The Associated Press

Lopes got his first victory as a manager – and got a game ball and the dugout lineup card for mementos – as the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen shut down Junior and everyone else the Cincinnati Reds sent to the plate Tuesday night.

Wednesday, April 05, 2000

Lopes got his first victory as a manager – and got a game ball and the dugout lineup card for mementos – as the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen shut down Junior and everyone else the Cincinnati Reds sent to the plate Tuesday night.

The Brewers’ 5-1 victory in the makeup of their rain-halted opener got their season off on a joyous note one day late.

”It’s exciting,” said Lopes, sitting behind a desktop that featured an unblemished game ball and the lineup card with names scribbled in blue ink. ”My coaching staff is all part of this. It’s not something I did by myself.”

From start to finish, he had a lot of help from his bullpen.

When rain forced the umpires to call Monday’s opener in a 3-3 tie, Lopes decided to give reliever Valerio De Los Santos his first major league start in the makeup.

The only thing that bothered the left-hander was a homer by Dmitri Young and a blister that forced him out after the fifth. The rest of the bullpen followed his lead, completing a four-hitter.

The Brewers had a pronounced bounce in their step as they high-fived on the field and headed for the clubhouse.

”Obviously, we have some good arms,” said David Weathers, who pitched a perfect eighth. ”We’ve got a great attitude as well. The whole team does.

”There’s a better chemistry in the clubhouse and a lot of that’s due to Davey Lopes. He says what’s on his mind.”

Only one thing was on the minds of the 16,761 fans who showed up on a damp, raw night: seeing Junior finally hit one. He didn’t even come close.

In six at-bats over the two days, Griffey has failed to get the ball out of the infield. He grounded out, hit into a forceout and struck out twice Tuesday night.

”I’ve just got to go out there and do what I can,” Griffey said. ”I’m not feeling any pressure.”

Maybe not, but he is getting a lot of attention. Flashbulbs went off whenever he came to bat Tuesday as fans hoped to capture his first hometown homer for posterity.

They needn’t bother to develop the film.

”Once he gets his first hit and gets it out of the way, it will be like getting your first win,” manager Jack McKeon said. ”It seems like it’s never going to come, then they come in batches.”

Junior isn’t the only newcomer who’s struggling. Dante Bichette misplayed a ball in right field to let in the tiebreaking run Tuesday and was 0-for-4, leaving him 0-for-6 just like Junior.

”We’ve both gotten off to good starts before,” Bichette said. ”This isn’t one of them. I’m probably pushing a little bit, but I’ve had some good at-bats.”

Jeromy Burnitz had two of them Tuesday. In the first inning, he hit a solo homer off left-hander Denny Neagle. In the ninth, he hit another off left-hander Hector Mercado, who was making his major league debut.

It was the eighth time that Burnitz had homered more than once in a game, but the first time he could remember doing it off a couple of left-handers.

”In the last couple of years, I’ve handled left-handers just fine,” Burnitz said. ”Now that I have more experience, they really don’t bother me.”

Griffey led the Reds in spring homers but hasn’t been able to translate that into games that count. Burnitz hit seven this spring and has kept going.

”I really started out very bad, but in the last two weeks I was swinging really well,” Burnitz said. ”I’ve been feeling good and I’ve just carried it over.”

Notes: Technically, the game’s attendance was recorded as zero. Attendance figures reflect the number of tickets sold. Instead of selling tickets, the Reds allowed anyone with a stub from the opener to get in free. By the turnstiles’ count, 16,761 of the 55,596 came back. … The front that brought unrelenting rain to the opener dropped sleet and snow on the city Tuesday. It was 35 degrees at the first pitch – a 29-degree drop from the day before – with gusty winds.

… The Reds are 0-1 for the third straight year. … Neagle gave up five hits in six innings, a major improvement over spring training. He gave up a team-high 10 homers and had a 9.72 ERA in Florida.