Fairfield-Echo.com

ST. LOUIS — So April is over, a 17-loss period during which the Cincinnati Reds played most of the time as if it was a month full of April Fool's Days.

Incredibly, Aaron Harang is 1-4 with a 2.98 earned run average after another kick in the teeth Wednesday in Busch Stadium, a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

In this one, the Reds actually grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but punched four hits over the final six innings. The entire team could still be on the field trying to find third base because nobody found it from the third through the ninth.

Ryan Freel started in center field and batted leadoff and poked three hits. What did it produce? He drove in one run and scored zero.

The box score shows that Ken Griffey Jr. was on base twice with a walk and a single and Adam Dunn was on base twice with a single and a double.

However, neither drove in a run nor scored a run as the Reds lost for the second straight time after putting together a season's best three-game winning streak.

In between Griffey and Dunn was Brandon Phillips going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, stranding four runners.

Edwin Encarnacion homered in the second and Joey Votto scored on Freel's infield hit. End of scoring for the Reds.

"They got many timely hits — I don't know how many two-out hits (six) and we didn't get many — or any (one infield two-out hit) — and that was the difference in the game," said manager Dusty Baker. "We need to start getting some production, big-time."

How about something like Rick Ankiel, former pitcher gone wild and now an outfielder? Ankiel had three hits and drove in two runs Wednesday and eight hits in the three games.

"We couldn't get him out," Baker said. "He hit bullets, bloopers, bleeders and in-betweeners, but that's the way it goes when you are going good. And he's hot, the difference in the series."

The Reds trailed 4-2 with two outs in the seventh when Baker ordered Albert Pujols walked intentionally. Ankiel, of course, singled to right for a run.

"You hate to pitch to their hottest guy (Ankiel), but Albert is always their hottest guy," Baker said. "You have to pick your poison and you certainly don't want to pitch to Albert, then Ankiel hurts you. You pick your poison and the second guy gets you."

Six of Harang's seven starts have been of the quality variety (six or more innings and three or less runs), but the Reds have scored 22 runs in those seven games (3.1 per game).

"He threw the ball well enough to win, again, giving up three runs," Baker said. "But whomever pitches against Aaron, our No. 1, seems to pitch his best game."

With a 2-0 lead, the Reds gave up their first run on a wild pitch during which both Harang and catcher David Ross chased the ball that didn't roll too far. But nobody covered home.

St. Louis took the lead for good in the third with four straight hits and two runs.

"The wild pitch was a weird play because I was coming in to get it and Ross was coming out to get and we got stuck in no-man's land," said Harang. "You'd think they wouldn't be running because the ball wasn't that far from the plate."

With his four losses in April, Harang is the second straight Reds pitcher to accomplish that nebulous feat. Eric Milton lost four in April last year — and there the comparison ends.

"The third inning (four straight hits) I left a couple of pitches out over the plate," he said. "I was following behind and then had to come in with strikes and they were taking advantage of that."

For Harang, there is zero tolerance, zero margin for error.

"Seems like I have to make sure I'm executing every pitch," he said. "I have to work my way out of jams and really bear down. I'm out there trying to keep the score low and give us a chance to win — out there doing what I can do."

He does, the offense doesn't.

That's the way it goes during a month full of April Fool's Days.

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