Brian Giles slides under Jason LaRue's tag in the sixth inning. (Glenn Hartong photos) | ZOOM |

        A bunt was the Reds' most exciting offensive moment Tuesday night, which spoke volumes about how the Reds fared against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

        The Reds sank closer to last place with a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Cinergy Field, where 21,724 patrons watched slugger Ken Griffey Jr.'s stunning bunt single — one of only five Cincinnati hits — start a futile ninth-inning rally.

        Cincinnati (32-50), which owns the major leagues' worst home record (10-30), has dropped two games in a row to Pittsburgh (31-50), possessor of the National League's lousiest road mark (12-31). Pittsburgh has won back-to-back road games for only the third time this year while trimming the Reds' fifth-place margin in the NL Central to a half-game.

        Bound for their fourth loss in five games, the Reds tried to avoid this fate in the ninth. Griffey, who was 0-for-2 but had flied out to the warning track in his previous at-bat, pushed a bunt toward the third-base side of the pitcher's mound. Pirates relief ace Mike Williams pounced on the ballbut threw too late to first base to retire Griffey.

Elmer Dessens reacts after giving up Brian Giles' HR. | ZOOM |

        With the Reds trailing 3-1, Griffey's bunt was shrewd, because it brought the potential tying run to the plate.

        “It's always there for him,” said Reds manager Bob Boone, referring to the defensive shifts that leave the left side of the infield nearly unmanned when Griffey bats. “He gets resistant to do it, but in that situation, when you're down by two runs, it's a great play.”

        Griffey broke from first base on Williams' 3-2 pitch to Sean Casey, whose single to right left Reds on the corners. But the Pirates turned Dmitri Young's one-hopper to shortstop into a double play as Griffey scored. Williams walked Bill Selby before securing his 17th save by inducing Jason LaRue's fly ball.

        Griffey's mobility was a welcome sight for the Reds. The center fielder skidded on the wet grass while fielding Aramis Ramirez's sixth-inning single, prompting fears that he again had “tweaked” his bothersome left hamstring, as he did Sunday.

        “He was all right,” Boone said. “It gave me a moment of pause.”

LaRue throws his bat at a pitch. | ZOOM |

        Pirates right-hander Todd Ritchie (5-8) gave Cincinnati even less as he won his fifth consecutive start. Only one Red reached second base in the first six innings off Ritchie, who yielded two singles and a walk in that span.

        “He threw his sinker and mixed up his pitches a lot,” said Reds right fielder Alex Ochoa, 0-for-3 against Ritchie and 0-for-4 overall. “He pitched me differently every time.”

        But Ritchie couldn't survive the seventh, when Cincinnati ended his shutout.

        Casey walked on a 3-2 pitch, moved to third on Young's single and scored on Selby's sacrifice fly to deep center. Josias Manzanillo replaced Ritchie and avoided further trouble by coaxing a pair of fielder's-choice grounders.

Dmitri Young got an error when Sean Casey couldn't handle this throw. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Otherwise, the evening's star was Young, who made this uninspiring matchup watchable — especially for scouts from covetous teams such as the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, who happened to be in attendance.

        Young, whose name has been bandied about liberally in trade rumors, lined two hits to extend his hitting streak to nine games. He's batting .514 (19-for-37) in that stretch.

        Playing third base while Aaron Boone received a rare night off, Young, who typically patrols left field, started two double plays and delivered his piece de resistance to prevent an eighth-inning run. Playing shallow on the infield grass with Brian Giles on third base and one out, Young dove to his left to snare Kevin Young's one-hop smash, then threw to second base from his knees to ignite the double play.

        Reds starter Elmer Dessens (6-5) worked six innings and allowed all of Pittsburgh's runs on eight hits. Those included home runs by John Vander Wal in the second inning and Giles in the third, both on two-strike counts.

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