SpringfieldNewsSun.com

CINCINNATI — What fun is it expunging a five-game losing streak if you don't put the fear of Damocles into your fans — what few loyalists you have left.

Asked to protect a two-run lead in the ninth inning Monday night against the Chicago Cubs in Great American Ball park, the $46 Million Man (Francisco Cordero) did it, but there wasn't a smooth-beating heart in the house.

The first two Cubs singled and the third lined hard to center field. A walk filled the bases with one out and when Cordero bounced one about 10 feet from the plate Mike Fontenot was out trying to score as Cordero blocked the plate and made the tag.

Cordero walked another to fill 'em up again, then retired Derrek Lee on a grounder to first.

Mission accomplished. Barely. Cincinnati Reds win, 5-3, losing streak over.

"You are trying to be cool, but inside you're churning," said manager Dusty Baker. "That would have been a devastating loss right there."

Of Cordero, Baker said, "In his defense, that's the first time in a long time he was in a save situation, so it becomes foreign to you."

And there was a splash of controversy to this one, provided by David Weathers, with a smile. He returned from the disabled list Monday and pitched a scoreless eighth.

Then he called out broadcaster Jeff Brantley, who Sunday said, "It is obvious there are players on this team playing much harder than others."

Weathers heard it driving home from a workout.

"We take a lot of pride in what we do and sometimes when you hear things about your teammates — I've been on the DL watching and listening — sometimes you have to defend your teammates," said Weathers.

"I don't feel like we have anybody quitting," he added. "Do we have guys struggling? Yeah, we do. But that doesn't mean you quit."

Weathers and Brantley are friends, but Weathers said, "He played and he is a guy who knows the game and should know about struggles out there. Sometimes you feel like you're climbing a cactus. It's hard. I don't mean it to be a big deal — I feel like I'm on The View and said something to Barbara."

The game? Oh, yeah.

—Johnny Cueto, after some tutoring from Mario Soto, was better — six innings, three runs, six hits, two walks eight strikeouts.

—All five runs the Reds scored off Ryan Dempster, 4-0 when the night began, were unearned because of errors in front of the runs scoring.

—The Reds scored three in the first, two on a broken-bat single by Jeff Keppinger.

—Adam Dunn unloaded an H-bomb in the third, a two-run 463-footer that landed far down range.

—Ken Griffey Jr. went above the fence in the third to perform home run grand larceny on Alfonso Soriano, then Cubs center fielder Felix Pie went above the fence to snag Griffey's home run bid in the fifth.

"Weathers came back right on time to save our bullpen and he was impressive and throwing the way I remember him throwing," said Baker.

"And Cueto is a kid with a lot of will and desire and he wants to compete," Baker added. "That's what you like to see in young players, something you can't teach and it will be there forever — the will to compete, the will to win."

Cordero recorded his fifth save in five opportunities, but seldom has one been so, uh, exciting or, uh, interesting or, uh, distasteful.

He made a pact.

"If I get a chance (today), I promise I'll be better," he said. "I guarantee I won't make it that exciting."

What scared the bejabbers out of Baker, and probably Cordero, was that Lee was the sixth hitter of the inning and wasn't expected to walk to the plate.

"Then I saw where we were in the batting order and I said, 'Keep him in the hole,' then I said, 'Keep him on deck,' then he was in the batter's box, that 6-6 D. Lee," said Baker. "Derrek did it for me and I've seen him do for a long time. That's a situation you hate to see him."

Cordero shrugged, though, and said, "I've been in situations before with the bases loaded and less than two outs and I've been able to come out of it. But tonight — I was more lucky than anything. The wild pitch. The walks. It was rough. In the end we got the 'W.'"

Cordero said the biggest piece of luck was the first pitch he threw to Lee, "A hanging slider. You throw that one and it gets knocked out of the park. But he swung and missed. Then I threw him a fastball and he hit it to first base."

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