By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Reds starting pitcher John Bale (left) is helped to the locker room by Todd Van Poppel after being injured while running out a grounder Thursday. (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

PITTSBURGH - Another day, another Reds starting pitcher goes on the shelf.

The day after starter Seth Etherton had to leave after pitching one inning, John Bale lasted two innings.

Bale pulled up as he ran to first base on a groundout in the third inning of the Reds' 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday at PNC Park.

Bale suffered a high right hamstring sprain. He will return to Cincinnati to be examined by Dr. Tim Kremchek.

"Another hamstring," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "It doesn't look good."

Bale probably is finished for the year. Etherton, who left Wednesday's game with a sore right forearm, could be out the rest of the year as well.

"We were talking about the pitching before the game because of Etherton," Miley said. "Now it looks like (Danny) Serafini and (Matt) Belisle will go into the rotation."

Of the 48 players on the 40-man roster - eight on are the 60-day disabled list and thus not counted - 16 are finished for the year. Five others - Etherton, Bale, Barry Larkin, Adam Dunn and Jose Acevedo - could be done as well.

If Belisle, the 23-year-old right-hander obtained from Atlanta in the Kent Mercker trade, starts a game, he will be the 16th Red to do so. That would be a club record.

Thursday's game had a surreal feel to it. It had been moved to 12:35 p.m. because Hurricane Isabel was on the way. The paid attendance was 10,390 - but the actual number of people in the park was closer to 1,039.

The offenses were as quiet as the crowd early. Neither team had a hit until Tike Redman led off the Pirates fourth with a single.

Scott Randall, who took over for Bale, broke up Kip Wells' perfect game bid with a single in his first major-league plate appearance.

"That was the least of my worries at the time," Randall said. "It was a 0-0 game. I was trying to keep it there."

Randall is a decent hitter.

"I'm OK if they throw me fastballs," he said. "I can get the bat on the ball. It was no rocket."

Wells had retired 17 in a row to that point - nine via groundout or strikeout.

Randall and Bale had allowed only two hits before the sixth.

But Randall got into trouble in the sixth. He walked Jeff Reboulet, then allowed an infield single to Redman and another single to Jason Kendall to load the bases.

After Reboulet scored and the others moved up on a wild pitch, the Reds intentionally walked Craig Wilson. Randall then unintentionally walked pinch hitter Rob Mackowiak. Another pinch hitter, Reds-killer Matt Stairs, followed with a two-run single to make it 4-0.

The way Wells was pitching, that was a huge lead. Wells ended up going seven innings, allowing two hits.

Pirates 7, Reds 0

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Olmedo ss	4	0	1	0	0	1	.258
JCastro 3b	4	0	0	0	0	2	.260
DJimenez 2b	3	0	1	0	1	0	.305
Branyan 1b	3	0	0	0	1	2	.228
WPena cf	4	0	0	0	0	1	.206
Stenson rf	3	0	0	0	0	0	.234
Smitherman lf	3	0	0	0	0	0	.143
CMiller c	3	0	1	0	0	0	.308
Bale p	1	0	0	0	0	0	.118
Randall p	1	0	1	0	0	0	1.000
Riedling p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.235
PNorton p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Valent ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.225
Reitsma p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
Totals	30	0	4	0	2	7

Pittsburgh	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Reboulet 2b	4	1	2	1	1	0	.245
TRedman cf	5	1	3	0	0	0	.311
Kendall c	5	1	2	1	0	1	.325
CWilson 1b-rf	1	1	0	0	2	0	.266
Bay lf	1	0	0	0	1	1	.291
Mackowiak ph-lf	1	0	0	1	1	1	.257
JDavis rf	2	0	0	0	0	1	.261
Stairs ph-1b	2	1	2	2	0	0	.300
JHernandez 3b	4	1	1	0	0	2	.225
JWilson ss	4	0	1	0	0	2	.253
Wells p	2	0	0	0	0	0	.185
Rivera ph	1	1	1	0	0	0	.213
Meadows p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.071
Totals	32	7	12	5	5	8

Cincinnati	000	000	000	-0	4	1
Pittsburgh	000	004	12x	-7	12	0

E-Reitsma (2). LOB-Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 8. 2B-Stairs (20). 3B-Olmedo (1). RBIs-Reboulet (24), Kendall (53), Mackowiak (16), Stairs 2 (55). S-Meadows. GIDP-Kendall, JHernandez.

Runners left in scoring position-Cincinnati 2 (Stenson 2); Pittsburgh 4 (Kendall, Mackowiak 2, JHernandez).

DP-Cincinnati 2 (Olmedo, DJimenez and Branyan), (JCastro, DJimenez and Branyan).

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Bale	2	0	0	0	1	1	36	4.47
Randall L, 2-3	3 1/3	5	4	4	3	4	78	6.75
Riedling	1 1/3	3	1	1	1	1	30	5.12
PNorton	1/3	0	0	0	0	1	4	3.38
Reitsma	1	4	2	2	0	1	21	4.16

Pittsburgh	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Wells W, 9-8	7	2	0	0	2	4	95	3.38
Meadows	2	2	0	0	0	3	28	4.81

Inherited runners-scored-Riedling 2-0, PNorton 3-0.

IBB-off Randall (CWilson) 1. HBP-by Randall (CWilson). WP-Bale, Randall.

Umpires-Home, Mike DiMuro; First, Derryl Cousins; Second, Andy Fletcher; Third, Joe Brinkman.

T-2:39. A-10,390 (37,898).