CINCINNATI - The discussion was about Joey Votto, and Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker said before the game, "If teams have an hour meeting to talk about the other team, there are certain guys they spend a couple of minutes discussing and certain guys they spend 10 minutes discussing." If that's the case, the Pittsburgh Pirates probably glanced at Craig Tatum's .129 batting average and spent about 12 seconds discussing him. The pitcher, Justin Lehr, had a higher batting average (.154). Well, as many a manager has tried to tell many a pitcher, "Anybody with a bat in his hand is dangerous."
Tatum had a bat in his hand a few times Tuesday night, Sept. 1, in Great American Ball Park and turned out to be extremely dangerous - two hits and four RBIs as the Reds punctured the Pirates 11-5.
And the rookie catcher guided Lehr through treacherous territory, nursing him through six innings of four-run, sixhit pitching, but five walks and 114 pitches.
"I don't care how ugly the line is, as long as I give my team a chance to win," said Lehr, 4-1 with a 4.43 ERA.
Lehr felt something grab in his leg on the game's second pitch, a groin tweak, but he soldiered up.
"We were nursing him through the game, and he wasn't as sharp as usual, but he always has the same intestinal fortitude," Baker said.
Tatum, the team's, uh, No. 4 catcher behind Ramon Hernandez, Ryan Hanigan and Corky Miller, began the game with two RBIs in 50 major-league atbats. Now he has six in 53.
"Family and friends have been telling me to just keep hitting," Tatum said. "It's not like I've been striking out a lot. If I hit it soft I was out, if I hit it hard I was out."
Jonny Gomes had three of the Reds' 14 hits, and Wladimir Balentien hit a two-run homer.
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