobe changes and concentrated on his primary job.\n\nMentioning that a friend texted him to ask what costume he’d wear next, Dietrich related his answer: “I want to go back to being a home run hitter today. Forget all the other outfits. Hitting a home run and being a good hitter is what I like to do most.”\n\nDietrich’s drive off Oakland starter Chris Bassitt (1-1) temporarily tied him for the team lead with
Roark (3-1) did his share to bolster the Reds with his second consecutive strong outing. The right-hander yielded three hits and walked two while striking out three. Combined with his previous start last Saturday against San Francisco, Roark has surrendered seven hits while walking four and striking out 10 in 12 2/3 innings.\n\nSaid Reds manager David Bell, “He was getting ahead and then making pitches with two strikes to get strikeouts or making tough pitches to get easier outs. He was able to put guys away.”\n\nRoark explained that he relies on maintaining a quick tempo on the mound to keep generating strikes. For example, he felt himself decelerating in the fourth inning when Matt Olson rapped a two-out double. Roark escaped by retiring Kendrys Morales on a called third strike. The right-hander was never seriously threatened afterward.
“You have to know yourself,” Roark said. “Sometimes you work too fast, but that’s a better thing than working too slow. You don’t know when you’re working too slow or you’re wondering why certain pitches aren’t breaking the way you wanted. It’s because your tempo’s slow and your delivery’s slow.”\n\nOakland threatened in the ninth inning as Morales walked and Chad Pinder doubled. But