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Cincinnati Reds

Another Opening Day L for Harang

By C. Trent Rosecrans, CNATI.com Posted April 5, 2010 7:21 PM ET

A new season didn't seem to mean much different for Reds starter Aaron Harang - in Monday's 11-6 Opening Day loss to the Cardinals, he wasn't great, he wasn't awful and he still ended up with the loss.

Harang went five innings, allowed five hits, four runs - three earned - walked two, hit two and struck out two. Harang is now 1-4 in Opening Day starts.

"I just got beat today, there's nothing we can do about it," said Harang. "I look forward to the next game and I'll go out and get them."

Harang is 12-31 combined in the last two seasons and had a mixture of poor performance and bad luck. On Monday, he noted he felt like he only made two big mistakes - but that was enough to put the Reds in a hole and they weren't ever able to get ahead of St. Louis and their ace, Chris Carpenter.

"He was throwing the ball well today, real good -- a whole lot better than he was last year," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "So we'll see. This early, you'd like to see him throwing the ball well."

Harang's fastball averaged nearly 92 and his maximum was more than 94 mph, a velocity he didn't have last season. He also said he felt very good about his pitches - except two: a first-inning fastball to Albert Pujols and a fourth-inning fastball to Colby Rasmus, both were hit for home runs. His other mistake came in the fifth, when an attempted pick-off move was wild and allowed Pujols to score the final run.

Still, Harang felt good with his slider and changeup, as well as the increased velocity on his fastball.

"I've been feeling like that all spring. Obviously the outcome's not as good as you'd hope, but the more pressure you put on yourself the more mistakes you'll make," Harang said. "I've just got to go out and get guys out."

Last season Harang was 6-14 with a 4.21 ERA. His WHIP was 1.325 and his K/BB ration was 3.30, the ninth-best mark in the National League. Still, he had a BABIP (batting average of balls in play) of .339, suggesting he was unlucky.

Harang changed some of his mechanics this spring with help from new pitching coach Bryan Price. Despite an ugly spring with 9.88 ERA in four starts, Harang came into the opener feeling good. He struck out the first two batters he faced, but didn't strike out another batter in the five innings.

"I think he pitched good, he just had a couple of pitches up and he he paid for it," catcher Ramon Hernandez said. "You hope you give up singles there, not homers."

Pujols got one of each off of Harang and added another homer off of Mike Lincoln and a single off of Nick Masset. Pujols finished the day 4-for-5 with three RBIs and four runs scored and two homers.

"He's the best hitter in the game, you better hope you get him with nobody on and you take your chances. Obviously he makes the game tough on pitchers," Harang said.

Pujols especially makes it tough on Reds pitchers. He's now hitting .365 with 42 home runs and 121 RBIs in 142 career games against Cincinnati. Pujols is hitting .316 in his career against Harang, but that's the best mark by any Reds pitcher who has faced him more than 10 times.

Harang noted the difference between success and failure - especially against a hitter like Pujols can be as little as a couple of inches. He'd wanted the fastball outside in the first inning, but it came back over the plate and Pujols hit it 410 feet. With nobody on in the third, Harang finally placed the ball where he wanted and it was the third out of the inning.

"I pitched him pretty decent, that's about all you can do," Harang said.

For the Reds, though, decent may not be enough if they hope to contend against Pujols and the Cardinals in the National League Central.

Categories: Cincinnati Reds, Featured Stories

Tags: Aaron Harang, Albert Pujols, Dusty Baker, Joey Votto, Ramon Hernandez