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Bullpen again sharp as Reds rally past sloppy Pirates

Apr 7, 2007 - 10:39 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The bullpen of the Cincinnati Reds was in a far less giving mood than Xavier Nady.

Reds relievers remained unscored upon this season as they closed out a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were let down by Nady's shaky defense in right field.

On a cold day, Nady allowed Adam Dunn's first-inning fly ball to pop out of his glove for a two-run homer. That was the first of two two-run leads given away by the Pirates and starter Tony Armas.

"Last year I hit one into the seats that bounced out and I only got a triple," Dunn said. "We're even."

"We'll take it," Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron said. "Dunn hit the ball well and when you do that, good things happen."

After playing on a perfect 75-degree day Monday to open the campaign, the game-time temperatures at Great American Ballpark have been 39, 35,36 and 30 degrees over the last four contests.

"It is impossible to describe how hard it is to play when it's this cold," Dunn said. The bat slips. The ball slips out of your hand. You pick up a ball and go to throw it and you feel you're going to spike it instead. I don't know how the pitchers do it."

Dunn also walked three times, stole two bases and scored three runs for the Reds, who won their third straight game despite a sub-par performance by Aaron Harang (2-0), who hung in long enough to get the win.

"It looked like Harang had a tough time getting a feel for the ball," Narron said. "It says a lot when you can win without your best stuff."

The 2006 National League strikeout champion, Harang was not particularly sharp, giving up five runs, eight hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. But he struck out six and was better than Armas, who surrendered every lead he was given.

"I threw 25-30 pitches in the first inning, but to stay out there long enough was pretty nice," Harang said. "When I was in the windup, I could blow on my hands. But when I was in the stretch I couldn't and the ball was slick."

Cincinnati had five relievers combine to limit Pittsburgh to one hit over the final 3 1/3 innings. Kirk Saarloos pitched a perfect eighth and David Weathers worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.

"Our bullpen is better than a lot of people think," Narron said.

With one out in the fourth, Armas walked Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. around a single by Brandon Phillips to load the bases. Edwin Encarnacion, who had three hits, singled up the middle to plate the tying and go-ahead runs.

Dunn helped manufacture a run in the sixth when he walked, stole second and eventually scored on a single by Scott Hatteberg, making it 7-5.

"We were trying to be like the old penguin march," Dunn joked.

The Pirates scored twice in the first when Adam LaRoche doubled home a run and scored on a double by Nady, who gave back the runs in the bottom half with a terrible defensive play.

After Ryan Freel singled, Dunn lifted a catchable fly to the warning track in right-center field that Nady - on the move - had jump out of his glove and over the fence for a homer.

"I had it right in my mitt and it just popped out," said Nady, who ran into the right field wall last night in a failed attempt to make a catch.

"It was unfortunate when the ball ended up in the stands," Pittsburgh manager Jim Tracy said. "It was freezing cold. You see strange things happen in this kind of weather." Dunn has three homers in the first five games.

"I'd like to hit every one 500 feet," Dunn said. "I didn't know if he caught it or not. I didn't want to pass Freel."

Cincinnati added a run on Alex Gonzalez's RBI single and another in the second on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Phillips, making it 4-2.

Pittsburgh regained the lead in the fourth. LaRoche led off with his first homer of the season. Two outs later, Don Kelly walked and came around on a double by Humberto Cota, who scored on a single by Armas.

But Armas again gave away the lead in the bottom half. He allowed six runs, eight hits and five walks in four innings