Pete Harnisch gave up six runs in four innings. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        The Reds can reason away a lot of unpleasant aspects of their early season, which continued spiraling downward with Friday night's 10-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs. But rationalization turns to confusion with the subject of Pete Harnisch, who endured his second consecutive rough outing.

        And, history dictates that the lack of production from Cincinnati's third and fourth hitters can't last. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4 to drop his season average to .056 (1-for-18), but obviously that trend is temporary. The same goes for Dante Bichette, whose 0-for-5 dropped him to .105 (2-for-19).

        Harnisch also is struggling. He lasted only four innings, matching his Opening Day stint, while allowing six runs and six hits. The staff ace's ERA climbed to 9.00 as he yielded two of the Cubs' three homers, including Sammy Sosa's 448-foot, two-run shot to center field in the first inning.

Ken Griffey Jr. reacts after grounding out in the third. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        “He'll rebound,” manager Jack McKeon said. “He just needs to get sharp.”

        That was the Reds' intent in bringing back Harnisch on three days' rest, one fewer than usual, after he allowed three runs and seven hits Monday against Milwaukee. The plan was to accelerate Harnisch's improvement.

        In a way, it worked. So the Cubs' rude treatment of him made little sense.

        “I felt good about the way I threw,” said Harnisch (0-1). “I thought I threw the ball a heck of a lot better than the last time out. The results weren't good last time, but they're a lot worse this time, so I don't know ... It's kind of weird to say it when you give up six runs in four innings, but I feel like I made some strides, at least. Hopefully we're turning the corner a little.”

        Harnisch said his pitching mechanics, which by his own admission had been flawed, felt smoother. His breaking ball, he said, “was the best I've had in a long time.”

Sammy Sosa ended an 0-for-16 slump with his first homer. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Harnisch maintained his characteristic pattern, attacking the Cubs with high fastballs. Usually, opponents loft harmless fly balls. This time, the contact was sharper.

        “They hit every mistake I threw,” the right-hander said. “My pitches were up, but I throw pitches up all the time. I don't know. Maybe I was just totally (lousy) and I'm reading it all wrong. That could be.”

        McKeon generally agreed: “Pete had pretty good stuff. But his command was off.”

        Though Damon Buford followed Sosa's blast by homering to lead off the second inning, Harnisch was particularly upset about Ricky Gutierrez's two-run double that keyed Chicago's three-run fourth inning. Gutierrez poked a 3-2 slider past third base.

        “That was really the one that hurt,” Harnisch said. “He (Gutierrez) was out in front, but he kept his hands back enough.”

Mark Grace beats Dmitri Young to the base. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Harnisch also felt frustrated about his failure to pitch deep into the game, which typically is a given with him.

        “I want to give the bullpen a break, that's the biggest thing,” he said. “I can take getting my (butt) kicked. But I'd like to throw at least six or seven innings, to take the load off those guys a little. Hopefully I'll get in a groove and start doing that.”

        The Cubs (2-4), who broke a four-game losing streak, led 10-2 after scoring four sixth-inning runs off reliever Hector Mercado. Just one inning earlier, the rookie left-hander struck out the side.

        The Reds (1-3) then scored a flurry of late runs. Barry Larkin hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Cubs starter Andrew Lorraine (1-0) and Alex Ochoa homered in the eighth. Griffey hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the ninth.

        It was far from enough. But McKeon remained upbeat. “We'll get them all out of our system the first week,” he said of the team's subpar perform ances. “Like we did last year.”

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