Dante Bichette fails to make a sliding catch in the eighth inning. He also made a two-base error in the inning when a single skipped under his glove. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Glaring as it was, Dante Bichette's eighth-inning fielding error in the Reds' 6-3 loss Friday night to the Pittsburgh Pirates shouldn't have blinded observers to the team's lingering problem: offense.

        The Reds continued to struggle at the plate. Their losing streak grew to four games as they repeated the mistakes that doomed them in Milwaukee — wasting solid starting pitching with minimal offense, this time in the form of six hits.

        Ken Griffey Jr., who drove in all of Cincinnati's runs, belted his 35th home run. Michael Tucker doubled and scored twice. Cincinnati went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, deepening their seven-game slump in those situations to 4-for-52 (.077). There's your Reds hitting summary.

Michael Tucker loses his helmet as he races from first to third on a wild pickoff throw. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Only once did the Reds put two runners aboard with fewer than two outs. They had Tucker on third base and Barry Larkin on first with one out in the third inning before Pirates starter Todd Ritchie (6-6) struck out Griffey and eliminated Bichette on a fly ball.

        Reds manager Jack McKeon dwelled on that lost opportunity much more than on Bichette's misplay.

        “We need to get a few back-to-back hits there and get a cushion — give our pitcher a little breathing room,” McKeon said. “You can't chop their heads off. They're trying to do the best they can. They're just in a funk again where nobody can get the key hit. We have to make our own breaks. It's just not happening.”

        It hasn't been happening at Cinergy Field, where 31,891 patrons watched the Reds (59-61) lose for the eighth time in their last 10 home games. Cincinnati must reverse this slide to challenge St.Louis, which won Friday to increase its lead in the National League Central Division to 7¹/₂ games.

        “You have to look at the reality of things,” said Dmitri Young, whose groundout as a pinch-hitter with a pair of teammates aboard ended the game and gave Mike Williams his 17th save. “The reality is, we're going to hit a lot of rocky bumps in the road. But we have to remain positive, and we'll be having a different conversation.”

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 35th homer. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Staying upbeat has been essential for Bichette, who has improved his defense after a shaky opening week.

        With one out and the score tied 2-2 in the eighth inning, Jason Kendall, whose sixth-inning homer opened Pittsburgh's scoring, singled off reliever Scott Sullivan (2-5). He scored when Brian Giles' single skipped under Bichette's glove and rolled to the right-field wall for a two-base error. Giles, who sped to third on the play, scored on Aramis Ramirez's two-out bloop double off Danny Graves. This gave the crowd another chance to boo Bichette, who attempted a sliding catch on a ball that was out of reach.

        Said Bichette of his error: “The ball got under my glove. I don't know what else to tell you. ... You miss a ball on the turf here, and that's your worst nightmare as an outfielder. There's no good time for that.”

        McKeon absolved Bichette: “Physical errors are part of the game. (Atlanta third baseman) Chipper Jones made one that gave us the game (Aug.7). It happens.”

Sean Casey tags out Enrique Wilson on a pickoff play. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Reds right-hander Scott Williamson defended Bichette's approach to Ramirez's hit. “What he did was great,” Williamson said. “That's what I want him to do when I'm out there. I think he did the right thing, going as hard as he could to help the pitcher by trying to save runs.”

        The Reds could take solace in Williamson, who allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings. Bothered by tightness in his back all evening, Williamson said he finally could go no longer.

        “I feel like a 70-year-old man right now,” said Williamson, who lowered his ERA as a starter to 2.82. “It was like that the whole game. I just battled through it.”

        Williamson also happened to throw his 20th wild pitch of the season, breaking Jim Maloney's club record set in 1963 and matched in 1965. The catch: Maloney worked 250ô and 255ô innings, respectively, in those seasons; Williamson established the new mark in just 100 innings.

Pirates 6, Reds 3 Box, runs Top 3 draftees may go unsigned Larkin's next hit No. 2000 Miami grad doing well with Pirates

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