Baseball Guru
04-06-2002, 05:48 PM
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
April 6, 2002, 4:07 PM EST
CINCINNATI -- Tomo Ohka gave up only a solo homer in five innings and the Montreal Expos took advantage of another slapstick Cincinnati inning as they beat the Reds 5-2 Saturday.
The Expos sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs in the sixth with only one hit -- an infield single. Montreal got four walks and a sacrifice fly, and third baseman Aaron Boone made a pivotal error.
It was reminiscent of the series opener Friday, when the Reds made three errors in one inning to set up Montreal's 8-7 win.
Montreal has opened 3-2 under manager Frank Robinson, brought in to steady baseball's most uncertain franchise. The Expos opened last season 6-1, but went on to lose 94 games.
In their opening homestand, the Reds have closely resembled the team that lost a franchise-record 54 home games last season and 96 overall. They've made six errors and their pitching has crumbled, leading to a 2-3 start.
Ohka (1-0) gave up one walk and Juan Encarnacion's solo homer in the fifth before leaving for a pinch-hitter during the Expos' four-run sixth. Luis Pineda (0-1) walked the first two batters in the inning and went to a 2-0 count on pinch-hitter Mike Mordecai before manager Bob Boone decided he'd seen enough.
Scott Sullivan relieved and completed the walk to Mordecai. One out later, Sullivan walked Jose Vidro to force in a run, and Aaron Boone dropped Vladimir Guerrero's potential double-play grounder to let in another. Orlando Cabrera had an RBI infield single and Andres Galarraga finished the rally with a sacrifice fly.
Left-hander Bruce Chen, acquired from the Mets on Friday in a trade for reliever Scott Strickland, gave up Sean Casey's double and Adam Dunn's RBI single in the seventh.
Graeme Lloyd pitched the last two innings for his second save in two games.
The Reds had a baserunning gaffe in the eighth, when Reggie Taylor tagged from third on a fly to right field. Guerrero, who has one of the strongest arms in the majors, took a few steps in and threw on the fly to home, where Taylor slowed and let himself get tagged because he was out by such a big margin.
Reds starter Chris Reitsma, who complained of tightness in his elbow this spring, wore short sleeves on a 43-degree afternoon and lasted five innings, leaving with the game tied at 1. His bases-loaded wild pitch let in a run in the fifth.
Encarnacion, the only batter in the Reds' lineup who had faced Ohka before Saturday, hit his first homer with two outs in the fifth to tie it. Ohka threw only 60 pitches -- 40 of them strikes -- but Robinson decided to pinch-hit for him in the sixth rather than have him try to advance the runners with a bunt.
Notes:@ The Rev. Metropolit Galactyon, the bishop in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the spiritual adviser to his nation's soccer team, threw a ceremonial pregame pitch -- the ball reached the catcher on the fly. A Bulgarian delegation is visiting Cincinnati as part of a Holocaust awareness program. ... It was the 2,500th regular-season game at Cinergy Field, which opened in 1970 as Riverfront Stadium. The Reds have won 1,376, lost 1,120 and had four ties. ... 1B Lee Stevens was scratched from the Expos' lineup with a sore right calf. ... The Expos' media guide lists Ohka's hobbies as fishing and driving. ... Okha singled in his first at-bat. He's 4-for-20 career with nine strikeouts.
AP Sports Writer
April 6, 2002, 4:07 PM EST
CINCINNATI -- Tomo Ohka gave up only a solo homer in five innings and the Montreal Expos took advantage of another slapstick Cincinnati inning as they beat the Reds 5-2 Saturday.
The Expos sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs in the sixth with only one hit -- an infield single. Montreal got four walks and a sacrifice fly, and third baseman Aaron Boone made a pivotal error.
It was reminiscent of the series opener Friday, when the Reds made three errors in one inning to set up Montreal's 8-7 win.
Montreal has opened 3-2 under manager Frank Robinson, brought in to steady baseball's most uncertain franchise. The Expos opened last season 6-1, but went on to lose 94 games.
In their opening homestand, the Reds have closely resembled the team that lost a franchise-record 54 home games last season and 96 overall. They've made six errors and their pitching has crumbled, leading to a 2-3 start.
Ohka (1-0) gave up one walk and Juan Encarnacion's solo homer in the fifth before leaving for a pinch-hitter during the Expos' four-run sixth. Luis Pineda (0-1) walked the first two batters in the inning and went to a 2-0 count on pinch-hitter Mike Mordecai before manager Bob Boone decided he'd seen enough.
Scott Sullivan relieved and completed the walk to Mordecai. One out later, Sullivan walked Jose Vidro to force in a run, and Aaron Boone dropped Vladimir Guerrero's potential double-play grounder to let in another. Orlando Cabrera had an RBI infield single and Andres Galarraga finished the rally with a sacrifice fly.
Left-hander Bruce Chen, acquired from the Mets on Friday in a trade for reliever Scott Strickland, gave up Sean Casey's double and Adam Dunn's RBI single in the seventh.
Graeme Lloyd pitched the last two innings for his second save in two games.
The Reds had a baserunning gaffe in the eighth, when Reggie Taylor tagged from third on a fly to right field. Guerrero, who has one of the strongest arms in the majors, took a few steps in and threw on the fly to home, where Taylor slowed and let himself get tagged because he was out by such a big margin.
Reds starter Chris Reitsma, who complained of tightness in his elbow this spring, wore short sleeves on a 43-degree afternoon and lasted five innings, leaving with the game tied at 1. His bases-loaded wild pitch let in a run in the fifth.
Encarnacion, the only batter in the Reds' lineup who had faced Ohka before Saturday, hit his first homer with two outs in the fifth to tie it. Ohka threw only 60 pitches -- 40 of them strikes -- but Robinson decided to pinch-hit for him in the sixth rather than have him try to advance the runners with a bunt.
Notes:@ The Rev. Metropolit Galactyon, the bishop in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the spiritual adviser to his nation's soccer team, threw a ceremonial pregame pitch -- the ball reached the catcher on the fly. A Bulgarian delegation is visiting Cincinnati as part of a Holocaust awareness program. ... It was the 2,500th regular-season game at Cinergy Field, which opened in 1970 as Riverfront Stadium. The Reds have won 1,376, lost 1,120 and had four ties. ... 1B Lee Stevens was scratched from the Expos' lineup with a sore right calf. ... The Expos' media guide lists Ohka's hobbies as fishing and driving. ... Okha singled in his first at-bat. He's 4-for-20 career with nine strikeouts.