Pirates fall quietly to Reds, 5-1

2012-03-17 02:13:41

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By Paul Meyer / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CINCINNATI -- The Pirates' chances of getting an elusive victory in a rubber game lasted all of five batters yesterday.

Cincinnati's Aaron Harang, immediately faced with a two-on, none-out jam in the first inning, struck out Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay and Jeromy Burnitz, proving again that sometimes games are won and lost early.

The Pirates managed just a Bay home run leading off the fourth inning in going quietly to Cincinnati, 5-1.

"Beyond the first inning and the Bay home run, there's not a lot to talk about," manager Jim Tracy said.

The loss dropped the Pirates to 2-13 in the third game of series in which the first two games were split.

"We've been there a number of times," Tracy said.

Harang grudgingly allowed five hits, walked none and struck out nine in seven strong innings, helping keep the Reds narrowly ahead in the National League wild-card plod.

"I thought his fastball in a lot of situations was well located," Tracy said.

Harang was a major part of Sanchez's 0 for 4 that ended his 11-game hitting streak and dropped his league-leading batting average to .352.

Sanchez struck out twice and popped to second in his three at-bats against the right-hander.

Given the paucity of offensive opportunities for his team, it seemed odd that Tracy would permit starter Victor Santos to bat leading off the fifth inning with the Reds ahead by that 5-1 count.

Tracy explained that the Pirates were short in the bullpen.

Britt Reames pitched an inning each in Friday and Saturday night's games and was unavailable. And John Grabow was off-limits because he's nursing a hip flexor.

Santos would have pitched longer than five innings, but after five his pitch count stood at 97, and he was dismissed.

The game began promisingly for the Pirates.

Chris Duffy reached on third baseman Edwin Encarnacion's error. Duffy stole second and held there while Jack Wilson beat out a roller to shortstop for a hit.

"We had a real opportunity in the first inning," Tracy said. "We started the game the way you'd want to."

Harang quickly put a stop to this budding threat, however, and the Pirates seemed pretty docile the rest of the way. They had only two hits over the final five innings.

Cincinnati used its usual spark plug, Ryan Freel, to get its offense started in the third inning.

Friday night, when Freel went hitless in four at-bats, the Pirates beat Cincinnati, 7-3.

Saturday night, when Freel was 3 for 5, the Reds won, 14-7. That game, Freel singled to start a six-run first inning and singled again to spark a seven-run seventh inning.

"He's the one guy in their lineup that I say, 'I don't want him on base,' " Sanchez said. "Something good happens for their team when he's on base. He steals second, steals third, scores a lot of runs."

Freel yesterday singled to open the third inning, then trotted home when Scott Hatteberg ended an 0-for-17 slide with a home run into the right-field seats.

"We talked about this the other day," Tracy said. "If you allow that team to beat you up with their bats, they'll do it."

Santos walked Encarnacion on a 3-2 pitch, and Adam Dunn followed with a home run on a 3-1 pitch.

In the fourth inning, Freel's one-out single moved Jason LaRue into scoring position. LaRue scored on Hatteberg's double, finishing the scoring.

"He's a game-changer and a difference-maker on the field," Sanchez said of Freel. "And watching him play is awesome. He plays so many different positions and he plays them great -- especially playing the outfield. He uses his speed, goes after balls, makes diving plays. He's a stud.

"He'll get on base, and I'll go, 'Man, you're just fun to watch.' And I'll get on and he'll go, 'Man, it's awesome watching you play.' We have that kind of respect for each other. We're kind of similar players, although he has about 20 times the speed that I do."

The Pirates flew on to Atlanta last night knowing once again they had stubbed their collective toes with a chance to improve their record by winning a series.

Had they won series consistently this season, "we're right in the mix" in the wild-card pool, Wilson said.

"That's a plus for us at this point in the season," Wilson said.

"We can look back and say, 'We have a good team. We didn't get the job done. Bottom line -- we didn't play like we should have.'

"We have the potential to play the right way and get the job done. It's a little bit different this year. The last couple years, we didn't have the team to compete. We put a team together, but our record was really what our team was. If our record was bad, our team was bad.

"This year's a little bit different. I've been here six years. We've lost all six. But this was the team that had the most potential to be a winner and we didn't do it. We're not going to the playoffs. It stinks. We have to do what [Tracy] said -- 'Take people with you. You don't want to go home and watch the playoffs. Well, send the Cardinals home, too. Send the Reds home.'

"Everybody in [the clubhouse] wants to finish strong for so many different reasons -- for the sake of the team, for the sake of the future of the team, for the sake of the fans. I'm sure the fans are tired of hearing about the future of this team, but so am I."

Wilson paused, then added: "And so are the [other] players who have been here a while."

David Kohl, Associated Press
Xavier Nady throws out the Reds' Todd Hollandsworth at first base in the fifth inning yesterday in Cincinnati.
Click photo for larger image.