Reds ace Aaron Harang was already dressed and waiting for the media following Tuesday night's 3-0 loss to the Cubs at Great American Ball Park, knowing full well what was going to be asked and what he could say.

"You guys can write the same thing," Harang said. "We've just had some tough breaks and we haven't been able to capitalize on mistakes they've made or their pitcher has made. I had two walks that inning (the fourth) and then (Ronny Cedeno) flips a little base hit right where we're not at."

Harang allowed seven hits and three runs in seven innings, while the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano went eight innings and gave up just three hits. In the fifth head-to-head matchup between the team's top pitchers, Zambrano collected his first victory, improving to 5-1 on the season. Harang collected his fifth loss and is 1-5 with a 3.09 ERA.

"Big Z is one of the best there is, but we've had some success against Big Z too," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He wasn't real sharp early in the game, he was effectively wild and he had his pitch count up. We hoped to get him out of the game earlier than that. But once you let him get to the mid innings, Big Z’s tough."

Zambrano threw 58 pitches through the first three innings, but then curised into the eighth.

In Monday’s victory against the Cubs, the Reds capitalized on two Cub errors for five runs. Tuesday the Cubs again committed two errors, but the Reds couldn’t do anything with them.

The Reds managed runners in scoring position only twice against Zambrano -- in the second inning Joey Votto was picked off second and after Ken Griffey Jr. collected his second single of the night to lead off the sixth, Brandon Phillips reached on an error by Cedeno. But Votto popped up and then Edwin Encarnacion grounded into a double play.

The Cubs, on the other hand, got two-out RBI hits by Aramis Ramirez in the first inning and then by Cedeno in the fourth. Cedeno's liner to right scored two.

Those two-out hits have been in short supply so far for the Reds, who have a .134 batting average with runners in scoring position and two outs. The only such situation Tuesday night was when Kerry Wood struck out Adam Dunn with Votto on second to end the game.

That lack of production is befuddling Baker and everyone else in the Reds clubhouse.

"If I knew, I'd have it figured out by now," Baker said of changing the Reds' luck. "One thing for sure, I'll keep trying to figure it out."

Harang echoed Baker’s exhaustion and confusion.

"They say this game's a lot of luck. It seems like we haven't had much of any," Harang said. "If you guys find a horseshoe, please give it to us. ... Somebody's hiding it."

WP: Carlos Zambrano (5-1) 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 Ks (113 pitches, 69 strikes)

LP: Aaron Harang (1-5) 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 Ks (113 pitches, 78 strikes)

S: Kerry Wood (5)

The stat: 2 errors, 0 runs. Monday night the Reds made the Cubs pay for their errors, scoring five unearned runs with help from two Cub errors. They got the same number of errors on Wednesday, but didn't capitalize.

The play: Joey Votto led off the second inning with a walk and following an Edwin Encarnacion, Zambrano walked Adam Dunn. With Jeff Keppinger, tied for the team lead in RBIs with 16, at the plate, Votto was picked off second by Zambrano and then Keppinger grounded out to end the inning. The Reds only had one more runner in scoring position the entire night.

The lesson: This season Aaron Harang has to be perfect to get a W. He wasn't perfect Tuesday, merely good. That's not enough for this Reds squad.

Dusty said: "The difference is they got two two-out hits and those are the things we're not getting."

Next: The final game of the series is a day game, with Edinson Volquez (4-1, 1.27) against Cubs right-hander Jon Leiber (2-1, 1.86) at 12:35 p.m. There's no TV for the game.

Top 1: Soriano, K. Harang is 3-1 all-time against Zambrano with a 5.40 ERA. Zambrano is 0-4 all-time against Harang with a 9.00 ERA. It's odd, you've gotta remember the Cubs are in town. Ryan Theriot blooped a ball into left and I heard the crowd reacting and thought it was going to get caught. Nope, the cheers were because it was obvious it wasn't getting caught. Theriot stole second and then scored on Aramis Ramirez's two-out single to center. Cubs 1, Redlegs 0

* Side note: the Reds released LHP Scott Sauerbeck today. Sauerbeck made four appearances (0-1, 9.00 ERA) for Class AAA Louisville and two stints on the DL. The first time I introduced myself to Scott, he said he'd read my UC coverage. Blew me away. Good luck to Scott.

Bottom 1: My turn for the second inning, so I've got to be ready. Ryan Freel, first pitch swinging. There's a shock. Loud cheers for Griffey. Wonder if those were Cub fans. Another first-inning oppositie field single for Griffey. That's how the Reds began the three-run first yesterday. On a ball fouled off by Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto had to duck. Quick work by Votto. I'll never forget the Juan Encarnacion incident in St. Louis last year. That was one of the scariest things I've ever seen. Strike out, throw out. Cubs 1, Redlegs 0

Bottom 2: Leadoff walk for Votto. That guy's good. I just like the way he plays. I'm not sure he'll ever be an elite player, but he's gonna be a good, solid player for a lot of years. Last night Dusty Baker said reasons like the first inning -- bases loaded two outs -- was why Keppinger was batting seventh. He wanted someone who was knocking in runs, not via the longball, but with singles, to clearn up the bases in the bottom half of the order. After Dunn walks, Kepp gets his shot again. Well, not quite. Votto's picked off second. This team has been really bad on the bases. I asked Baker about it today and he said he's gonna let Billy Hatcher take care of it and that Hatcher is one of the best baserunning coaches he's been around. Well, it seems they need a bit more of that coaching. Cubs 1, Redlegs 0

Top 3: We're just rollin' along. 1-2-3 for Harang. Zambrano was the only one to put up a fight. Cubs 1, Redlegs 0

Bottom 3: You ever notice that on a broken-bat hit, your eye follows the bat and not the ball? I guess it's easier to see, and, well, more dramatic, so the eye naturally goes there. Bako was sawed off and his bat went flying into the stands -- 10, 15 rows deep. And I didn't even notice until I looked over at the TV monitor that the ball was pretty close to fair. Cubs 1, Redlegs 0

Top 4: Two out, two-run single for Ronny Cedeno. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Bottom 4: The bright side? Zambrano is up to 74 pitches. Carlos Lee made a rare error on EE, and then made a nice play on Dunn. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Top 5: I've always been impressed with Carlos Zammbrano at the plate. Really nice play by Keppinger, not only to make the catch on Soriano, but to throw immediately to first to try to double up Zambrano. The Reds miss another double play on a 1-6 FC. 83 pitches now for Harang. We'll be seeing bullpen in this one tonight, kids. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Bottom 5: So, if you had Aaron Harang in the second hit of the night pool, you win a shiny new car! 89 pitches for Zambrano. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Top 6: Looking at the traffic on the forum, it seems I'm not the only one disinterested tonight. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Bottom 6: I think everyone has that moment where they're watching Carlos Zambrnao and seeing if he's about to go Bruce Banner. After second base umpire Chris Guccione ruled shortstop Ryan Theriot didn't touch second on a double play attempt and Ken Griffey Jr. was safe, I think you could see Zambrano's eyes go yellow. But he calmed back down after EE grounded into the 6-4-3. Bummer. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Top 7: Cuubs get two hits, but Harang's 114th pitch is strike 3 to Derrek Lee. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Bottom 7: Yes, I realize I put two u's in Cubs above, but, well, it amuses me somehow. So it stays. Seriously? 6 pitches? 6? Ugh. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Top 8: Burton in. One hit. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Bottom 8: Zambrano back in with 105 pitches. Hatteberg pinch hits for Burton, and, well, quick work by Zambrano. Heck, he may go for the complete game. He's the second batter scheduled up. WE'll see if he goes on-deck. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Top 9: Affeldt in for the Reds and Zambrano out for the Cubs. Cubs 3, Redlegs 0

Bottom 9: Phillips, Votto and Encarnacion against Kerry Wood on the anniversary of his 20 strikeout performance. You gotta love when your No. 4 hitter lays down a bunt down three in the ninth with nobody on. Ramirez didn't even make a play on it. It was perfect and Votto was scooting. EE is called out looking by Chuck Meriwether, who must have had a date at 10, because he didn't want this baby going extras. Dude, seriously, the guy behind me has been blowing his nose the entire night. I can't imagine the amount of snot he's pushed out of his body. It's better than sniffing it back up, but still. It's gotta be like a gallon of snot. Shannon Russell gets a foul ball. I love watching reactions. Most go straight for the laptop, Shannon didn't pick up on it quickly. The person who sits to my right, panicked like a little girl but, well, I wouldn't expect anything less. And this one belongs to the Cubs.

We had an opportunity, quickly, to speak to Walt Jocketty. Here's what he had to say:

On Ken Griffey Jr. trade talks:

"I think it’s a little bit premature. We haven’t (had any talks). I have had no trade discussions with him and I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but it hasn’t at this point."

Other trade talks?
"Just basically, just kind of introductory type discussions. It’s basically calling clubs about what they have available and what we’re trying to do."

On the Dever Post report that the Rockies are interested in Josh Fogg...
"Ummm. I'm not sure how to answer that. I think everyone’s looking for pitching, let’s put it that way."

On the season so far...
"I still think the season is salvageable. I think we got off to a pretty good start on the raod trip and then for some reason the last few days we went into a funk and we didn’t pitch well in a couple of games, we didn’t score runs. I think a lot of it, I still think guys are pressing. We’ve got guys who are trying to pick up the slack all by themselves. The key to this is rolling out a few wins and getting rid of the pressure. We’ve got a really tough opponent we’re facing right now and another one this weekend. We’ve had a tough schedule."

Ken Griffey Jr. was adamant Tuesday that he was not demanding a trade and he said nothing in a USA Today article published Tuesday that he didn’t say last year in Seattle.

The headline on Bob Nightengale’s article read “Griffey’s days in Cincinnati may be numbered.” Griffey didn’t say that, but Nightengale did.

Griffey said in the article he could see parts of the current team being traded off during the season if the Reds don’t rebound from their 13-20 start.  That willingness to make big, bold moves was shown two weeks ago when general manager Wayne Krivsky was fired following a 9-12 start. When Krivsky was fired, owner Bob Castellini said, “We’re just not going to lose anymore.” Since then, the Reds have lost twice as many games as they’ve won – eight to four.

Griffey said the only difference between him and other players is that as a player with 10 years of major league experience and the last five on the same team, he must approve any trade. If management comes to him with a trade, he’d want to be traded to a place where he could win a championship.

“My dad has three championship rings. You don’t see a kid not wanting to win,” Griffey said in a 20-minute meeting with reporters before Tuesday’s game with the Cubs. “What’s the home runs you think about? Game-winner, World Series. That’s about it. That’s all you care about.”

Griffey dismissed talk that the team has given up or isn’t trying its hardest on the field.

“Everyone in this locker room takes pride in what they do, that’s what makes you go out there and compete,” Griffey said. “If you think we like being in this situation? Nah. If you think we like that everyone in the city is talking about us in a negative? No. We want to see as much red as possible (in the stands).”

Reds manager Dusty Baker said he didn’t see Griffey talking about the possibility of being traded, or the desire to end his career as a Mariner, as a distraction to his team.

“Every man’s entitled to his opinion,” Baker said. “I haven’t been here for the nine years he’s been here. I ain’t been here nine weeks. But I sure like him being around.”

Baker said he called Willie Mays on Tuesday for Mays’ 77th birthday, and Mays wanted to talk to him about Griffey.

“I know in particular how respected he is by Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson – some of the big-time greats,” Baker said.

Griffey said he’s not worried about a trade, not asking for a trade, not thinking about a trade. He’s only thinking about helping the Reds improve.

“I’m here. Yes, I can control where I can go, that’s about it. That’s pretty much all the control I have,” Griffey said. “I can go out there and control how I play and try to build this organization and help it and go out there and play baseball as hard as I can day in and day out. There’s nobody’s name on the back of that damn bubblegum card other than mine.”

Griffey also defended himself and his teammates for not tearing up the locker room or any other outward display of emotion over the team’s sluggish start.

“I think that’s a sense of pride. If you don’t care, why are you here? The guys in this locker room care about how they play day in and day out,” Griffey said. “Everyone looks at he struck out and he smiled, he doesn’t care. That’s (b.s.). What’s the alternative, go in there and tear up the locker room because you’re mad? Sometimes you have to laugh it off instead of crying. There’s not one person here who hasn’t done that, been so mad you just have to laugh it off. Sometimes you just have to relax and smile, because sometimes a smile can help. It can relax you and everyone else in here.”

In the end, Griffey said, he and his teammates want to win and make the Cincinnati Reds winners.

“If we were 15 games above .500 and hit this streak, would anyone say anything? No. Because it happened in the first month, everyone’s panicking. We’ve got five months of baseball,” Griffey said. “Jeremy (Affeldt) and (the Colorado Rockies) last year, they made up what, seven games in two and a half weeks? We’re a better team and we need to go play baseball. Everyone wants to win so bad, that sometimes it hurts our chances and sometimes it doesn’t. Other guys in here want to play and turn this thing around and make this the talk of the town and not in a negative way. We’d love to see a crowd of fans with nothing but red on. They don’t want to see empty seats. There’s not a lack of effort and nobody’s quit on this team. I don’t think anyone would allow that to happen.”

Griffey said he's only worried with tonight's game and facing Carlos Zambrano.

“The important thing is what I do for this team to get them back on track -- what happens today,” Griffey said. “Yesterday is over with. Today is what matters and tomorrow will take care of itself. You can’t worry about a ‘what if.’ Everybody understands what’s going on around here.”