Giants 6, Reds 2

SAN FRANCISCO — Shortstop Barry Larkin believes the Reds need some drastic action to end the slump that continued with Wednesday's 6-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Larkin wasn't certain what that event should be.

“I agree that something needs to be shaken up,” said Larkin, the team captain. “What that is, I don't know. ... Hopefully, things will be shaken up somehow, somewhere.”

Manager Jack McKeon has known that Cincinnati's inconsistent hitting and pitching must begin working in concert if the team is to surpass the .500 level (32-32) it fell to for the first time since May 8.

But how? “I wish I had the answer,” said McKeon, who already has tried numerous lineup changes while Cincinnati has lost eight of nine games and 12 of 17 to fall four games behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central.

Both key figures felt that a team meeting would have little or no effect, though Reds gen eral manager Jim Bowden is expected to have a state-of-the-club discussion with McKeon and the coaching staff during today's off day in San Diego.

“I got a message from someone in the front office that it was time for a meeting,” said Larkin, in an apparent reference to Bowden. “I talked to some players; the consensus is that we're really busting our (butts).”

Larkin recalled verbally whipping his teammates after they started 0-8 in 1995. The Reds proceeded to win the NL Central. “We're not at that point. So it doesn't apply,” Larkin said. “We can have a team meeting, but what is it going to be? "OK, guys, let's start winning'?”

McKeon also saw no need to turn the clubhouse into a chat room.

“Is that going to get any runs?” he said. “What we're looking for is something between the lines. Talk is not going to get it. I think some of the guys have to look in the mirror and figure it out for themselves. Yeah, I have an occasional (meeting). But

I don't like to beat them when they're down.”

Yet Denny Neagle, who allowed five runs (four earned) and 10 hits in six innings against the Giants, thought the idea of a players' meeting was at least worth exploring.

“There are little things you can do as individuals and as a team to spark yourselves,” said Neagle, who had been 11-1 for his career against the Giants before Wednesday. “Last year we did that. We always knew the right time to fire guys up, when to call a players-only meeting. Whether it's time or not, some of us veterans need to sit down and talk about that.”

Neagle joked that he might consider shaving his head, as Ron Oester, now the Reds' third-base coach, did during the 1990 World Championship season to end a prolonged losing streak. Larkin also cited the bald-is-beautiful ploy — without cracking a smile.

What the Reds don't need is another performance such as Wednesday's.

Offensively, they again struggled. They left the bases loaded in the first inning after settling for one run. Afterward, except for Larkin's eighth-inning homer, they moved only two runners past first base.

Given the heat that reached a record-tying 103 degrees, Neagle pitched capably. But the three first-inning runs he yielded put the Reds in a quick hole. “In my last couple of starts, it has taken me one inning too long to figure out what I'm doing physically,” Neagle said.

As usual, McKeon took an optimistic view. Sinking to .500, he said, can be an opportunity instead of a setback.

“We're even now. Now we can start over. Let's go from here,” he said. “Let's see if we want to ride to the top or say, "Hey, let's just enjoy the summer.' I'm quite sure the guys are going to respond.”

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