Reds 4, Pirates 3

Alex Ochoa watches his game-winning hit.
(Gary Landers photos)
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Alex Ochoa watched the Pittsburgh Pirates walk Benito Santiago intentionally to load the bases and get to him.

“I said, "OK, this is my opportunity to come up with the big hit,'” Ochoa said.

He did.

Ochoa lined a ball that one-hopped the wall in right-center to send home the winning run in the Reds' 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 10 innings Thursday at Cinergy Field.

Ochoa's hit was a bit of overkill. The bases were loaded with one out, so any halfway-deep fly ball would have won it. But Ochoa is one of the players fighting for playing time, so Thursday's hit may have earned him a little more.

“Ochoa gets one at-bat and delivers,” McKeon said.

“You go out and try to help the team win,” Ochoa said. “Everyone wants to play every day. But that's my approach: Try to help the team win. We have some players on this team.”

Ochoa is congratulated by Ken Griffey Sr.
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Thursday it seemed like just about every one of those players had a hand in the victory. “We have so much depth,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said.

The victory meant the Reds have won four straight series and six of their last seven. It also meant they stayed tied with St. Louis for first in the NL Central. The Reds have won nine of 11 games.

Thursday's game conclud ed the three-game homestand. The Reds play the Chicago Cubs in the first of three at Wrigley Field today, then head to Los Angeles for three with the Dodgers.

The Reds are in good shape for the trip, thanks to a decent start by the newest Red, Osvaldo Fernandez. Fernandez put the Reds in a 2-0 hole in the first inning. After the Reds tied it, Fernandez allowed another run to make it 3-2.

Then Fernandez settled down, allowing only one hit after the second.

Osvaldo Fernandez survived a rocky start.
(AP photo)
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The Reds tied it on Dmitri Young's double and Santiago's RBI single in the third.

As the innings clicked off and the score remained tied, the Reds began to feel better and better about their chances. If the 2000 Reds have proven anything, it's that they are tough in close games decided late.

After Thursday, they are 10-2 in one-run games and 5-0 in extra-inning games and have seven walk-off wins.

Elmer Dessens bridged the gap from Fernandez to closers Scott Williamson and Danny Graves.

One day after a bullpen blowup, Reds relievers went four shutout innings. Williamson defused a no-out, first-and-second threat he inherited from Dessens in the eighth. Other than that, the Pirates went quietly. Graves got the win, becoming the first Red to start 6-0 since John Ruffin in 1994.

Aaron Boone makes a diving stop.
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It came a day after Graves' worst outing of the year. “You definitely want to get out there again,” Graves said. “ ... Jack (McKeon) and (pitching coach Don Gullett) have the confidence to put you back in there.”

Graves got the Pirates 1-2-3 in the 10th to set up the Reds' 10th.

Sean Casey started the rally with a one-out single. He went to third when Dante Bichette blooped a single into right field.

The Pirates walked Santiago to load the bases to get to Ochoa. Standard baseball strategy.

“They wanted an out at every base,” Ochoa said.

With the infield and the outfield in, the odds favored Ochoa, who has an RBI every 4.2 at-bats; only Ken Griffey Jr. at 4.08 is better.

Ochoa, obtained from Milwaukee in the offseason, saw this type of Reds victory last year. “Looking over in the dugout, you'd see it,” he said. “The atmosphere here is incredible. You feel that. It's awesome.”

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