Friday, April 23, 1999

METS 4, REDS 1

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Tomko takes another walk on wild side

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Brett Tomko walked five and three scored. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        Brett Tomko was efficient at times Thursday. Unfortunately, he was wild at others.

        Tomko struggled with his control — a recurring problem for Cincinnati's pitchers so far — in Thursday night's 4-1 loss to the New York Mets.

        Tomko (0-1) walked five Mets in 6 1/3 innings. Three of those runners scored; another free pass helped deliver one of those runs. For the Reds, who have walked 55 batters in their nine defeats (a 6.1 average) compared with 19 in their five victories (3.8), it was a familiar, dreary story.

        “They walk a couple, then they start throwing the ball (well),” Reds manager Jack McKeon said. “When they don't walk anybody, (opponents) don't score. (The Mets) threw the ball over (the plate) to us, and we didn't touch it.”

        Tomko was extremely self-critical.

Greg Vaughn went 0-for-2 to drop to .184. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        “I've never been wild like this,” said Tomko, who has walked 14 batters, including two intentionally, in 22 2/3 innings. That's an average of 5.6 per nine innings, about twice what successful pitchers record. “I don't know quite what's going on. I'm worried about throwing balls instead of being aggressive. I have to figure out what needs to happen to change that.”

        Asked if his problems are mechanical or mental, Tomko said: “And ... or ... both. It's not a fun situation to go through. You can't think about much when you're out there. You just have to trust your abilities ... It's nobody's fault but my own.”

        The Reds fell to 2-7 at Cinergy Field, continuing their worst home start since 1986, when they lost 11 of their first 12 games and 12 of the first 14. Having lost their second series in a row, two games to one, the Reds must confront the two-time defending National League Central Division champion Houston Astros — who won their last seven games against Cincinnati last year.

        The Reds will need more production against Houston than they generated off Mets starter Al Leiter (1-2). The left-hander allowed Brian Johnson's home run and four measly singles in 6 1/3 innings.

Sean Casey slides safely into third . (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        New York relievers Turk Wendell, Armando Benitez and John Franco, who earned his sixth save, helped limit the Reds to six hits, marking their seventh game in a row in single digits. Cincinnati's team batting average dropped from .249, which was tied for next-to-last in the NL, to .244.

        With that kind of support, Tomko had to be perfect to win. But he issued three walks in the first two innings. Each lapse proved costly.

        After Edgardo Alfonzo drew a free pass with one out in the Mets' first inning, Tomko fell behind the next batter, John Olerud, 2-0. That prompted a visit from pitching coach Don Gullett, who had barely returned to the dugout before Olerud drove a ground-rule double to left-center field. Bobby Bonilla's groundout to first base scored Alfonzo.

        Todd Pratt widened the Mets' lead to 2-0 by homering to left on a 2-2 pitch with one out in the second inning. Tomko then walked the No.8 hitter, Luis Lopez, whom Leiter sacrificed to second base. Tomko got two strikes on Rickey Henderson but walked him on a full-count pitch.

        That prolonged the inning for Alfonzo. Tomko fell behind 3-0 and slipped across a strike before Alfonzo singled to left, scoring Lopez.

Dmitri Young reacts after striking out in the ninth. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        “Look at most of the hits,” McKeon said. “You get behind, you get hurt. Because they know what you're coming with.”

        Tomko retired 13 of the next 16 Mets before his control, or lack of it, betrayed him for the final time.

        Henderson walked on a full count to open the seventh inning before Alfonzo advanced him on a grounder to shortstop. With the left-handed Olerud due up, lefty Gabe White relieved Tomko and yielded an RBI single on his first pitch.

        “Make them beat you,” McKeon urged. “It takes three singles to get a run. It only takes one single to get a run if you walk a couple.”

        Leiter rarely encountered trouble. He was on the brink of establishing dominance, striking out the side in the second inning, when Johnson opened the third by delivering a 410-foot shot to center field for his second homer of the season.

        Johnson received another chance to trim New York's advantage in the fourth, when Sean Casey and Mark Lewis singled to give the Reds runners on the corners with two outs. But Leiter struck out Johnson after they battled to a full count.

       

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