Wednesday, June 02, 1999

REDS 4, METS 0

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Good bounces lead to 4th straight road win

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Pokey Reese throws to first after making a force. | ZOOM |

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        NEW YORK — If you're a Red on this current road trip, the hotel maids leave extra mints on your pillow, HBO happens to be showing your favorite movie and the phone never awakens you.

        And at the ballpark, your hits find a gap and your pitches are hit into a teammate's glove.

        It's called being on a roll, a phenomenon the Reds continued in Tuesday night's 4-0 victory over the New York Mets.

        A collection of fortunate hits and sparkling defensive plays helped the Reds win their fourth consecutive game and 12th in their last 16. They're 4-1 on this trip, their longest in 10 years, and 14-8 overall on the road.

        History confirms the Reds' momentum. They're four games over .500 (26-22) for the first time since the end of the 1995 season. They also clinched their first series victory at Shea Stadium since the middle of that year. A victory in tonight's series finale would give Cincinnati its first sweep here since July 7-9, 1986.

Pete Harnisch got some help from his defense and ... | ZOOM |

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        Evoking past triumphs and burying past failures can be nice. But shortstop Barry Larkin and right-hander Pete Harnisch pointed out that the Reds are more interested in current affairs.

        “We've had two series on this road trip and we've won both of them. That's the focus,” said Larkin, who raised his average on this sojourn to .529 (9-for-17) with a 2-for-3 effort that included an RBI single.

        “We went to three games over .500 (last week), and we lost three in a row,” said Harnisch, who notched his third victory in four starts by hurling seven shutout innings. “We're trying not to fall into that trap. This was a big win just to keep moving forward.”

        Manager Jack McKeon, who has vowed to quit smoking his beloved cigars at the ballpark for a day if the Reds climb to 10 games over .500, had bigger goals in mind.

        “Let's get 20 over, and I'll give them up for the rest of the season,” McKeon proclaimed.

... helped himself with a third-inning double. | ZOOM |

        As the Reds staggered through April, they complained that they couldn't get a key hit or a timely break. Now everything's going right. Destiny is often fickle. But as Mike Schmidt once said, destiny tends to reside in the winning clubhouse. Though the Reds might be lucky, their recent surge indicates they also have been quite good.

        Cincinnati's luck particularly benefited Harnisch (5-5), who somehow gained strength after being hit hard through the first four innings.

        “I told Gully (pitching coach Don Gullett) after the fourth inning, "I feel like I'm already on empty,'” Harnisch said. “But after the fourth inning, my fastball was pretty good.”

Harnisch scores in the third. | ZOOM |

        Good fortune merged with defensive skill to aid Harnisch, who received two double plays behind him.

        He yielded sharp singles to Rey Ordonez and Rickey Henderson in the third inning, but center fielder Mike Cameron threw out Ordonez at third base on the latter hit. Edgardo Alfonzo then hit a low screamer that Larkin deftly speared on a short hop before throwing to first base for the inning-ending out.

        The Mets had runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth inning when Brian McRae hit a line drive directly at Larkin. Had the ball traveled almost anywhere else, McRae would have had a two-run, game-tying single.

        Make no mistake: Harnisch pitched well, too. He needed just six pitches to skate through the sixth inning, his only 1-2-3 frame. Harnisch ultimately threw 89 pitches, including 57 for strikes.

        “He always has games where he seems like he's struggling, but he pitches great,” catcher Eddie Taubensee said. “He makes good pitches at good times.”

        Mets starter Orel Hershiser (4-5) also pitched capably, but fate clearly favored the Reds.

        In the third inning, Harnisch rocketed a first-pitch double and hesitated between second and third when Michael Tucker hit a line drive to right center field. Harnisch advanced after the ball fell in and scored when McRae kicked the ball for an error.

        The trend accelerated in the fourth. Larkin's soft line drive barely eluded second baseman Alfonzo for a single. Taubensee hit another single that skipped over first baseman John Olerud, sending Larkin to third. Cameron's double-play grounder scored Larkin.

        Another stroke of luck occurred in the fifth, when the Reds scored their final pair of runs. With Pokey Reese on second base and two outs, Sean Casey poked a pitch off the end of his bat toward third base that skidded under Robin Ventura's glove, barely fair. Voila! An RBI double for Casey.

        “Good things are starting to happen to us,” Taubensee said. “Let's hope it keeps going.”

       

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