Friday, August 14, 1998

BY SCOTT MACGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Aaron Boone's tag on the Pirates' Lou Collier at third is late getting there. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

The Reds began this season with hopes of doing in 1998 what the Pittsburgh Pirates did in '97: be a small-market club with a tiny payroll that somehow manages to stay in the race for the National League Central Division title.

But as 1998 has worn on, it has become apparent that not only can the Reds not compete in the division, they're having trouble just staying even with the '98 Pirates in the battle to stay out of the cellar.

Pittsburgh chipped away at Reds starter Pete Harnisch and came back from a 5-0 deficit Thursday to beat the Reds 9-6, sweeping the three-game series and taking a two-game lead on Cincinnati in the race to avoid a last-place finish.

"They do give us a hard time here," Reds manager Jack McKeon said. "I've got no answer. We play them better at their place."

In sweeping the series, the $13-million payroll Pirates got major contributions from big parts of their rebuilding process: 24-year old All-Star catcher Jason Kendall (two homers in the first two games and two runs Thursday), 29-year old first baseman Kevin Young (two homers, including the game-tying shot Thursday) and pitchers Francisco Cordova and Jason Schmidt, who won the first two games.

But while those first two matchups were clean Pirates wins, the third was a messy, sloppy comeback affair in which their starter, Todd Van Poppel, was battered big-time early and the Reds starter, Harnisch, couldn't hold a five-run lead.

"There's no excuse for that," said a subdued Harnisch, who also blew a 5-0 lead in his first start this year. "You get a 5-0 lead, you should win the game. I didn't do my job. I've got to go eight innings. I'm not saying I have to pitch a no-hitter, but I have to do my job."

Barry Larkin guards second as the Pirates' Al Martin arriver safely. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

For a guy who didn't get any run support at the beginning of the season, Harnisch (8-6) has been getting plenty lately -- 36 runs in his last three starts.

Thursday, it was five quick ones in the first off former No.1 draft pick-turned never-was phenom Van Poppel. Reggie Sanders started it with a single, scoring on Dmitri Young's single to right, and Jeffery Hammonds and Bret Boone each drove in a pair of runs with doubles to take the 5-0 advantage.

When you drive a starting pitcher out after 1 - 3 of an inning, you usually like your chances, but Pirates reliever Jeff Tabaka, a former Red, slammed the door shut for the next 3 2 - 3 innings.

Harnisch retired the first nine batters easily, including striking out the side in the third. But the leadoff man in the fourth was where he started to run into trouble, when Pirates second baseman Tony Womack clubbed just his third homer of the season, making it 5-1.

It was 5-3 entering the sixth when Harnisch walked Jason Kendall, then gave up a mammoth home run to the green seats in left to Young, Pittsburgh's only big power threat.

That tied it at 5-5, and it was apparent Harnisch was starting to lose it. He gave up a single to Martin and walked Garcia, but the one that hurt most was the two-run triple the light-hitting Lou Collier lined to right. Reds right fielder Reggie Sanders raced to track it down, but it went off his glove and rolled to the wall as Martin and Garcia scored to take the lead at 7-5.

That was it for Harnisch, who went 5 2 - 3 innings and allowed seven runs. Before the fourth inning, he hadn't been scored on in 13 innings.

"I don't know if I lost concentration or what," said Harnisch, who noted the triceps strain that bothered him recently wasn't a factor. "A lot of people are ecstatic to get that kind of a lead, but I don't handle it very well. The bottom line is, you get a 5-0 lead, you can't let a team back in."

Pittsburgh added two off Gabe White in the seventh, while the Reds got a Barry Larkin solo homer, his 12th of the season, in the bottom half of the inning.

"This was characteristic of us all year," McKeon said. "We get a five run lead, we say "Hey, that's enough, we don't need any more.' When you make mistakes, they're going to jump on them -- at least the opposition does."