Monday, August 13, 2001
Rockies 7, Reds 6
Bullpen blows 6-2 lead in 9th
By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The bad karma of Cinergy Field reared its ugly head again Sunday, as the Reds blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning to lose 7-6 to the Colorado Rockies be fore 23,886 fans.
Would you believe it is Aug. 13 and the Reds have won only 18 games at Cinergy? The Reds have played 59 home games. They have lost 41. This is the same group that is three games over .500 (30-27) on the road.
“I can almost guarantee you that not many more times the rest of this year are you going to see this bullpen give up five runs in the last inning,” said Reds closer Danny Graves. “I'm still kind of in shock about it.”
It's the seventh time the Reds bullpen has blown a ninth-inning save.
The only good news to come out of Cinergy Sunday had nothing to with the game. Jose Rijo will rejoin the Reds Friday as a middle reliever after five arm surgeries and a six-year absence.
Remember in the early
1990s how Rijo went home to the Dominican Republic during the All-Star break and came back and said he had sacrificed a goat while there, so as to end his and the team's bad streak?
Well, not to condone animal sacrifice, but maybe Rijo should make a quick trip to his homeland before joining the team Friday. Sunday's game featured an errant throw from Reds catcher Kelly Stinnett to Reds pitcher Lance Davis that rolled into center field and allowed a Rockies runner on second base to run all the way home. Two pitches later, Davis gave up a solo home run to Rockies starting pitcher Denny Neagle on a hanging breaking ball.
That made the score 2-2 in the fifth inning. The Reds had gotten the lead by playing real baseball (Adam Dunn hit a home run in the first inning, Ruben Rivera had a single and a steal and Stinnett had an RBI single) and then squandered it by playing Bad News Bears' ball.
Still, you figured when the Reds put up some crooked numbers in the sixth (two runs on four hits) and eighth (two runs on a Sean Casey home run and a Rivera RBI triple) that no way could they lose this game.
They were up 6-2.
But there is some kind of curse on this team at home.
Scott Sullivan took the mound in the ninth. He walked Jose Ortiz, Larry Walker grounded a single up the middle to send Ortiz to third, and then Jeff Cirillo sacrifice flied out to left fielder Dmitri Young, who made a nice sliding catch. OK, it's 6-3, but you figure there's one out.
Todd Helton singled to left, Walker went to second. OK, but in comes Graves, who's got his sinker back. Yes, he had to face recent Red Alex Ochoa, but when he got him to pop out, you figure it's over.
Pinch-hitter Greg Norton, down two strikes in the count, doubled down the left-field line to score Helton, and move Walker to third. 6-4.
“Norton was just trying to stay alive,” said Graves, shaking his head in disbelief.
Still, there were two outs and what are the odds?
And that's when the curse really hit home.
Juan Pierre hit a line drive toward the backhand of second baseman Juan Castro, but it was eight feet high so you figured Castro was going to snare it. But there was a glare coming from the seats and Pierre's liner acted like a knuckleball and Castro didn't get up quick enough and it ticked off the end of his glove and flew into center.
Two runs scored. 6-6.
“Even with the glare, I thought I had it until it came at me like a knuckleball,” Castro said.
By now, you're figuring no way the Reds can win, and you're right.
Even though Graves jammed Adam Melhuse, he blooped a single to left. Pierre went to third, and Juan Uribe singled to center, scoring Pierre. 7-6.
The Reds went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, although the second out was a heavy top-hand spinning line drive to the track in right-center by Ken Griffey Jr. that Walker snared.
Reds starter Davis had pitched well (two runs in seven innings), but his failure to successfully bunt on two different occasions with men on base hampered the Reds chances to blow the game open.
“Yep, those hurt,” Reds manager Bob Boone said.
At least the Reds are on the road (St. Louis) today.
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Rockies 7, Reds 6
