Ruben Rivera gets high five from Kelly Stinnett after his eighth-inning HR. Stinnett followed with a HR. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        SAN FRANCISCO — Being a pitcher for the Reds or Colorado Rockies at Coors Field during the next three days might not be much fun.

        The Rockies, whose offense always has been enhanced by Denver's thin air, occupy their customary spot atop the National League's hitting charts with a .301 team average.

        Ranked second at .280 are the Reds, who swung their bats at Pacific Bell Park as if they were already at Coors. Cincinnati concluded a three-game sweep Thursday with another impressive offensive performance, overcoming a 3-0 deficit to overwhelm the San Francisco Giants, 7-5.

        The Reds (12-9), who have won seven consecutive road games and nine of their last 12 overall, begin a weekend series at NL West-leading Colorado tonight after posting their first three-game sweep in San Francisco since May 3-5, 1996 at Candlestick Park.

Dmitri Young and Michael Tucker celebrate after scoring on Alex Ochoa's single in the seventh. | ZOOM |

        Following an eight-game stretch from April 13-22 in which they scored three or fewer runs six times, the Reds hit a rousing .402 (45-for-112) against San Francisco, which defeated them in five of six meetings at Pac Bell last year.

        The Reds thrived in the clutch against the Giants, hitting .459 (17-for-37) with runners in scoring position. Cincinnati hit .143 (8-for-56) in those situations in the seven games before this series.

        To manager Bob Boone, everything's beginning to even out in the Reds' favor.

        “I know where they're going to be at the end of the year,” said Boone, who declared in spring training that his projected starting lineup was good enough to bat .300 collectively. “So if you start badly — "Oh, they're hitting .121 with men in scoring position' — you know something good is going to happen.”

Barry Bonds can't make the play on Sean Casey' single in the sixth inning. | ZOOM |

        It happened again for the Reds, who trailed 3-0 through five innings and 3-1 after six. They rallied for four seventh-inning runs, with Alex Ochoa lining a two-run single off Alan Embree (0-1) to break a 3-3 tie. Back-to-back home runs by Ruben Rivera and Kelly Stinnett in the eighth inning helped offset Barry Bonds' two-run homer, which tied him with Eddie Murray for 16th on the all-time list at 504.

        Ochoa's hit embodied Cincinnati's effort in this series, since it came with two outs. The Reds scored eight of their 23 runs, a hefty percentage, with two men down.

        Though the Reds trail first-place Chicago by one game in the NL Central Division, they're not quite performing like a classic contender. Their starting pitchers posted a 6.19 ERA (11 runs in 16 innings) in this series. They hiked their NL-high error total to 23 as shortstop Barry Larkin and third baseman Aaron Boone committed second-inning miscues that helped the Giants score three runs.

Rich Aurilia forces Michael Tucker and throws for a DP in the first inning . | ZOOM |

        But the Reds seem to toughen just in time. An example was Pete Harnisch, Thursday's starter who stranded six Giants in scoring position and left the bases loaded in the first and fourth innings. Harnisch lasted five innings, allowing nine hits but only those second-inning runs.

        “Harnisch was unbelievable,” Bob Boone said. “He didn't have much on the ball but his hand. That was as gutty a performance as I've seen.”

        “I feel like I kept us in the game, at least,” said Harnisch, whose start was pushed back two days by forearm discomfort. “It's a building block and we'll move on from here. They probably could have had 15 hits off me. But I got a little fortunate and made a couple of pitches when I needed to.”

        The Reds will need to settle an outfield quandary soon, assuming Deion Sand ers joins the team from Triple-A Louisville once he becomes eligible for promotion Tuesday. Does Ochoa (.297) lose playing time? Or Michael Tucker (.316), who was hitting only .125 (1-for-8) against left-handers before stroking an RBI single in the seventh off Embree?

        Said Ochoa, “The front office does its job, bringing guys up (and doing) whatever they think they need to win. My job is to play as hard as I can. As I've said before, I want to go out there every day. I think I can contribute a lot. But if Deion comes up and they want to give him some playing time, what can you do? Just work hard. I always think that if you work hard, good things will happen.”

        Right now, Ochoa's teammates share that view.

Reds 7, Giants 5 Yankees turn up interest in Reyes Young challenges fans Soto to enter Reds Hall of Fame Reds-Rockies Scouting Report Reds box, runs

Xavier to interview Greensboro coach
Highlands star commits to Xavier
New Bengal overcame prison, homelessness
Flying Pig hopes bonus attracts better runners
Harvick to run at Ky. Speedway
Williams' fight changed to 'no contest'
Orlando 4, Cyclones 2
UK's Prince, Bogans share MVP award
Amelia softball team has winning edge
Middletown chases state track title
Purcell's Berry steals the show
CovCath's Harmon is tall order
Cincinnati baseball results
Cincinnati high school highlights
Cincinnati softball results
Other Cincinnati results
N.Ky. high school highlights
N.Ky. high school results

• Return to Reds front page...