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Harang hurls two-hitter as Reds blank Pirates

Aug 30, 2007 - 3:45 AM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Aaron Harang has put it all together for the Cincinnati Reds.

Harang pitched a two-hitter as the Reds shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-0, on Wednesday night.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 592nd career home run and Brandon Phillips also belted a solo homer for Cincinnati, which has won seven of nine and 11 of 16 to remain on the fringe of the National League Central Division race. The Reds (61-72) are seven games behind division-leading Chicago 67-64) and face the Cubs six times in September.

Harang (14-3) was brilliant, keeping Pittsburgh hitless until Jason Bay delivered a one-out double in the fifth.

"I threw one pitch to Bay that drifted in (to the middle of the plate)," Harang said. "I tried to throw a three-quarter fastball to run it away from him, but it ran back to the plate."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's just a pleasure to watch," Reds manager Pete Mackanin said. "He was in complete control the entire game. He threw everything in his arsenal for strikes."

The righthander - who retired the first nine Pirates he faced before walking Nate McLouth to begin the fourth - threw 70 of his 94 pitches for strikes, fanning eight in the process.

"I tried to throw strikes and get ahead early (in the pitch count)," Harang said. "I wanted to keep them off-balance and make them swing at my pitches, and the guys were there to back me up with defense and run support early. We got a good amount of runs and I didn't have to stress too much."

The only other hit allowed by Harang was a leadoff single by Matt Kata in the sixth inning.

"The pitch to Matt Kata, it just fell into the middle of nowhere," Harang said. "You know, it fell into the black hole out there, the Bermuda Triangle, so there's nothing I can do about that. If you're not on, (the Pirates) can wear you out. They've got great hitters over there."

A six-year veteran, Harang hurled his 10th career complete game and fourth career shutout.

"This was the case where you just have to give the other guy credit," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "Our guys didn't do anything wrong. He just pitched a great game. He put every pitch but one (on Bay's double) where he wanted it."

Harang has won four straight decisions since missing a scheduled start on August 2 with soreness in his lower back.

"Aaron Harang is an All-Star," Phillips said. "He went out there and did his job, like he's been doing all year. He throws strikes, so you have to be alert (in the field) because you never know when they're going to hit the ball. All we've got to do is get one run for him because he's one of those type of pitchers."

Harang also is has the best record at this point in a season by a Reds pitcher since Tom Seaver finished the 1981 campaign with a 14-2 mark.

"When I was (a coach and interim manager) with Pittsburgh, we never liked facing him," Mackanin said. "I knew Harang was capable of doing things like he did tonight, but to see the consistency has been impressive for me. It's just a matter of the way he goes about his business. He's cool, calm and collected. He knows that he's good, but he's not cocky."

The only troublesome moment in the game occurred when Harang's right forearm was hit by a pitch from the Pirates lefthander Shane Youman in the seventh inning.

"I thought (the pitch) hit his finger or his hand. That's what concerned me," Mackanin said. "And then when he started running down to first base, I felt a little better."

"The ball kept coming in on me and just barely got me, so it wasn't anything," Harang said.

Griffey gave Harang all the support he needed when the 12-time All-Star, with runners on the corners, belted a 1-0 pitch from Pittsburgh starter Ian Snell into the seats in right field for a 3-0 lead. The 1997 American League Most Valuable Player is just eight homers shy of becoming the sixth player to reach the 600 mark.

With the Reds leading by the same score in the fifth, Alex Gonzalez lofted a sacrifice fly and Phillips blasted a 1-1 fastball from Snell over the center field wall to increase the lead to five.

One frame later, a sacrifice fly by Josh Hamilton and a run-scoring single by Gonzalez made it 7-0. Javier Valentin added an RBI double in the seventh to finish the scoring.

"It was a nice situation, everybody was swinging the bats," Mackanin said. "We have a potent lineup against righthanded pitching."

Snell (8-11) was tagged for seven runs, 10 hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings. The righthander, who struck out four, has lost three straight games to the Reds.