Wednesday, April 28, 1999

PHILLIES 1, REDS 0

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Neagle's six shutout innings wasted

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        PHILADELPHIA — The demons that have chased the Reds all season long followed them Tuesday night to Veterans Stadium.

        Walks. Vulnerable relief pitching. The kind of bad luck that seems to befall losing teams. Most of all, flimsy offense.

        Cincinnati mustered just five hits off Philadelphia Phillies ace Curt Schilling and two relievers in a 1-0 loss before 14,114 witnesses who finally went home happy in the 10th inning.

        That's when Doug Glanville singled to left-center field off Reds reliever Danny Graves, scoring pinch-runner Desi Relaford with two outs and keeping the Reds (7-11) in last place in the National League Central Division.

        Though Cincinnati's bullpen leads the league in losses (seven), manager Jack McKeon primarily lamented the team's inability to score. The Reds, whose .248 team batting average entering the game ranked next to last in the NL, suffered their first shutout defeat of the season while falling to 2-6 in one-run games.

        Cincinnati moved only four runners into scoring position, squandering its best chance to score in the eighth when Mark Lewis doubled and Pokey Reese sacrificed pinch-runner Chris Stynes to third base. But with the crowd roaring, Schilling struck out Brian Johnson and Mike Cameron.

        “You allow one run, you've got to win,” McKeon said.

        The outcome spoiled an encouraging outing by Denny Neagle, who blanked Philadelphia for the first six innings in only his second start since returning from the disabled list.

        Neagle's 93-pitch workload necessitated his departure, but he left the Reds eager for more. The left-hander allowed five hits while walking two and striking out four. Though Neagle recorded no three-up, three-down innings, he benefited from three of Cincinnati's four double plays. Proving he could get tough when it counted, Neagle held the Phillies hitless in five at-bats with runners in scoring position.

        “It was a little bit tougher for me to get loose,” said Neagle, citing the evening's increasing chill. “I was a little bit tight and stiff coming out of the bullpen. I think my pitches kind of showed that. You throw six scoreless innings and you think everything's great. But I didn't locate my fastball as well as I had hoped. But the big thing was, my change-up was a heck of a lot better than it was in my first outing (four runs in four innings last Wednesday). It got me out of some key jams.”

        Graves wasn't as fortunate.

        Gabe White (0-2) began the Phillies' 10th by walking Mike Lieberthal on a full-count delivery after being ahead 0-2. After Dave Doster sacrificed Relaford to second base, Graves relieved White and struck out pinch-hitter Kevin Jordan.

        Pitching coach Don Gullett decided to visit Graves.

        “We discussed that first base was open and that guy (Glanville) is a pretty good hitter,” Graves said. “He swings at everything. He doesn't like to walk. So you try to get it close to the plate, hoping he'll chase something.”

        Graves slipped across a strike, then tried a slider that Glanville stroked for his third hit.

        “I left it out over the plate,” Graves said. “It wasn't a bad pitch, but it wasn't a great one either. I tried to get it out a little more so he could chase it and I could come back in with a sinker on his hands. If that's a few inches down, he might swing over it or top it. But I didn't get it out enough.”

        In the ninth, the Reds might have felt like consulting the NFL about using an instant-replay system.

        Michael Tucker singled leading off before Greg Vaughn smashed a grounder to third base. Doster was clearly airborne when he caught Scott Rolen's high relay at second base, but umpire Brian Runge called Tucker out anyway, starting a double play and prompting a brief argument from McKeon.

        “Wasn't that brutal?” McKeon said, ignoring protocol about not criticizing umpires. “No question (Doster was off the base). I hope (Runge) looks at the replay.”

        Said Doster: “I heard I was close. It was one that was so close you can't tell with the naked eye.”

        But the Reds can see clearly what's happening to them, and it isn't good.

       

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