Sammy Sosa protests called third strike with bases loaded. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Rob Bell knew the game could slip away from him with one bad pitch.

        He was already down 3-1. Sammy Sosa, he of the 60-plus home runs, was at the plate. Bases loaded. Hang a curveball and Bell's major league debut would be a major blowout.

        “It was make-or-break right there,” Bell said. “I was thinking, "I can't pitch like the bases are loaded. I've got to be aggressive.'”

        Bell started Sosa with a curveball. Ball 1.

        Sosa fouled off a fastball. Strike 1.

        Bell threw another fastball. Strike 2.

        Then Bell snapped off a mean curve. Strike 3. Called.

        Inning over. Disaster averted.

        “That was electrifying,” Bell said. “I definitely heard the crowd as I was coming off. I was pumped.”

Rob Bell. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        Bell, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound rookie right-hander, gave him self a little pep talk on the bench between innings.

        “I said, "I can nibble and pitch like a rookie or I can go right after them.'”

        He went right after the Cubs, and it worked. Bell retired the next 15 batters. He got a no decision but his start was key to the Reds' 4-3, 11-inning victory over Chicago.

        “He did a heck of a job,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said. “We're tickled to death with him.”

        Bell ended up pitching seven innings. He allowed three hits and three runs (one earned), struck out nine and walked two. The nine strikeouts were the most by a Reds rookie since Brett Tomko struck 10 against San Francisco Aug. 2, 1997.

        One start isn't a lot to go on, but the Reds fifth starter problems may be behind them.

        “He's a tremendous addition to our staff,” McKeon said.

        Bell, 23, was obtained before last season from the Atlanta Braves along with Denny Neagle and Michael Tucker for Bret Boone and Mike Remlinger.

        Bell did not pitch above Single-A until last year. General Manager Jim Bowden admitted the Reds were rushing Bell when they decided to release Mark Portugal and use Bell as the fifth starter.

        While Bell has limited experience, the Reds have no doubts that his stuff is major-league quality.

        “We saw it last year,” McKeon said. “I knew all about Rob Bell before he got here.”

        Bell nearly got buried early, thanks to some shoddy defense.

        Eric Young started the game with a single to left. Ricky Gutierrez tried to bunt him to second. But the ball went right under first baseman Dmitri Young's glove for an error. Eric Young came all the way around to score.

        Not a great start, and Sosa was coming up.

        Bell got Sosa swinging.

        “My first major league strikeout against Sammy Sosa,” Bell said. “I'll take that.”

        But on one of the strikes to Sosa, Gutierrez moved to second on Eddie Taubensee's passed ball. Gutierrez then stole third. He scored on Bell's wild pitch. Bell got Rodriguez and Jeff Reed swinging to get out of the inning.

        The second started innocently with Shane Andrews' groundout. But Bell walked Julio Zuleta. He moved to another passed ball.

        “We knew his curve was nasty,” McKeon said. “Eddie had trouble handling.”

        Damon Buford grounded out. But Chicago starting pitcher Kevin Tapani doubled to make the score 3-0. Young reached on a bunt single. Another wild pitch allowed Young to go to second. Gutierrez walked setting up the second confrontation with Sosa.

        “That's like not knowing anything on your history final and trying to pass it the next day,” Bell said. To face a such a prolific offensive player in that situation bears your focus right down.”

        That's what impressed McKeon. “He's tough in the clutch,” he said.

        Bell is from Marlboro, N.Y., but he had never pitched in weather like Saturday's. Game time temperature was 37 with a wind chill of 18.

        “I never warmed up in snow before,” he said. “About 12:50 it was really snowing. I thought, "Oh my goodness, with all the other variables — facing Sammy Sosa and Henry Rodriguez — and now it's snowing.'”

        The weather was bad in New York too. Bell's mother and father, Sandy and Bob, had a flight canceled. They didn't get to ballpark until the sixth.

        “Someone called my mom on her cell phone and told her I struck out Sammy Sosa with the bases loaded,” Bell said. “She started crying.”

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