By Marc Lancaster - Post Staff
Last season, it would have been difficult for the Reds to feel comfortable after staking Eric Milton to a five-run lead in the first three innings.
That's not the case anymore.
The much-maligned left-hander appeared to be a different pitcher in spring training, and he carried the progress he had made into his first regular-season start Friday. Unfazed by storms that delayed the start of the game by two hours and 35 minutes, Milton and the Reds flashed more solid starting pitching and timely hitting before hanging on for a 7-6 victory over the Pirates at Great American Ball Park.
Only once Friday did Milton show any hints of the troubles that plagued him last year. That came in the sixth, when Sean Casey followed a leadoff double by Nate McLouth with a home run into the right-field stands.
"I thought Milton threw the ball really well," said Reds manager Jerry Narron. "He made a mistake to Sean, but Case is an outstanding hitter."
That was all the damage Milton would absorb, and the Reds' bats more than made up the difference. In fact, Felipe Lopez took care of that on his own.
The Reds' shortstop did something he never managed in his Silver Slugger 2005 season, hitting a pair of home runs to drive in three. It was just the second multi-homer game of Lopez's career, the other coming Sept. 4, 2001 against the Yankees when Lopez was a rookie with the Blue Jays.
Lopez's first homer keyed a four-run third inning for the Reds. After Ryan Freel led off the frame with a walk, Lopez drove him in with a drive to center field. Two outs later, Adam Dunn would walk and move to third on a double by Edwin Encarnacion. Austin Kearns drove both of them in with a sliced double down the right-field line, providing a 5-0 cushion for Milton.
He didn't waste it, cruising with little difficulty through all but the sixth inning. When he departed after a scoreless seventh, Milton had allowed six hits and struck out three as he became the third consecutive Reds starter to exit without issuing a walk.
"He gave us seven outstanding innings," said Narron.
Lopez tacked one more on with a drive over the center field wall leading off the bottom of the seventh, and David Ross joined in with a 433-foot solo shot to left-center in the eighth. The Reds have averaged seven runs through their first four games, providing an early indication that they didn't lose much from the National League's most prolific offense a year ago.
The key to any success they might have in 2006, though, rests firmly on the pitching staff, with Milton perhaps at the top of the list. His numbers last season ranked among the worst ever for a starting pitcher, but he, his teammates and the coaching staff believe he'll turn it around.
Finally fully recovered from knee surgery three years ago, the left-hander has said he has far more strength in his legs now than he did at any point last year, and that extra drive has made him far more effective.
Though his strikeout total Friday was modest compared to what he did in his final three spring training starts (19 in 15 innings), he twice ended innings by fanning a batter with a runner on base. The first of those, a swing and miss by Jason Bay to end the first, was the 1,000th strikeout of Milton's career.
As milestones go, that one wasn't earth-shattering, but Milton will take anything on the positive side of the ledger this year, as will his team. If he stays healthy, he'll make 30-plus more starts by October, and the Reds wouldn't mind a bit if the sight of their highest-paid hurler on the mound inspired a bit more confidence this year.
Of course, it would help if the bullpen did its part too. That was more of a problem early last season, when David Weathers and Danny Graves were struggling.
Friday night, the Reds' bullpen came close to reverting to early 2005 form itself, as Todd Coffey surrendered a run in the eighth and Chris Hammond and Weathers three in the ninth. Two of those came on a pinch-hit home run by Craig Wilson off Weathers, a 0-2 pitch driven just over the right-field wall.
Things got a little too interesting for the remaining Reds fans when Weathers followed a strikeout of Nate McLouth with a pair of walks. When the next batter, Jason Bay, grounded sharply to Rich Aurilia at third, the Reds thought they had a game-ending double play, but first base umpire Larry Poncino ruled Aurilia's throw pulled Scott Hatte- berg off the bag.
The drama ratcheted up as Kent Mercker was summoned from the bullpen to face Jeromy Burnitz, but he retired the slugger on a strikeout that bounced away from Ross, who was forced to throw out Burnitz at first to end a long, wild night.
This article appears courtsey of The Cincinnati Post.
