Eddie Taubensee offers encouragement to Rob Bell after J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer in the seventh. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        Saturday had all the makings of a dreadful afternoon for the Reds. After Opening Day starter Pete Harnisch went on the disabled list, they remained offensively mute in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. But at least Rob Bell pitched.

        The rookie right-hander continued to provide encouragement, matching St. Louis' Darryl Kile zero for zero through six innings before J.D. Drew's two-run homer in the seventh inning broke the tie. Though Bell (2-2) took the loss, the Reds sense they'll ultimately gain from his presence.

        “There's no question he has been one of our better performers all year,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said.

        With Harnisch gone for 3-to-4 weeks, Cincinnati's remaining starters will be obliged to compensate. Bell's effort indicated he can handle his share of the chal lenge, though his words dismissed any additional responsibility.

Ken Griffey Jr. catches Jim Edmonds' drive at the wall. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

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        “I can't worry about what pressures we now assume (with Harnisch gone),” Bell said. “I think I have enough on me now.”

        Cincinnati's hitters appear to be particularly burdened. They went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position against Kile (6-1) and three Cardinals relievers, dropping their season average in such situations to .217. The Reds have scored just seven runs in losing three of their last four.

        Half of the 10 runners the Reds left on base were marooned in scoring position. Their final hope came in the ninth inning, when St. Louis reliever Dave Veres put Reds on first and second base with one out.

        But Pokey Reese lined out sharply to center field for the second time in the game before Sean Casey's grounder to first earned Veres his sixth save.

        “That's the game of baseball,” Reese said of his luckless contact. “They're not all going to fall in. Hopefully they'll drop in tomorrow.”

Juan Castro flips his bat after striking out. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        Bell has plenty of reason to look forward to tomorrow and beyond. He already has proven durable, lasting seven innings twice in six starts. The Reds' other starters have managed that feat just four times. Bell has allowed 27 hits in 35 innings.

        If Bell resembles a veteran, it might be partly because he won't allow himself to assume a rookie's mindset.

        “I can't look at myself as a rookie,” he said after throwing 66 strikes in 99 pitches. “That's never been my personality, to look at things like that and (use) that excuse to fall back on. I pitch one pitch at a time, get in jams and get myself out of them. That's the competitive nature of this job.”

        Bell's athletic hunger almost left him wishing — almost — that Mark McGwire had been in the Cardinals' lineup. McGwire skipped the game to attend to a personal matter and was expected to return today. Bell took pains to point out that he wanted to test himself against the St. Louis slugger — “with nobody out and nobody on” — and wasn't being cocky. “By no means do I mean that I was looking forward to facing McGwire,” he said.

        Facing Drew in the seventh proved difficult enough. Craig Paquette doubled with one out before Drew drove a 2-2 curveball into the green seats for his fifth homer.

        Bell called this the “most frustrating” moment of his young career. Yet it came with a silver lining.

        “Two runs like that, just when I felt that things were really coming together for me,” he said. “If I get that pitch down four more inches, it's a groundout or he swings over it. The lessons you learn out there from 60 feet away are tough ones. But they'll make me a better pitcher.”

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