Friday, April 13, 2001
Reds 11, Pirates 6
Casey raises NL-leading RBI total
By Chris Haft
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PITTSBURGH — Sean Casey sent his bat to the Hall of Fame on Thursday. He gave away none of his hitting ability with it.
Casey maintained his torrid offense as the Reds concluded their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He belted a monstrous two-run homer and reaffirmed his presence as a cleanup hitter in Cincin nati's 11-6 victory before 33,045 at PNC Park.
The Reds (4-6) amassed their highest single-game run total of the young season to capture their second three-game series over Pittsburgh, 2-1, in as many weeks.
They overcame a 3-0 deficit to tie the score in the fourth inning, then roared ahead by hitting for the cycle while scoring four runs in the fifth off Pirates starter Omar Olivares (0-2). Casey's 432-foot blast highlighted that outburst.
Dmitri Young added his team-leading fourth homer in the sixth inning to help support Pete Harnisch (1-1), who yielded four runs and six hits in six innings. Barry Larkin added a three-run double in the seventh inning, missing his first career grand slam by just a few feet.
“Somebody put a 25-pound (dumb bell) in my locker after the game,” Larkin said, chuckling. “They told me to hit the weight room.”
Casey definitely has thrown his weight around while batting fourth. Though the season is only 10 games old, he has asserted himself in that crucial role.
“He's a big factor — a guy who has the ability to hit .370,” manager Bob Boone said. “I think he has grown into (hitting for) power. That's going to come.”
In many ways, Casey's already there. He hiked his league-leading RBI total to 14 (tied with Colorado's Larry Walker) and is batting .533 (8-for-15) with runners in scoring position. The first baseman also began Thursday ranked among the NL's top 10 in four other major offensive categories.
In this series, Casey went 9-for-14 with three doubles, two homers and eight RBI. After the first two stops and six games on this three-city, nine-game journey, Casey is 12-for-24 with 10 RBI. He's hitting .375 overall.
Those numbers don't reflect Casey's milestones, which prompted Cooperstown to request his bat for posterity. He had the first hits in the inaugural regular-season games at Milwaukee's Miller Park (single) and here at PNC (two-run homer).
Many players would have been reluctant to yield a bat used during a hot streak. But Casey wasn't superstitious about his 34-inch, 32-ounce Carolina Clubs T-141 model.
“Not when it comes to hitting,” he said. “I should be able to hit with anything. ... Another bat will still have a lot of hits in it.”
If Casey believed in luck, good or otherwise, he might have resisted returning to his native city. From 1998-2000 at Three Rivers Stadium, the Pirates' previous home, he hit .213 (26-for-122) with four homers and 18 RBI.
“Thank God they built this park,” Casey said.
PNC nevertheless proved adventuresome for Casey.
He appeared bound for an RBI single in the first inning, but his sharp grounder struck the base of the pitcher's mound and bounded to shortstop Jack Wilson, who made a diving stop and threw to first for the final out.
Four innings later, Casey's homer might have bounced into the Allegheny River had it not struck a speaker overlooking the right-center field bleachers. Wednesday, he barely missed another home run when he launched a drive that caromed off the top of the railing of the right-field seats.
“There's something about my (drives) hitting railings and speakers,” Casey said. “It was meant to hit that speaker, I guess.”
As for Casey, he was meant to hit, period.
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Reds 11, Pirates 6
