Aaron Boone had 5 RBI. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

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        PHOENIX — If the Reds' manic tendencies remain intact, they'll lose miserably to the Arizona Diamondbacks today. A pitcher will disgrace himself, one or more hitters will fail in the clutch, Barry Larkin will blast his teammates after the game and General Manager Jim Bowden will feel compelled to issue a third vote of confidence on behalf of manager Jack McKeon.

        That's the most likely scenario, given the Reds' performance pattern and their 14-2 pounding Sunday of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Since losing 11 of 12 games between June 5-18, the Reds (39-41) have alternated a win with a loss each day since June 20. Their only consistency has been inconsistency.

        “It's kind of crazy,” said third baseman Aaron Boone, who went 3-for-5 and drove in a career-high five runs. “You think maybe you'd win two and lose two at some point. It's been sort of a puzzling season for us.”

        Ideally, this was the kind of game that could propel the Reds toward success. They led 7-0 after two innings, their biggest early margin of the year. They reached season highs for runs and hits by the fifth inning, enabling Larkin, who went 4-for-4, to retire to the bench. They amassed the highest scoring total by a Diamondbacks opponent at three-year-old Bank One Ballpark while handing Arizona its most lopsided home loss ever.

        Left-hander Denny Neagle (7-2), who pitched seven solid innings, wondered what it would take to launch a winning streak of any length.

Barry Larkin doubles. | ZOOM |

        “Some people think you need a blowout to get you back on track, but sometimes it's nice to play one of those really good games where you get a couple of clutch hits, good pitching and you win 3-2,” Neagle said. “I think I've changed my mind. Maybe you do need one of these (one-sided wins) to get everybody on track and feeling good about themselves. We tried the other way and it didn't work, so maybe this will. It can't hurt.”

        But the Reds, who picked up a game on first-place St. Louis and trail by 8¹/₂ games, have shown no signs of being able to sustain excellence. Why should they start now?

        Asked if the Reds could build upon this victory manager Jack McKeon chuckled. “We've been saying that every time we win one,” McKeon said. “(Today) is going to be a key day.”

        After today's series finale against Arizona, the Reds travel to St. Louis for a three-game showdown.

        “It's getting to that point in the season where we need to start stringing wins together if we're going to stay in this thing and have a chance in the second half,” said Boone, who hit a two-run single in the second inning, a two-run homer in the fourth and an infield hit in the fifth.

Ken Griffey Jr. spins away from an inside pitch. | ZOOM |

        “There's no question that it's crunch time for us,” said Neagle, who helped himself with a pair of hits and an RBI. “You hate to feel like it's a make-or-break series, but these guys (the Diamondbacks) will play us tough (today) and the next three games are very important. I'm not going to downplay it at all. We have to win at least two out of three at St. Louis. If we lose that series, we're going to be in an unfortunate situation come the All-Star break. You can't afford to be that many games out. I don't care if it's July. We have to make up some ground now.”

        McKeon will do what he can to produce the Reds' first back-to-back victories since June 3-4, when they completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota and led the division by one half game. Always loathe to break a winning habit, McKeon will employ the same lineup today that he used Sunday against Diamondbacks starter Omar Daal (2-9), who allowed seven runs and seven hits in 1ô innings.

        To neutralize the left-handed Daal and play some reserves, McKeon started all right-handed hitters except for Ken Griffey Jr. sec

        Brian Anderson, Arizona's pitcher today, also throws left-handed.

        “When you make the moves and they execute, it looks good,” McKeon said.

Reds 14, Diamondbacks 2 Box, runs Griffey explains outburst Neagle has a well-rounded day Aybar goes on DL Results of our Reds poll Results of our news poll

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