Pete Harnisch celebrates after getting the last out. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        After a nasty storm delayed the first pitch, and the Atlanta Braves quickly pulled ahead, Pete Harnisch just wanted to make it to the fifth inning. It was worth the effort to get there.

        Harnisch hit his second career homer and pitched a complete game to lead the Reds to a milestone 10-6 victory over Tom Glavine Wednesday night.

        The Reds took two-of-three for their first winning series against the Braves since September 1996. They'd lost their last eight series against Atlanta and are only 7-25 against the Braves since 1997.

        “It feels good to light one up against the Braves,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said, taking his first puffs on a postgame cigar. The Reds picked up a game on the Cardinals and trail by five in the NL Central.

Lightning lit up the sky. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        The Reds pulled off a mistake-aided comeback after a severe storm dumped rain and hail on the field, delaying the start by an hour and 31 minutes. Lightning bolts flashed throughout the game, drawing repeated oohs from the 31,098 fans and quick glances from the players, while rolling thunder rattled the suite windows.

        Harnisch (4-6) seemed to be on his way to a quick exit when the Braves rolled ahead 6-2 in the third.

        “At that point, I'm just trying to get through five or six innings, give the bullpen a break, throw a couple of zeroes and give the guys a chance to get back in the game,” Harnisch said.

        He reached the fifth all right — and wound up pumping his right fist as he rounded first on his two-run homer off Stan Belinda, which left him unsure how to react.

        “The home run trot was well below average,” Harnisch said. “It looked like I had seven different speeds. I feel like I have the ability to put the ball in play, but I swung the bat and it hit the good part. That's it.”

Bobby Bonilla scores on a Harnisch wild pitch. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        The crowd relished Glavine's meltdown, waving goodbye and jeering as he walked off the field with his head down after giving up eight runs. It was the most he'd allowed since Milwaukee scored nine off him May 24 last year.

        “I don't think I had my A-game, but I don't think I should have given up eight runs, either,” said Glavine (14-6), who had allowed only 17 runs while winning his last seven starts. “It was just one of those games. Not very much about it was very good.”

        Glavine lasted only four-plus innings against the team he has beaten more than any other in his career. The left-hander is 21-9 against the Reds, including 14-4 in Cincinnati.

        Ken Griffey Jr. had three hits, including a solo homer, and Alex Ochoa had a single, double and triple as the Reds rallied for only their second win in eight games.

        Misplays abounded on both sides, fueling one spurt after another through the first five innings. Two by Braves center fielder Andruw Jones helped the Reds pull off their go-ahead rally.

Griffey is greeted by Dante Bichette after his HR. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Griffey led off the fifth with a single and paused at second on Dante Bichette's single to center, then took off for third when Jones made a halfhearted lob to the infield. Dmitri Young's double tied it and ended Glavine's outing.

        Ochoa hit a sinking liner to center that shot past Jones for a two-run triple off Belinda. Two outs later, Harnisch hit a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left for a 376-foot homer.

        Harnisch shut out the Braves over the last six innings for his third complete game in his last six starts, giving up nine hits as he beat the Braves for the first time since 1993. The right-hander had gone 0-4 in his last seven starts against Atlanta.

        Chipper Jones ended an 0-for-23 slump, the worst of his career, with a triple that bounced past a charging Ochoa in left field in the seventh. Jones had two throwing errors and only one hit in 13 at-bats during the series, which ended a 4-5 road trip by the Braves.

Dante Bichette fails in an attempt at a sliding catch. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        The third baseman's errant throw with two outs in the ninth inning of the series opener let Cincinnati rally for a 3-2 win.

        “Not real good,” he said of the trip. “Things would have been a lot different if we had made a defensive play here or there and if one guy in particular wouldn't have gone 0-for-20-whatever.”

        The Braves appeared to be in control when they scored five runs in the third with the help of Bichette's misplay in right. He tried to make a sliding catch of Bobby Bonilla's liner on the wet turf and missed the ball, letting it roll to the wall for a two-run triple.

        “He lost in it the lights,” McKeon said, “or Pete's out of the inning.”

Reds 10, Braves 6 Box, runs Boone has knee surgery Larkin expects to return Friday

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