CINCINNATI — Aaron Harang has resumed a throwing program in Cincinnati. A target date has not been determined and remains very much up in the air.

Injured Reds starter Aaron Harang (lower back spasms) has resumed a throwing program in Cincinnati.

Reds manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday. “By [...]]]> By M.Bowman / Staff Contributor and Wire Reports

CINCINNATI — Aaron Harang has resumed a throwing program in Cincinnati. A target date has not been determined and remains very much up in the air.

Injured Reds starter Aaron Harang (lower back spasms) has resumed a throwing program in Cincinnati.

Reds manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday. “By all rights, he should be stronger down the stretch if he can get his sharpness back. We were fighting it for a while. He’ll have to go out and have a rehab assignment to get his endurance up and get everything together. It’s an important stretch for us and for him.”

Harang has not pitched since his June 30 start against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I heard he’s feeling good,” Baker said. “I’m glad we had the backup we have when he went down. Or we’d be up the creek.”

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Harang goes on DL with back spasms

//

NEW YORK — The Reds placed starting pitcher Aaron Harang on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of lower back spasms. Matt Maloney was recalled from Triple-A Louisville to take his place and pitch against the Mets.

Harang was originally scheduled to start on Monday, but [...]]]> By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

Harang goes on DL with back spasms

NEW YORK — The Reds placed starting pitcher Aaron Harang on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of lower back spasms. Matt Maloney was recalled from Triple-A Louisville to take his place and pitch against the Mets.

Harang was originally scheduled to start on Monday, but was scratched after he felt a pop in his back while sitting down. There was hope he could get better enough to pitch on Tuesday. The Reds hedged their bets however, and had Maloney fly to New York on Tuesday morning just in case.

Maloney was notified late Tuesday afternoon that he would be starting, after a meeting in manager Dusty Baker’s office with Harang, general manager Walt Jocketty and trainer Paul Lessard.

“We waited. The chiropractor came in again, and he’s a little bit better — not good enough to pitch,” Baker said of Harang. “We anticipated this. We didn’t think that he would be, judging from [Monday]. That’s why we have Maloney here.”

The club was fortunate that Maloney can make his start on his normal amount of rest. He was scheduled to pitch for Louisville on Tuesday. In 15 starts for the Bats, he was 6-5 with a 3.50 ERA.

Harang, who was put on the DL retroactive to July 1, is eligible to be activated on July 16, right after the All-Star break. He is 6-7 with 5.02 ERA in 18 starts, but 4-2 with a 3.94 ERA over his last eight starts.

Maloney was 2-4 with a 4.87 ERA in seven starts for the Reds last season. He was an early candidate for the fifth-starter’s spot in Spring Training, but did not pitch well. The rise of Mike Leake and Travis Wood prolonged Maloney’s stay in the Minors.

“He’s a young man that was next in line quite a few times, but a couple of guys jumped over him by performance — in Spring Training especially,” Baker said.

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Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Aaron Harang throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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CINCINNATI — Aaron Harang glanced at third base coach Mark Berry and saw him wave his arm emphatically, his way of telling the pitcher to keep running.

Keep running? Really?

Harang ran on, scoring all the way from first base — barely — [...]]]> Associated Press

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Aaron Harang throws against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

CINCINNATI — Aaron Harang glanced at third base coach Mark Berry and saw him wave his arm emphatically, his way of telling the pitcher to keep running.

Keep running? Really?

Harang ran on, scoring all the way from first base — barely — in a draining dash that highlighted Cincinnati‘s winning rally on Monday night. Harang singled home the go-ahead run, then chugged around the bases to score another during a five-run fourth inning, leading the Reds to a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“It’ll be a while before you see me try to do that again,” Harang said.

His teammates were still smiling over it long after the game ended.

“He said when he got to third, he was like, ‘What’s going on here?” said Drew Stubbs, who had a solo homer among his three hits. “We got a pretty big kick out of it.”

Left-hander Brian Burres (2-2) walked the first two batters in the fourth to start the pivotal rally, losing his feel for the strike zone at a bad time.

“I was doing everything I could to throw a strike, and you can’t pitch like that,” Burres said. “From that first pitch in the fourth inning, it was a struggle for me.”

Ryan Hanigan grounded into a double play that produced one run and gave Burres a chance to escape without much damage. Instead, he fell behind 3-0 to Harang, a .090 career hitter. He took a pitch, then lined a down-the-middle fastball to left for a 3-2 lead.

Harang stood at first on the muggy, 84-degree night, unprepared for what would happen next. Orlando Cabrera doubled to the gap in left-center, and the 6-foot-7, 260-pound Harang got moving at his top speed, expecting to make a stop at third.

Berry waved. Harang chugged on, barely beating the high relay throw to catcher Ryan Doumit. He got his foot on the plate just as Doumit tagged his belt — no way was he going to slide.

“Stumblin,’ bumbling,” manager Dusty Baker said, describing the last few feet. “But those were the two deciding runs, the run he drove in and the run he scored. That was the only kind of hit he was going to score on.”

Shortstop Ronny Cedeno’s relay throw was high, giving Harang a chance to sneak his foot in safely.

“A lower throw, I think we would have had him,” manager John Russell said.

Harang (3-5) had enough energy left to hang on for the win. He allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings, including Ronny Cedeno’s two-run homer. He left after giving up a two-run double by Delwyn Young in the seventh, when Pittsburgh cut it to 7-5.

“I think fatigue was starting to get to me a little bit,” said Harang, who threw 114 pitches.

Left-hander Arthur Rhodes pitched the eighth, extending his scoreless-innings streak to 16 1/3 innings. Francisco Cordero gave up a double in the ninth while earning his 15th save in 18 tries.

The Reds have won three of four and seven of their last 10, keeping them in a back-and-forth race with St. Louis for the top spot in the NL Central. The victory on Monday moved them into a first-place tie with the Cardinals at 26-19.

They’ve won all four games against the Pirates this month, including a three-game sweep May 10-12 in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates also lost first baseman Steve Pearce, who sprained his ankle in the second inning while chasing down Young’s errant throw from third base. Young’s throw led to an unearned run, and Pearce left the game an inning later. Russell said the Pirates will know more about the severity on Tuesday.

Game notes

Cedeno has four homers this season, three against Cincinnati. … The Reds set off fireworks during the seventh-inning stretch, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the first night game at Crosley Field. … The Reds placed Homer Bailey on the 15-day DL with an inflamed pitching shoulder. RH reliever Enerio Del Rosario, called up to fill the roster spot, made his big-league debut in the seventh and struck out Andrew McCutcheon, who reached on a passed ball on strike three.

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Cincinnati Reds' Aaron Harang delivers a pitch in the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros

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HOUSTON — During his early season struggles, Aaron Harang didn’t think he was being aggressive enough.

On Tuesday his conscious effort to change that helped the Cincinnati starter to his first win of the [...]]]> Associated Press

Cincinnati Reds' Aaron Harang delivers a pitch in the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros

HOUSTON — During his early season struggles, Aaron Harang didn’t think he was being aggressive enough.

On Tuesday his conscious effort to change that helped the Cincinnati starter to his first win of the season.

Harang pitched six solid innings and Ryan Hanigan drove in a career-high-tying three runs to give the Reds a 6-2 win over the Astros. The win breaks a five-game road skid for the Reds and halts Houston’s winning streak at three.

“We talked about it and [pitching coach] Bryan [Price] seemed to think too it was maybe being a little more passive lately instead of just being old me, being aggressive,” he said. “We kind of figured that out he said: ‘Go out and be the old you and challenge guys and see what happens.”

Harang (1-3) allowed a season-low two runs. Houston scored in the first inning, before he settled down after his previous two starts where he allowed a combined 14 earned runs.

“I just had to establish early that I was going to throw strikes and throw them when I needed to,” he said. “I was able to get ahead and get that inside corners working for me.”

Houston’s Michael Bourn was impressed with Harang.

“He had good stuff tonight,” Bourn said. “He placed the ball really well. He kept us off balance with the slider and had good placement with the fastball.”

The Reds were leading 2-1 before their three-run sixth inning made it 5-1 and they held on for the win.

Hanigan, who went 2 for 3, drove in both runs in the second inning and added an RBI in the sixth. With 10 RBIs this season, Hanigan is just one shy of his total from last season.

“He made some changes and he works hard,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “Last year he had trouble driving in runs but this year he’s welcoming that opportunity and also the challenge. ”

Harang allowed eight hits with a walk and six strikeouts in six innings. Daniel Ray Herrera pitched a perfect seventh before Nick Masset did the same in the eighth and Francisco Cordero finished it off with a scoreless ninth.

Houston had runners at first and third with two outs in the third inning before Harang escaped any trouble by striking out Lance Berkman.

Berkman got Houston’s first extra-base hit in the sixth inning with a ground-rule double that hit just inside the line before bouncing into the stands. A single by Geoff Blum came before Berkman scored on a sacrifice fly that got Houston within 5-2.

Brandon Phillips helped Harang get out of that inning with a nifty leaping catch on a ball hit by Tommy Manzella.

Cincinnati hit three straight singles with no outs in the sixth inning. The third one, by Jonny Gomes, knocked home Jay Bruce and pushed Cincinnati’s lead to 3-1 and chased Astros starter Bud Norris (1-2).

“I really attacked early, but then I got lazy,” Norris said. “Whatever it was — mentally or mechanically — you have to go out there and compete. Some nights you are going to have it all working and some nights you aren’t.”

Hanigan made it four singles in a row with his run-scoring hit off Jeff Fulchino. Drew Stubbs made it 5-1 when Gomes scored on his sacrifice fly.

Harang singled in the fifth inning before Stubbs walked. Norris retired the next three batters to get out of that jam.

Norris gave up six hits and five runs with four walks while striking out six in five innings.

Norris hit Scott Rolen with a pitch to start the second inning before walking Bruce. A single by Hanigan drove in Rolen and Bruce to give Cincinnati a 2-1 lead.

Bourn got hit by a pitch in the first inning before stealing second and reaching third when catcher Hanigan overthrew second base. He made it 1-0 when he scored on a groundout by Jeff Keppinger.

The Reds added a run in the eighth inning when Orlando Cabrera scored on a balk by Sammy Gervacio.

Game notes

Astros ace Roy Oswalt rejoined the team on Tuesday after spending several days in Mississippi helping his parents in the aftermath of a tornado that destroyed their home. … Tuesday was the seventh game of a nine-game homestand for Houston, which is playing 22 of its first 31 games at home.

Right-hander Harang was perfect through three innings as the Reds grabbed a 3-0 lead.

CINCINNATI — The shoulder was strong, the legs were fresh. Carlos Zambrano felt like he was taking the mound for the first time this season.

Pretty darn close.

Zambrano recovered from his horrific opening day start by pitching seven [...]]]> Associated Press

Right-hander Harang was perfect through three innings as the Reds grabbed a 3-0 lead.

CINCINNATI — The shoulder was strong, the legs were fresh. Carlos Zambrano felt like he was taking the mound for the first time this season.

Pretty darn close.

Zambrano recovered from his horrific opening day start by pitching seven solid innings, and pinch-hitter Jeff Baker hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth Saturday, sending the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Zambrano (1-1) managed only four outs during the Cubs’ 16-5 opening-day drubbing in Atlanta, a performance so fast and so futile — eight runs — that he spent the rest of the week aching for another chance. The right-hander held the Reds to six hits, including Brandon Phillips’ homer, and struck out nine.

“I think I was fresh from the last time,” Zambrano said. “Basically, this was my first start. I was excited today. I was hungry to go out there. My first outing was not good. I was anxious to go out there and pitch my game, and I did it today.”

His solid start allowed the Cubs to stay away from the unproven middle of their bullpen. John Grabow allowed one hit in the eighth, and Carlos Marmol struck out three in the ninth for his second save in as many chances.

“From what we’ve experienced here the first five games, our starting pitcher going seven innings is probably the best remedy,” manager Lou Piniella said. “We’ll get the kids [relievers] work from time to time and get them sharp and hope they improve.”

Baker hit his solo shot off left-hander Arthur Rhodes (0-1), Chicago’s third homer of the game. Kosuke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano also connected off Aaron Harang.

Baker saw a little bit of everything in his first at-bat off the bench this season. Rhodes threw him a changeup away, a fastball in and a slider that was down but over the plate.

“I don’t really try to do too much [while] pinch-hitting,” said Baker, who now has three career homers in that role. “More likely than not, you’re going to fail. It’s just about getting a good pitch and not missing it.”

Rhodes wasn’t too upset at the decisive pitch to Baker.

“Most guys come off the bench looking for a first-pitch fastball, so I started him out with a changeup,” Rhodes said. “Then I threw him a fastball and a slider down and away, and he went down and got it.”

Both starters were coming off tough times in their season openers. Harang usually gets the better of these matchups — Zambrano was 1-5 in seven career starts against the Reds’ ace coming in.

This time, they ended up essentially even, each giving up three runs in seven innings. Baker’s homer — his first hit in five at-bats this season — put Zambrano in line for the win.

The Cubs’ lineup has been overly reliant on homers so far, scoring 12 of its 17 runs that way. Five of Saturday’s starters came in batting .200 or less — Aramis Ramirez (.200), Marlon Byrd (.167), Geovany Soto (.167), Soriano (.143) and Ryan Theriot (.125).

The homer-or-nothing trend continued. Fukudome hit a two-run shot in the fourth, and Soriano led off the fifth with a homer that tied it at 3.

Harang lasted only five innings of a season-opening 11-6 loss to the Cardinals on Monday, throwing a lot of pitches. This time, he wasn’t messing around. Harang’s first seven pitches were strikes. He retired the first nine Cubs in order, throwing 29 strikes in 38 pitches.

“You learn from the rough patches,” Harang said. “You learn from your mistakes and just go out and do what you can.”

Game notes

Zambrano threw 110 pitches. … LH Ted Lilly’s rehab start in the minors has been pushed back a second time because of his sore back. Lilly, on the 15-day DL following shoulder surgery, was expected to pitch on Sunday for Triple-A Iowa. Instead, he’ll try to throw in a bullpen on Monday. … Reds 3B Scott Rolen got a day off. He’s a .182 career hitter against Zambrano. … RH Mike Leake, the Reds’ top draft pick last June, will make his debut on Sunday. Leake pitched for Arizona State last year. He’ll be the 21st player since the draft began in 1965 to make the jump without appearing in a minor league game. The last was Xavier Nady with San Diego in 2000. … RF Jay Bruce is in an 0 for 16 slump, one shy of his career high.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Aaron Harang throws the first pitch of the season for the Reds in the first inning.

CINCINNATI — Reds pitcher Aaron Harang didn’t notice anything unusual about the baseballs during Cincinnati’s season opener.

St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter complained about the balls being slick after the Cardinals’ 11-6 win on [...]]]> Associated Press

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Aaron Harang throws the first pitch of the season for the Reds in the first inning.

CINCINNATI — Reds pitcher Aaron Harang didn’t notice anything unusual about the baseballs during Cincinnati’s season opener.

St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter complained about the balls being slick after the Cardinals’ 11-6 win on Monday.

Carpenter said some of the balls felt as if they hadn’t been rubbed up with mud, which takes the shine off them. The job is usually done in the umpires’ room before games.

Carpenter said the same thing about the baseballs following his final 2009 appearance at Great American Ball Park.

Harang went five innings in the Opening Day loss. He said on Wednesday that some of the balls felt “chalky,” but that’s not unusual when the mud dries.

“Sometimes they have a little chalky feel to them,” Harang said. “The mud just kind of dries up and sits on the ball. It happens everywhere. You just throw them back [to the umpire] if you don’t like it. I’ve never had a problem with it.”

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa mentioned Carpenter’s complaint to Reds general manager Walt Jocketty, a close friend from their days together in St. Louis. La Russa said he won’t pursue it further.

“You alert them, and the organization will fix it if there is a problem,” La Russa said. “I talked to Walt. I know he doesn’t know anything [about the baseballs]. Sometimes it’s a situation where the home pitcher doesn’t want the ball rubbed up as much.”

Carpenter allowed two runs in six innings on an uncharacteristically warm Opening Day — sunny and 78 degrees at the first pitch.

“He threw pretty good,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday. “I’d hate to seem him pitch if he didn’t have slippery baseballs.”

St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols hits a solo home run off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aaron Harang in the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 5, 2010, in Cincinnati.

CINCINNATI — Albert Pujols and his St. Louis Cardinals didn’t need much help from Big Mac.

The National League’s MVP went 4 for 5 [...]]]> Associated Press

St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols hits a solo home run off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aaron Harang in the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 5, 2010, in Cincinnati.

CINCINNATI — Albert Pujols and his St. Louis Cardinals didn’t need much help from Big Mac.

The National League’s MVP went 4 for 5 and hit two of a team-record four homers on Opening Day Monday, sending St. Louis to an 11-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on an unseasonably warm afternoon that belonged to the power hitters.

Past and present.

Yadier Molina completed the Cardinals’ first four-homer opening game with a grand slam in the ninth. Only two other Cardinals have hit slams in season openers — Scott Rolen and Mark McGwire.

Big Mac has returned to baseball as the Cardinals’ batting instructor this season, acknowledging that he used steroids when he broke the home run record in 1998. The crowd of 42,493 — fifth-largest in Great American Ball Park history — had little reaction when he jogged onto the field with the rest of the Cardinals coaches pregame.

It was almost as though the fans didn’t realize he was there.

They couldn’t ignore Pujols.

He got the loudest boos during pregame introductions, then put on a show.

On his second swing of the season, Pujols drove a 2-2 pitch from Aaron Harang (0-1) into the Reds’ bullpen area in left-center, a collective “Oh!” rising from the crowd as the ball took flight. He added a two-run shot off Mike Lincoln in the seventh, a line drive that barely cleared the wall.

Pujols also singled twice, tying the club record for most hits on Opening Day.

Pujols won his third NL MVP award — and his second in a row — after batting .327 with 47 homers despite a chronically sore right elbow last year. He had six bone spurs removed from the elbow in the offseason, and didn’t waste time showing he might be even better now.

Chris Carpenter (1-0) had only one shaky inning out of his six on a sunny, 78-degree afternoon. Joey Votto and Rolen hit solo homers in the fourth off Carpenter, who gave up only seven homers last season, when he led the NL with a 2.24 ERA.

Carpenter has won his last six starts against the Reds, going 4-0 last year. The last time Carpenter pitched in Cincinnati, he had a career day — at the plate, of all things. He hit a grand slam for his first career homer and drove in six runs — a Cardinals record for a pitcher — during a 13-0 win on Oct. 1.

Colby Rasmus, the Cardinals’ top hitter in spring training, also had a solo homer off Harang and caught Rolen’s fly by the top of the outfield fence in the sixth inning. He added a run-scoring single as the Cardinals pulled away in the ninth.

Game notes

Pujols has 34 career multihomer games. He was the last Cardinals player to hit two homers on opening day, in 2006 at Philadelphia. … Pujols’ 17 homers at Great American are the second-most by a visiting player, trailing Houston’s Lance Berkman (21). … As planned, the Reds designated INF Aaron Miles and OF Wladimir Balentien for assignment to the minors and added INF Miguel Cairo and OF Laynce Nix to the roster. … Former Bengals TE Ben Utecht got a loud ovation and handshakes from Reds manager Dusty Baker and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa after he sang the national anthem.

Opening Day Parade will kick off 10:30

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds have announced what fans can expect during the 2010 Opening Day festivities, and it includes a Hall of Famer.

Former Reds catcher Johnny Bench will be the Grand Marshal of the 91st Findlay Market Parade on Monday, April 5.

Bench will also serve [...]]]> Associated Press

Opening Day Parade will kick off 10:30

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds have announced what fans can expect during the 2010 Opening Day festivities, and it includes a Hall of Famer.

Former Reds catcher Johnny Bench will be the Grand Marshal of the 91st Findlay Market Parade on Monday, April 5.

Bench will also serve as the Honorary Captain during the game and catch the ceremonial first pitch thrown out by former Reds broadcaster George Grande.

Current Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo will also be a part of the big day. He’ll ride in the parade, which marks the second year in a row an active Reds player will be featured.

Former Bengal tight end and recording artist Ben Utecht is scheduled to sing the National Anthem.

Miss Ohio USA and Tri-State native Amanda Tempel will deliver the game ball to starting pitcher Aaron Harang.

Streets will start shutting down at 7:30 a.m., so parade-goers are advised to get there early so they can find a way to where they need to go to view the festivities, not to mention because between 75,000 and 100,000 people are expected.

The parade route starts at Race Street and Findlay Street, will go down Race, turn east on to Fifth Street at Fountain Square and finish up at Fifth Street and Sentinel Street.

Gates to Great American Ball Park will open at 11:10 a.m., and the first pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals will be at 1:10 p.m.

For more information on the Opening Day Parade, click here.

Big Mac McGwire will be on the Cardinals bench for the Reds' opener. What else is in store Monday?

CINCINNATI — Mark McGwire got a lot of ovations and a little rest in Cincinnati the day after he broke baseball’s home run record. A dozen years later, he’s back in [...]]]> Associated Press

Big Mac McGwire will be on the Cardinals bench for the Reds' opener. What else is in store Monday?

CINCINNATI — Mark McGwire got a lot of ovations and a little rest in Cincinnati the day after he broke baseball’s home run record. A dozen years later, he’s back in town, looking for a different kind of rejuvenation.

Big Mac will be in the St. Louis Cardinals dugout for their season opener against the Reds on Monday, reviving a baseball career enmeshed in debate over the steroid era.

Nine years after he quit playing, he’s back in uniform as batting coach.

“It’s going to be really good,” McGwire said, before the team left Florida from spring training. “The potential of this team is really, really good. We’ve got a bunch of good, talented players who are going to get their feet wet. It’s going to be exciting to watch.”

A lot of eyes will be on McGwire, now 46 with crow’s-feet eyes and a slimmed-down body. When the Cardinals hired him, McGwire acknowledged that he used steroids as a player, including the season when he broke Roger Maris’ home run record.

He hit No. 62 in St. Louis on Sept. 8, 1998, then flew with the team to Cincinnati, getting hardly any sleep amid all the hoopla. The Reds had sold 51,969 tickets for that next-day game — their largest gate at Cinergy Field for a weekday game other than opening day — and McGwire felt obligated to be in the lineup.

When he came to the plate the first time, he got an ovation that lasted more than a minute and prompted him to back away from the plate three times to acknowledge the crescendo of cheers.

On Monday, Cincinnati fans will get the first chance to show how they feel now that McGwire has confessed to using steroids and human growth hormone off-and-on for a decade, including the 1998 season when he finished with 70 homers.

Barry Bonds later topped his mark, hitting 73 in 2001.

It’ll be one of the more intriguing moments in a matchup of defending NL Central champions and a Reds team that thinks it has enough pitching — and maybe enough hitting as well — to compete in the division.

“It will be nice to see him again,” said Reds general manager Walt Jocketty, who traded to get McGwire in St. Louis. “I haven’t seen him for a couple of years. I think it’s nice to see he’s back in uniform, back in the game. But I’m not going to be too happy about it. He’s on the opposition now.”

And he’s got quite a lineup to coach.

The Cardinals’ search for someone to bat behind No. 3 hitter Albert Pujols finally ended last July when they traded for Matt Holliday. He batted .353 with 55 RBIs in 63 games, giving St. Louis one of the best 3-4 combinations in the National League.

First up to try to contain them this season is Aaron Harang, making his fifth straight opening day start for Cincinnati. The right-hander has gotten accustomed to the first-game festivities, which force starting pitchers to adjust their warm-up routines.

“I’ve done it four times now,” said Harang, who is 1-3 on opening day. “I know what to expect. If you’d have asked me before the first time I was going into this, I couldn’t have told you what I was going to do. That’s the thing about opening day — you have to make adjustments.”

Harang is one of the Reds’ biggest questions as they try to break their streak of nine straight losing seasons, their longest in a half-century. The ace of the staff, Harang went only 12-31 the last two seasons, when he was limited by injuries.

“It’s important,” Jocketty said. “If we’re going to compete in our division, our starting pitching has to be strong.”

Opening Day starter Aaron Harang pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs -- four earned -- on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Reds right-hander Opening Day starter Aaron Harang pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs — four earned — on five hits with [...]]]> Associated Press

Opening Day starter Aaron Harang pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs -- four earned -- on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Reds right-hander Opening Day starter Aaron Harang pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs — four earned — on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

San Diego Padres right-hander Mat Latos had some trouble with his control but no problem at all with his pitching elbow on Tuesday, an encouraging sign for the San Diego Padres in their 7-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Latos missed a start last week because of tenderness in the elbow. In his return to the mound, his control was off but his results weren’t bad.

“His pitch count got a little elevated,” manager Bud Black said. “I think he had 50 pitches after two innings. His elbow came through it OK. It was a good workout.”

Latos is in the competition for the fifth starter’s spot. He looked a little rusty after his elbow-induced layoff.

“I’m excited about spring training, but not my outing,” Latos said. “My fastball — I couldn’t place it every place I needed to. It was all over the place. I threw a couple of good ones when I needed to, but I fell behind a lot of hitters.”

So did Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang, who had a second straight challenging afternoon. Harang gave up five hits and five runs in only 4 2/3 innings during his last spring training appearance. The right-hander will make his fifth straight opening-day start for the Reds on Monday against the Cardinals, tying a club record.

His results weren’t very good lately. In his last two spring starts, Harang gave up 14 hits and 12 runs in 7 1/3 innings.

Kyle Blanks hit a two-run double off Harang in the first inning. Scott Hairston pulled a 1-2 pitch for a three-run homer in the third, putting San Diego ahead 5-1.

“I felt great,” Harang said. “I made two bad pitches. It was a good pitch to Hairston, but it was early in the count and I was pounding it in. He just opened up and turned on that one.”

Harang has lost 31 games over the last two seasons, with injuries bothering him both years. He made some changes to his delivery this spring to try to regain his touch. He was having problems pitching out of the stretch.

“My timing out of the stretch was tough, so this last week I ended up throwing two bullpen (sessions) and worked mainly on that,” Harang said. “I felt great with that today.”

Harang also had a throwing error, one of three by the Reds that prolonged his time on the mound. There were six errors in all.

“That was a Twilight Zone game,” manager Dusty Baker said.

The Padres hit three homers for the second straight game. Oscar Salazar and Everth Cabrera added solo shots off Cincinnati’s bullpen.

Game notes
Will Venable stole second base off Harang in the first inning. San Diego has 48 steals this spring, most in the majors. … Reds SS Orlando Cabrera (.175) and 2B Brandon Phillips (.125) were sent to a minor league game to get extra at-bats. … Reds GM Walt Jocketty said LHP Aroldis Chapman will likely start the season in the minors. That leaves RHP Mike Leake and LHP Travis Wood competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. Both will pitch in split-squad games on Wednesday.