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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
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CINCINNATI (AP) – The smallest crowd to see a Cincinnati Reds
home game in two years started the frosty evening thinking about
riots and ended it cheering Barry Larkin.
Larkin, sidelined for two games by a strained wrist, figured in
all of Cincinnati's runs Tuesday night as the Reds beat the
Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 for their fifth straight win.
The Reds sold only 15,729 tickets for their first home game
since the city's rioting last week. Fans were asked to stand for a
moment of silence before the game to contemplate the unrest.
The Brewers rode from their hotel to Cinergy Field in two buses.
Teams usually charter only one bus because a lot of players make
the short walk from the hotel, but players were told to either take
the bus or a cab.
"We were kept abreast of what was going on," Brewers manager
Davey Lopes said. "I don't think we would have played if there was
any danger."
The weather was the biggest factor in the Reds' smallest home
crowd since Sept. 13, 1999. Sleet and rain interrupted batting
practice and resulted in a 66-minute delay to the first pitch.
It was 36 degrees when the Reds took the field, many of them
wearing black head coverings under the caps to keep their necks and
ears warm. Reds manager Bob Boone wore two pairs of pants to keep
out the chill.
"It was cold, but luckily it wasn't windy," Larkin said.
"We've played in colder weather in the past, but it was definitely
cold tonight."
Larkin, who hurt his wrist while diving for a grounder last
Friday, was back in the leadoff spot and played a role in all three
runs. He had a run-scoring groundout in the third, singled and
scored in the sixth, and started the go-ahead rally in the eighth
off Will Cunnane (0-1).
Larkin's sinking liner dropped just in front of charging right
fielder Jeromy Burnitz for a double. Larkin, who has also been
limited by a groin injury, was running hard the whole way.
"I saw Burnitz break for it," Larkin said. "As soon as I hit
it, I was going for second base. Luckily, it worked out."
After a sacrifice and an intentional walk to Dmitri Young, Sean
Casey hit a potential double-play grounder to Ron Belliard. The
second baseman lost his grip on the ball as he flipped to second
for a forceout, forcing the Brewers to settle for one out as Larkin
scored.
"That's a play he makes 99 times out of 100," Lopes said.
Scott Sullivan (1-1) struck out Richie Sexson on three pitches
to end the Brewers' eighth, and Danny Graves pitched the ninth for
his fifth save in six chances.
A magnetic resonance imaging test before the game found that Ken Griffey Jr. has a partially torn left hamstring. He'll remain on
the active roster as a pinch-hitter, but won't be able to play the
field for the foreseeable future.
Griffey didn't play in Tuesday's game. He's 0-for-8 as a
pinch-hitter this season.
Runs and rallies were hard to come by in the bitter, damp cold.
Milwaukee's Jeff D'Amico and Cincinnati's Elmer Dessens each gave
up two runs in six innings, leaving it up to the bullpens.
A passed ball on Henry Blanco set up Larkin's run-scoring
groundout in the third inning for an unearned run. Blanco was
expecting the fastball in a different place.
"It kind of got away," D'Amico said. "I was trying to go with
a fastball away. It was in and up and running. He did the best he
could to flag it down because that thing was gone."
Larkin singled up the middle and scored from first on Michael
Tucker's double to the wall in right-center for a 2-1 lead in the
sixth.
Milwaukee's Jose Hernandez broke an 0-for-9 slump with an RBI
single in the second, and the Brewers tied it with the help of a
wild pitch in the seventh.
Singles by Burnitz and Jeffrey Hammonds opened the inning and
chased Dessens. After a sacrifice and a strikeout, reliever John
Riedling bounced a wild pitch that let Burnitz score the tying
run.
Game notes
The same two pitchers started the final game at Milwaukee's
County Stadium last season. Dessens got the win and D'Amico took
the loss in the Reds' 8-1 victory. ... The Reds haven't been shut
out in their last 177 games, a modern NL record. They're four games
shy of the all-time NL record of 181 games by Philadelphia in
1893-95. The 1931-33 Yankees went 308 games without being shut out.
... The Reds had only two home crowds of under 20,000 last season,
Griffey's first with his hometown team. The smallest was 16,761 on
the makeup of their Opening Day game. ... Riedling's wild pitch was
the 10th this season for the Reds, who set a major league record
with 96 last season.
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NY Yankees 5
Boston 10
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