Cards Fall Despite Mac's Homer

The Cincinnati Reds avoided another eighth-inning disaster and didn't get rattled by Mark McGwire's first home run since opening day.

Danny Graves worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, pitched a perfect eighth and closed out the Reds' 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Sunday.

In all four of the Reds' losses, their opponent scored the go-ahead run in the eighth. Twice the games were tied and twice the Reds led, and they'd been outscored 14-1.

"We didn't even think about it," McKeon said. "That's over with now."

Graves, a sinkerballer who had eight saves last year, was just one of the culprits. In his first two appearances, covering a single inning, he had allowed four runs and his confidence was seriously eroded.

"After those first two outings, I didn't really want to be out there," Graves said. "I just felt like I don't deserve to be here."

He got back in the groove on Saturday, retiring three batters with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to give the Reds a chance in a 4-2 loss.

On Sunday, he allowed two hits and a walk in 2 1-3 scoreless innings a very long outing for a modern closer. After Willie McGee's two-out infield hit in the ninth, he retired McGwire on a game-ending foulout to first.

"That's what baseball is all about," Graves said. "When the game is on the line, that's when you really focus, that's when you really do your job. It was really exciting to do that with McGwire."

McGwire didn't appear concerned that he let down what remained of a crowd of 41,301 that stood in anticipation before his weak effort on Graves' first pitch.

"It happens every at-bat I get up there," McGwire said. "It's nothing new."

The 70-homer man connected in the first inning for his firt home run in 15 at-bats, but Jason Bere (1-0) didn't encounter many more problems, allowing two runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.

Barry Larkin homered for Cincinnati, which has 12 homers in six games, and Hal Morris and Greg Vaughn had key hits in a three-run sixth inning.

McGwire, who homered only once against the Reds last year, got his second of the season when he hit a first-pitch fastball from Bere over the left-field wall with two outs and none in the first. He'd been 3-for-14 with four walks, two strikeouts and one RBI since connecting off Milwaukee's David Weathers in a 10-8 loss Monday night.

"They've always pitched me tough," McGwire said of the Reds. "I didn't see much to hit. It's something you have to deal with and hopefully, if you get a good pitch to hit, you can capitalize on it. I got one pitch to hit today."

Fernando Tatis was 0-for-4 and is 0-for-10 with six strikeouts since hitting his third homer on Thursday. He took a called third strike from Graves with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh.

Bere singled off Donovan Osborne (0-1) leading off the sixth for his third hit in four at-bats this season. Bere scored on Morris' double, and Mike Cameron also scored from first when left fielder Joe McEwing misplayed the ball in the corner for an error. Vaughn followed with an RBI single for a 4-2 lead.

"I've got a sour taste in my mouth," Osborne said. "I feel like it's my fault, which to some extent it is."

Notes: McGwire hit No. 60 off the Reds' Dennis Reyes on Sept. 5 last year. For his career, he has three homers and five RBIs against Cincinnati, going 11-for-52 (.212). ... Cardinals rookie J.D. Drew was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is 2-for-18. Eric Davis is 3-for-23. ... The Reds, who are 2-4, haven't had a winning April since 1994 (15-7). ... Reds first baseman Sean Casey, off to a 10-for-20 start, got the day off.

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