Friday, May 24, 2002
Marlins 8, Reds 4
Rijo falters as Reds fail to drive home sweep against Marlins
By John Fay, jfay@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Pitching coach Don Gullett talks to Jose Rijo in the fourth inning - right before Rijo up a three-run homer to Luis Castillo.
(AP/David Kohl photo)
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The Reds put themselves into position Thursday for their 12th comeback victory of the season. They scored two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to make it a one-run game.
But somewhere on the road to redemption, it all fell apart for the Reds. The rally went south and the Reds went on to lose to the Florida Marlins 8-4 before 23,134 on a sunny afternoon at Cinergy Field.
The game was not one the Reds will want on the highlight reel. They made three errors and left 10 runners on base. The first four hitters in their order went 9-for-18, yet they scored only four runs.
“We had our chances,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “It kind of got away from us at the end.”
The loss concluded the three-game homestand. The Reds took two of the three from the Marlins. But they lost a game in the National League Central standings to the St. Louis Cardinals, who completed a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros 5-4 Thursday to pull within two games of the Reds.
The Reds, a happy-go-lucky bunch, left for the six-game road trip (three in Atlanta starting tonight, followed by three in Florida) unshaken by Thursday's loss.
“It would have been nice to win and get the sweep,” captain Barry Larkin said. “But we won the series. You keep winning series, and you'll be OK.”
The Reds have been good this year because they've usually seized the games they've had a chance to win. The stats all point to that. They are 10-5 in one-run games, they have 11 come-from-behind wins, and Thursday was only the fifth time they've lost a game in which they led.
This one started out looking like a potential blowout. Three pitches in, the Reds had a 1-0 lead on Julian Tavarez, who entered with a 1-3 record and an 11.12 ERA. But the bats quickly cooled — or cooled in the clutch. The Reds left five runners on through the first four innings.
Reds starter Jose Rijo suddenly lost it in the fourth. Rijo got the first two outs, then walked Charles Johnson and Tavarez.
Castillo is greeted by manager Jeff Torborg after his homer.
(AP/Al Behrman photo)
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“Walking the eighth and ninth hitter, there's no excuse for that,” Rijo said.
Rijo's control problems crop up when he gets fatigued. He had been running into that problem in the fifth inning of games; this time it came in the fourth.
“He gets what we call "loose,' ” Boone said. “It's not that the hitters get used to him; it's that his stuff drops off.”
That was evident when leadoff hitter Luis Castillo took Rijo out to right field for his seventh career home run and first as a professional hitting left-handed.
“He's a good hitter,” Rijo said. “But I made him a power hitter by getting down 2-0.”
After Andy Fox followed with a double, Rijo was done. But despite two shaky outings in Rijo's past four starts, Boone has no plans to remove him from the rotation.
“I've seen a lot of good from him,” Boone said.
The Marlins picked up another run in the fifth off Scott Williamson to make it 5-1.
Cliff Floyd steals second as Todd Walker bobbles a high throw in the third inning.
(AP/Al Behrman photo)
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The Reds looked like they might rally. Todd Walker and Juan Encarnacion started the fifth with back-to-back doubles to make it 5-2. Adam Dunn singled to score Encarnacion and make it 5-3.
Pinch hitter Wilton Guerrero singled with two outs in the sixth, stole second and scored on Walker's single. That made it 5-4. But the Marlins got two runs out of a catcher's interference, a double, a sacrifice fly and wild pitch in the eighth. The Marlins added another in the ninth.
“We didn't get the big hit,” Dunn said, “and we didn't play the good defense like we usually do.”
That's going to happen. The key is to keep the games like Thursday to a minimum.
“You have to put your "A' game on the field,” Boone said. “Any time you don't, the other team can jump up and bite you.”
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Marlins 8, Reds 4
