By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

PITTSBURGH - The Reds realize the clock is ticking on their season. They come home today after going 0-for-5 on their two-city road trip.

A fan holds a broom at PNC Park in Pittsburgh Sunday after the Pirates beat the Reds, 6-5, to sweep the three-game series. (AP photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Pittsburgh Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Reds with a 6-5 come-from-behind victory Sunday before a crowd of 24,962 at PNC Park.

The Reds are down to one game over .500 at 50-49, hanging on by their fingernails in the wild-card race. And, oh yeah, they face the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game series beginning tonight. The Cards have beaten the Reds like a drum this year.

"It's do or die," catcher Jason LaRue said. "We've got to figure out a way to stop this. The way we're playing is not good, not good enough to win obviously. It's got to change."

Saturday's team meeting obviously didn't do the trick.

"We're out there battling," Ryan Freel said. "But we can't put it together. We get good hitting one day and bad pitching. The next day, we get good pitching and bad hitting. We've got to put them both together."

While time is getting short, the Reds are confident they can turn it around.

"We've done it before earlier in the year," LaRue said. "We've got to play mistake-free baseball."

Sunday's loss was a lot like Saturday's.

ON THE ROAD

Wednesday - CUBS 5, REDS 4 The rain came and so did a Reds loss. The game, which the Reds had led 4-2, was tied 4-4 when a 54-minute rain delay began, and shortly after play resumed, Sammy Sosa hit the game-winning home run off of reliever Todd Van Poppel. Thursday - CUBS 13, REDS 2 Cubs starter Greg Maddux was going for his 298th career win and got it with a lot of help from Reds pitching. Reliever Ryan Wagner gave up a grand slam in the sixth inning for the proverbial nail-in-the-coffin. Friday - PIRATES 6, REDS 3 Reds starter Jose Acevedo gave up six runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings and the Reds just couldn't recoup the runs. Saturday - PIRATES 14, REDS 4 The Reds led 4-2 through five innings, but starter Aaron Harang imploded in the sixth inning. He allowed five straight runners to get on base and was yanked with the bases loaded and the score tied 4-4. The bullpen only made the situation worse. It might not have been so bad had the Reds driven in runs when the bases were loaded on three occasions. Sunday - PIRATES 6, REDS 5 Another day, another lead and another loss. The Reds led 5-1, but as usual, no amount of runs is enough. Five straight Pirates reached base against starter Brandon Claussen in the fourth and Tike Redman's three-run homer sounded a death knell for the Reds.

The Reds took the early lead, but their starter, who was coming off a good outing, couldn't hold it.

That's been a pattern in the recent skid. Sunday was the fifth straight game in which the Reds did not get a quality start (six innings or more, three runs or fewer). The Reds are 33-11 when they get a quality start and 17-38 when they don't.

Sunday, the day after Aaron Harang could not hold leads of 3-0 and 4-1, Brandon Claussen let a 5-1 lead dissolve. Claussen lasted only 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits.

The Reds scored a run in the first. Freel singled and stole second. Sean Casey, the Pittsburgh native, got him home with a single.

Then Pittsburgh tied it in their half of the first. Jason Bay scored after doubling on a ball that center fielder Jason Romano might have caught if he didn't strain his hamstring pursuing it. Juan Castro's error prolonged the inning, making the run unearned.

But Casey gave the Reds a 4-1 lead with three-run homer in the third. It was his 16th home run of the year and first since June 23.

When Wily Mo Pena led off the fourth with his 15th homer of the year to make it 5-1, the Reds had to think this was their day.

Particularly after LaRue and Tim Hummel singled following Pena's homer.

Claussen tried to bunt them over. But he bunted into a trap. The Pirates had the wheel play on and turned a 1-6-4 double play.

"I saw (the wheel play)," Claussen said. "It was brain jam. I should have slugged (bunted) or pulled back. Bad play on my part."

The Pirates started the fourth with five straight hits. The third of them was Tike Redman's three-run homer.

Reds catcher Jason LaRue blocks the plate and puts the tag on Pittsburgh Pirates' Jose Castillo. (AP photo/Gene J. Puskar)

After Pirates starter Sean Burnett bunted the runners to second and third, Reds manager Dave Miley pulled Claussen.

Early hook?

"I wouldn't call it early," Miley said. "It was 5-4, runners on second and third and their right-handers were coming up."

Todd Van Poppel came in and immediately threw a wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score.

Pinch-hitter Rob Mackowiak doubled home Bay in the fifth to give the Pirates a 6-5 lead.

The Reds left runners at first and second in the sixth, seventh and eighth.

"We had opportunities late," Miley said.

But it's pretty clear opportunities are running out - as far as the big picture.

"We've got to do something - now," LaRue said. "We've got to figure out a way to win."

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Freel 3b-cf	4	2	2	0	1	1	.272
JCastro ss	5	1	1	0	0	0	.262
Casey 1b	4	1	2	4	1	0	.342
Dunn lf	5	0	1	0	0	2	.265
DJimenez 2b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.264
WPena rf	3	1	1	1	1	1	.286
LaRue c	3	0	2	0	0	1	.255
Romano cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	.154
Hummel 3b	4	0	2	0	0	0	.242
Claussen p	2	0	1	0	0	0	.333
Van Poppel p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
Valentin ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.190
GWhite p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Vander Wal ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.250
TJones p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Totals	36	5	12	5	3	5

Pittsburgh	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Kendall c	4	0	0	0	1	0	.311
JWilson ss	4	0	0	0	0	0	.321
Bay lf	4	2	2	0	0	0	.315
CWilson 1b	4	1	1	0	0	1	.288
TAlvarez rf	2	1	2	1	0	0	.269
Mackowiak ph-rf	2	0	1	1	0	1	.272
TRedman cf	4	1	1	3	0	0	.265
Stynes 3b	3	1	1	0	0	2	.219
Grabow p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
STorres p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Hill ph	1	0	1	0	0	0	.283
Mesa p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Castillo 2b	4	0	2	0	0	0	.246
SBurnett p	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000
WRoberts p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
ANunez 3b	1	0	0	0	1	0	.246
Totals	34	6	11	5	2	4

Cincinnati	103	100	000	-5	12	1
Pittsburgh	100	410	00x	-6	11	0

E-JCastro (6). LOB-Cincinnati 8, Pittsburgh 7. 2B-Bay 2 (17), CWilson (25), Mackowiak (16). HR-TRedman (6), off Claussen; WPena (15), off SBurnett; Casey (16), off SBurnett. RBIs-Casey 4 (61), WPena (39), TAlvarez (6), Mackowiak (50), TRedman 3 (41). SB-Freel (19). CS-Freel (7), Castillo (1). S-SBurnett. GIDP-Casey, Claussen.

Runners left in scoring position-Cincinnati 4 (Freel 2, DJimenez, Valentin); Pittsburgh 3 (Kendall, TRedman, Stynes).

Runners moved up-Hummel, TRedman.

DP-Pittsburgh 2 (SBurnett, JWilson and Castillo), (CWilson, JWilson and CWilson).

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Claussen	3 1/3	7	5	4	0	1	59	5.23
Van Poppel L, 3-5	1 2/3	2	1	1	0	1	29	5.45
GWhite	2	0	0	0	1	2	36	4.24
TJones	1	2	0	0	1	0	28	3.88

Pittsburgh	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
SBurnett W, 5-2	5 1/3	7	5	5	2	3	83	2.84
WRoberts H, 2	1/3	0	0	0	0	0	5	0.00
Grabow H, 9	1 1/3	2	0	0	1	0	17	4.61
STorres H, 16	1	2	0	0	0	1	22	2.83
Mesa S, 29	1	1	0	0	0	1	14	2.28

Inherited runners-scored-Van Poppel 2-1, Grabow 2-0, WRoberts 1-0.

HBP-by WRoberts (LaRue). WP-Van Poppel.

Umpires-Home, Ed Rapuano; First, Ted Barrett; Second, Rick Reed; Third, Alfonso Marquez.

T-2:55. A-24,962 (38,496).