Phillies Run By Reds

Paul Byrd gave the Philadelphia Phillies something good to talk about.

Byrd allowed three hits in seven innings and Bobby Abreu hit a two-run double as the struggling Phillies snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.

It was Philadelphia's second win in 11 games.

Byrd (1-2), who lowered his ERA from 10.19 to 7.66, struck out four, walked one and allowed one run. Eddie Taubensee got the only hits off Byrd, including a seventh-inning homer.

"It's a negative city. The fans are negative and the media is negative," Byrd said. "We've talked about it as a team and we're learning to become a family. We have to focus on the fact that we have good players.

"We're not going to get better until we take a more positive attitude. We can't be afraid to lose. We have to look at the bright side if we're going to get better. We have some real good players here. We can't focus on how bad we're playing. If you're negative all the time, bad things will happen."

The Phillies, who were expected to contend this season, are off to an 8-18 start.

"In this locker room, we've had some people frustrated over the negativity around here and that's not good," Byrd said. "It's important to have a winning attitude in sports. I'm not trying to start a war. I'm not saying you have to love a loser, either. This is how I feel."

Byrd left the game with a strained right groin that he attributed to a new pitching motion. He doesn't belive the injury is serious. Wayne Gomes pitched the final two innings.

Byrd has struggled since last year's All-Star break. He was 4-9 since then with a 6.45 ERA entering Wednesday's game. He went 11-5 with a 3.94 ERA before the break and was picked as an All-Star for the first time in his career.

"He did what he did last year," Taubensee said. "He was mixing pitches. He came from different angles. That's what made him so successful."

The Phillies took a 2-0 lead off Steve Parris (1-4) in the fourth with help from Cincinnati's defense. Abreu led off with a walk and Scott Rolen singled to put runners on first and third.

Both runners scored when second baseman Pokey Reese made an errant throw to shortstop Gookie Dawkins on a grounder by Rico Brogna. It was the fifth error for Reese, who won a Gold Glove last season after committing just seven errors.

Byrd started a two-run fifth with a walk. He advanced to second on a one-out single by Ron Gant and Abreu made it 4-0 with a double off the left-field wall.

Taubensee, who doubled in the second and singled in the fifth, made it 4-1 with a two-out solo homer to right in the seventh.

The hit came after a fan ran on the field and slid headfirst into second base. It was the second straight night a fan ran on the field at Veterans Stadium. In Tuesday's game, a fan shook Ken Griffey Jr.'s hand and did a dance before falling to his knees and surrendering.

Griffey went 0-for-4 Wednesday as his average fell to .200. After Cincinnati cut it to 5-2 in the eighth with an unearned run, Griffey grounded into an inning-ending double play with runners at the corners.

"He's a great hitter, but right now he doesn't know what to expect," Byrd said. "He's never seen my changeup before. I wanted to keep the ball down and keep it in the park."

Even though the Phillies have struggled, Mike Lieberthal and Brogna made a play in the second inning reminiscent of the team's glory days.

The pair converged on a foul pop by Dante Bichette and the ball squirted out of Lieberhal's glove and into Brogna's as Lieberthal fell into the Phillies dugout and knocked over a television camera.

Phillies catcher Bob Boone and first baseman Pete Rose made a similar play in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 1980 World Series against Kansas City. The Phillies beat the Royals in six games to win the only championship in franchise history.

Notes