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| Cooke rights wrongs Rx simple: pitch, hit and win
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The victory was offset, however, by the loss of first baseman Sean Casey for 3-to-6 weeks with a fracture in his eye after being hit with a ball during batting practice.
But this was a night to celebrate a victory, one that showed what this team is capable of doing when it puts it all together.
''It's something we expected to do sooner or later,'' manager Jack McKeon said. ''The guys are starting to play good ball. They're showing some signs of life.''
The Reds got something Thursday they hadn't in their first two games: good pitching, especially in relief. Starter Steve Cooke (six innings, one run) looked mighty impressive, and for once the bullpen actually held a lead.
Cooke knew the significance of getting the victory.
''Just to show some confidence,'' said Cooke, who baffled Padres hitters by running the ball inside. ''You don't want to be like the Cubs and lose all those games in a row. A win helps you believe in yourself. I knew I needed to slam the door.''
Greene, who slumped all spring, appears to have broken out of it, getting the homer and a single that helped spur a rally in the eighth to pad the lead. His home run went to left field, showing some opposite-fieldpower that McKeon believes will help Greene realize his enormous potential.
''The first round of batting practice every day, I try to take the ball the other way,'' Greene said. ''That's helped. I'm definitely seeing the ball better and being more selective. I'm waiting for my pitch to hit.''
The Reds' pitching was as good as it gets, with Cooke (1-0) allowing only four hits and no walks in his six innings. He came in with a horrendous history against the Padres (he once gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings against them), but he was on top of his game Thursday.
McKeon thought it was the best game Cooke has pitched in a Reds uniform, including some of the solid performances he had in spring training. Even Padres star Tony Gwynn, who was 0-for-3 against Cooke, was impressed, saying he had never seen him go inside so many times.
''He got in my kitchen a couple of times with fastballs in,'' Gwynn said.
Cooke credited his sinker. ''When I can throw that for a lot of strikes, it makes it a lot easier,'' he said. ''I knew I needed to do everything I could to win tonight.''
Stan Belinda came in from the bullpen to throw 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Jeff Shaw pitched 1 2/3 innings for his first save.
Part of it may have been good timing. Pitching coach Don Gullett held a meeting Thursday afternoon to re-focus the pitchers on throwing strikes, which is what they didn't do in the first two games.
''We've got to prove to people we can pitch,'' Shaw said.
One of the most interesting moves of the night was putting in No. 1 starter Mike Remlinger, who threw five innings in Tuesday's opener, to face the left-handed Gwynn in the eighth.
Entering the at bat, Gwynn was hitting just .167 against Remlinger, but he singled to right and advanced Quilvio Veras to third. Remlinger pitched only to Gwynn and was replaced by Shaw, who picked Gwynn of first. Shaw then retired Ken Caminiti to end the rally.
The pickoff play was a product of good timing. ''I'd thrown over there three or four times,'' Shaw said. ''He was definitely going. Eddie (Perez) did a nice job putting the tag down.''
In the bottom of the eighth, right fielder Jon Nunnally led off with a double and Greene singled to start the rally. Greene took second on a wild pitch and Nunnally scored on a second one. Reggie Sanders then singled to score Greene to give the Reds a 5-1 lead. But the pitching was the story of the night.
''Sure, somebody's going to get rocked once in a while,'' McKeon said, ''but if we pitch like that most the time, we're going to be O.K.''
Casey out 3-6 weeks | Thursday's game Reds 5,
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