Sunday, June 7, 1998

BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jared Wright almost no-hit the Reds. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

Jack McKeon remembers seeing Cleveland pitcher Jaret Wright make his professional debut back in 1994, when the then-18-year-old was pitching his first game in the rookie league at Burlington, N.C.

"Hell yes, you bet I do," the Reds' manager said emphatically Saturday night, just after Wright, now 22, and the Indians beat Cincinnati 10-1 to even the Battle of Ohio at one game apiece.

"He wasn't afraid to back you off the plate," said McKeon, who was then a Reds' scout and was extremely impressed with the first-round draft choice. "You could see the guy was going to be a tough, aggressive pitcher."

He was Saturday, systematically shutting down the Reds' offense. Wright, who entered Saturday's game with a 4.03 ERA, went eight innings and allowed only two hits -- both to Chris Stynes -- to improve his record to 5-3.

"I feel I'm pitching more than last year," Wright said, "instead of throwing every ball as hard as I can."

Wright would have had a no-hitter had it not been for Stynes, who singled in the fourth and got the Reds' only run on a strange inside-the-park home run. Cleveland right fielder Manny Ramirez ran into the wall chasing the ball Stynes had roped into the corner, then backed off in a daze and let it roll as Stynes came around to score.

Bret Boone awaits the throw as Omar Vizquel slides into second on a double. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

The Reds' bats were again as silent as a black night, but Wright had something to do with it.

"The kid was tough. He pitched a good game," McKeon said. "He didn't get in many jams, but when he did, he just took his time, backed off, and worked out of it."

Remlinger (six runs in 4 2/3 innings) seemed to do exactly the opposite. When he got in trouble, allowing two runs in each of the second, fourth and fifth innings, he only made his problems worse by throwing three wild pitches and giving up five doubles to the potent Indians' lineup.

"They had good pitching, we didn't," McKeon said. "The game of pitching is about being mentally tough. When you get in a jam, you've got to be tough."

In the second inning, Remlinger gave up three consecutive hits to Jim Thome, Ramirez and Sandy Alomar, then threw a wild pitch to bring Ramirez home for a 2-0 Cleveland lead. In the third, a wild pitch moved Thome and Ramirez into scoring position, and they scored on a double by Alomar to make it 4-0. And in the fifth, Remlinger's third wild pitch brought Omar Vizquel home from third, and after Thome doubled, McKeon pulled him.

The last two months have been a maddening exercise in repetition for Remlinger. Each time the Reds send him to the mound, they do so wondering if he can keep his wild streak in check, and each game the answer is a frustrating no.

Kenny Lofton (center) and Mark Whiten celebrate the victory as David Justice runs in to join them. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

Remlinger (3-7, 4.86) said he felt he accomplished part of what he wanted to in terms of concentrating more and throwing strikes in the early innings. But he couldn't sustain it and his bad pitches cost him dearly.

"More than anything else, I thought it was important to quit listening to all of the people asking, 'What are the problems, where are they coming from in the first inning?' and just go out and try to be aggressive as much as possible," he said. "I felt like I did that, but there were a couple balls I didn't think were hit that well. I made a couple bad pitches and gave up some hits."

Remlinger has allowed five or more runs in four of his five starts and is 1-5 since starting April 2-2. McKeon is concerned, but says, "I'm concerned about two or three of (the pitchers). But what are you going to do?

Again, for McKeon, it came back to pitching out of jams and be aggressive.

"When you're tough, you win," he said. "When you're not, you lose."