Arms race

The Reds' struggles with starting pitching have been matched only by the stunning success of the rotation of the New Yankees. Yankees starters were 16-0 before Andy Pettitte lost Thursday night, ending the longest

winning streak to begin a season in the majors since 1900.

Of course, the money the Reds spent on their rotation doesn't compare to the Yankees. New York's $41 million rotation is more than two-thirds the Reds' team payroll. Here's a look at the season-opening rotations through Friday:

Yankees

Pitcher	GS	W-L	ERA
Roger Clemens	5	4-0	2.12
David Wells	4	3-0	2.03
Andy Pettitte	5	3-1	4.91
Mike Mussina	5	5-0	1.70
Jeff Weaver	4	2-0	3.25
Totals	23	17-1	2.72

Reds

Jimmy Haynes	4	0-4	12.74
R. Dempster	5	1-1	5.34
Danny Graves	4	0-2	8.02
*J. Anderson	4	1-2	8.27
Paul Wilson	4	0-2	3.38
Totals	21	2-11	7.12

*Demoted;

Leadoff man

Before going 0-for-6 Friday and Saturday, shortstop Felipe Lopez had hit in seven of his past eight games, hitting .364 in that stretch. He had four multiple-hit games and an outstanding .432 on-base percentage.

Homer happy

The Reds have scored 50 of their 107 runs on home runs (47 percent).

That leads the National League and is third in the majors behind Texas and the Yankees.

Where's Mr. Clutch?

Reds hitters were tied for last in the majors in batting average with runners in scoring position (.201) entering Saturday, then went 1-for-15 against the Padres in a 7-6 victory. The Reds finished 2002 last in the majors in RISP at .231.

And the whiiifffff

The Reds entered Friday with a major-league leading 196 strikeouts, then struck out eight times in the first three innings against San Diego's Jake Peavy.

Numbers game

8: Consecutive games in which the Reds have struck out at least nine times.

0-15: Reds' record when trailing after eight innings.

4-0: Reds' record when leading after eight innings

.308: Team-leading average with runners in scoring position (4-for-13), by Sean Casey and Jason LaRue entering Saturday.

8: Team-leading multiple-hit games, by Casey.

19: Games in which the Reds have committed an error, out of 24.

The week ahead

Monday OFF

Tuesday at Colorado 9:05 p.m.

Wednesday at Colorado 9:05 p.m.

Thursday at Colorado 3:05 p.m.

Friday at San Francisco 10:15 p.m.

Saturday at San Francisco 4:05 p.m.

Sunday at San Francisco 4:05 p.m.

The skinny: The Rockies are their usual tough selves in Colorado, off to an 9-2 start. The Giants are off to the franchise's best start since the 1938 New York Giants.