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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- One inning into Saturday's start against the
Pittsburgh Pirates, Steve Parris looked like he was headed for an
early shower rather than his sixth consecutive win.
Parris allowed three runs in the first but the Cincinnati Reds
came back and won 6-4, ending Pittsburgh's eight-game winning
streak.
Parris threw 40 pitches in the first inning and got some terse
instructions from pitching coach Don Gullett.
"He basically told me to get my head on straight and start
making some pitches," Parris said.
Dmitri Young hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh and
Michael Tucker added an insurance run with his 12th homer in the
ninth. Danny Graves, the fifth Reds' pitcher, worked a perfect
ninth for his 26th save.
Parris (11-14) has won each of his last six starts but this was
a bigger battle than most.
"I was overthrowing at the start," Parris said.
But he recovered and continued an amazing turnaround.
"A lot of people were writing me off and I don't blame them,"
he said. "I was 5-14. But I've faced tougher things that being
5-14. I've had a couple of surgeries and I went back to A ball.
Those things were a lot tougher than being 5-14."
Young drove a 2-0 pitch from Kris Benson (9-12) over the center
field wall after Ken Griffey Jr. got his third single of the game.
Benson is headed in the opposite direction from Parris. He's 1-6
since the All-Star break and Manager Gene Lamont thinks he's
showing the burden of being the team's No. 1 starter since Jason
Schmidt and Francisco Cordova were sidelined with injuries.
"We've heaped a lot on him," Lamont said. "It's not easy. You
become a real good pitcher when you develop consistency -- not only
in the game but also from game to game."
The Reds scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth to
tie the game. Griffey hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the third
that saw John Vander Wal prevent an extra-base hit with a leaping
catch at the right-field wall.
Sean Casey led off the fourth with his 14th home run and Chris
Stynes delivered a game-tying single an inning later.
Vander Wal and Warren Morris had consecutive RBI doubles in the
first and another run scored on Benito Santiago's passed ball.
Parris left the game after giving up a one-out double to Vander
Wal in the seventh. Pinch hitter Alex Ramirez doubled off reliever
Dennis Reyes to drive in the run.
Benson worked seven innings, allowing 12 hits with three walks
and six strikeouts.
The Pirates' streak was their longest since they won nine in a
row from Aug. 16-27, 1998.
The Reds have won 11 of their last 17 games.
Game notes
Parris hasn't lost a game since Aug. 1, when the Mets beat
him 3-2 in New York. His ERA is 2.25 during his winning streak. He
had allowed six earned runs in 33 2-3 innings before giving up four
in 6 1-3. ... Parris, who was released by the Pirates in 1997, is
3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts against Pittsburgh. ... Vander
Wal has a career-best 10-game hitting streak. ... Benson pitched a
one-hitter against the Giants on Aug. 29. He's allowed 13 and 12
hits in his starts since then.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Cincinnati Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Yankees 5
Boston 3
Cleveland 9
Chi. White Sox 3
Oakland 10
Tampa Bay 0
Toronto 6
Detroit 5
Baltimore 10
Anaheim 3
Texas 6
Kansas City 5
Seattle 7
Minnesota 2
Colorado 7
Los Angeles 6
Houston 14
Chicago Cubs 4
San Diego 7
San Francisco 3
Arizona 4
Florida 1
Cincinnati 6
Pittsburgh 4
Montreal 7
Atlanta 5
Philadelphia 6
NY Mets 3
St. Louis 7
Milwaukee 6
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