Opening Day is supposed to be festive, and the Reds' 10-4 loss Monday to the Atlanta Braves met that requirement. It was entertaining, as parties should be. It also was a mess, as they often are.

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        “It didn't exactly go according to the script,” said Cincinnati manager Bob Boone, who watched his Reds managerial debut and a 4-4 tie dissolve amid Atlanta's six runs in the final three innings.

        The overflow crowd of 41,901 glimpsed the promise of the revamped ballpark and this year's Reds.

        Right fielder Alex Ochoa made a sliding second-inning catch that many outfielders might not have tried on the abrasive artificial turf previously covering Cinergy's field. Atlanta's Javy Lopez drilled the first “wall ball” off the 40-foot-high barrier in center field, a fifth-inning double that second-base umpire Bill Miller briefly considered a home run. Sean Casey revived the Reds' hopes with a three-run homer in the sixth inning that tied the score.

        But the Reds stained their new grass carpet with lapses in pitching and defense.

Bob Boone's first game as manager (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

Pete Harnisch pitches against the backdrop of the 40-foot wall. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

Ken Griffey Jr. strikes out pinch hitting (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        Cincinnati starter Pete Harnisch pitched capably, but he and the bullpen fell victim to the Braves in the clutch. Rafael Furcal, the National League's reigning rookie of the year, drove in a career-high four runs and Quilvio Veras contributed a three-run double in Atlanta's four-run eighth inning that essentially settled matters.

        Dmitri Young homered and Barry Larkin resembled a quintessential leadoff hitter by singling three times, but each committed errors that generated unearned runs.

        “I think right now it's just trial and error, to figure out how to get it right,” Casey said. Though he was remarking on the condition of Cinergy's new infield, his comment reflected the Reds' performance as well.

        That infield joined the wall, the grass, the wind currents and the bullpens as objects of Opening Day curiosity. It influenced the game more than any of those other factors, because it played a part in the Braves' four-run eighth inning that turned their 5-4 edge into a comfortable cushion.

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        The infield hardened as the afternoon went on, producing increasingly challenging grounders.

        “By the fourth or fifth inning that ground got really, super-super hard and the whole field was playing super fast,” Casey said.

        “It's probably as fast as (artificial) turf right now,” Boone said.

        With nobody out and Brian Jordan on first base in the eighth, Lopez stroked a potential double-play grounder to Larkin, who couldn't handle the accelerating ball it as it skipped into left-center field. Had Larkin made the play, the Braves' big inning might never have developed.

        “I kind of saw the topspin coming,” Larkin said. “I didn't expect the ball to bounce up that high. He hit it hard, so I was getting ready for something. If it had stayed down, I think I'd have caught it. Unfortunately, it didn't ... I was where I wanted to be. I was in position to catch it.”

        Reminded that a grass field is preferable to AstroTurf under any circumstances, Larkin, a longtime proponent of natural surfaces, wryly said, “The ball wouldn't have hopped up on AstroTurf.”

        Despite this glitch, the Reds remained upbeat about their refurbished field. Overnight and before the game, groundskeepers worked to adjust the infield to the players' liking. But the recent rains forced coverage of the infield with a tarpaulin, hardening the infield dirt.

        “I'm sure they'll get it worked out,” Larkin said.

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