Saturday, April 24, 1999
Reds bullpen getting the job done
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Reds young bullpen is quickly growing up.
Scott Sullivan, Dennys Reyes and Danny Graves combined to pitch five innings of one-run ball in the Reds' 7-5 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday at Cinergy Field.
“Another great job by the bullpen,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said. “The key was we held them in the eighth and ninth.”
Sullivan (2-0) got the win, and Graves got the save, his third.
The bullpen's ERA over the last 10 games is 1.21 and the relievers haven't allowed a home run since Opening Day.
The relievers weren't artful Friday — they allowed six hits and four walks — but they made the big pitches:
• In the fifth, with the bases loaded, Sullivan struck out Ricky Gutierrez to end the inning.
• In the seventh, left-hander Reyes got the first batter he faced, right-handed hitting Mitch Meluskey, to break his bat and ground into an inning-ending double play.
• In the eighth, with the bases loaded and no outs, Graves got Derek Bell to ground a ball back to him and turned a 1-2-3 double play.
“You don't want to be in that situation — bases loaded, no one out,” Graves said. “But relief pitchers thrive on pressure situations. You want to prove yourself.”
Graves is starting to prove he can close games.
“He goes right after guys,” McKeon said. “That was a tremendous effort by him. That's the type of pitcher he is. He throws that sinker and gets ground-ball outs.”
The one run Sullivan allowed broke a string of 11ö scoreless innings by the bullpen.
“We had a rough start,” Sullivan said. “People got down on us because we're young. But everyone in the bullpen can pitch. ... and we're only going to get better in the future.”
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