Harang thrives as Reds' workhorse

08-09-2007

By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions

At one point this season it was a fair question to ask Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aaron Harang. The Patrick Henry High and San Diego State alumnus had opened the season with a 4-0 record in April and was 5-1 when he visited San Diego and Petco Park in mid-May.

Could he he become a 20-game winner?

“It’s early in the season,” said Harang, who had been named a Breitbard Star of the Month for April. “I’ve still got a lot of starts left. People were asking me last season right after the All-Star break. If it’s going to come, it’s going to come. The big thing is you’ve got to get innings.”

Cincinnati's losing record (49-64) has slowed Harang's pursuit of 20 wins, but as the ace of the staff, the 6-foot-7, 275-pound right-hander has been getting the innings he craves since a 2003 trade brought him from the Oakland A's.

This year, despite leaving a July 28 game in the first inning with a sore back and missing one start, he again ranks among the National League leaders in wins (11), starts (24), strikeouts (146) and innings pitched (160.1). He returned to the mound Wednesday and struck out eight in eight innings to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 to improve to 11-3 for the season.

The Padres will miss Harang this time around as they open a three-game series Friday at Cincinnati. Harang had a no-decision at Petco when he gave up on two hits and one run in nine innings in a May 15 game that the Reds won 2-1 in extra innings.

“The biggest thing since I came to Cincinnati is they give me the ball,” Harang said. “They say, ‘Here, give us 110 pitches. Rack up some innings for us.’ When you’re throwing consistently and getting the innings, everything else follows in turn.”

Harang came to the Reds in a trade that has worked to the Reds’ advantage, even if the front office hasn't yet found the other parts of the puzzle to building a winning team. The A’s traded him along with Joe Valentine and Jeff Bruksch for Jose Guillen. Guillen is now with the Seattle Mariners, his third team since the trade.

This is Harang's fourth straight seasons of double-digit wins with the Reds after posting records of 10-9 in 2004 and 11-13 in 2005, when, despite the losing record, he was the recipient of Johnny VanderMeer Award as the Reds’ most outstanding pitcher.

Harang was 16-11 last year while playing for an 80-82 team when he led the National League in strikeouts (216) and complete games (6). He tied for the NL lead in starts (35) and victories (16) and ranked among the league leaders in innings (234.1, third) and shutouts (2, tied for third).

But the 16-11 mark followed by a 11-3 record to date shows Harang has emerged as one of the league’s dominant pitchers.

“I still don’t think it’s hit me,” Harang said of such a label around the league. “The biggest thing is you get more leeway. They’ll let you go more innings and battle through innings. That comes with experience. You want to be on the field giving your team a chance to win.”

Harang graduated in 1996 from Patrick Henry when he was a 22nd round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox. He chose to attend San Diego State and three years later was as sixth-round pick by the Texas Rangers.

He made his Major League debut with the Oakland A’s in 2002 when he finished 5-4 on one of the best pitching staffs in baseball that included fellow San Diegan Barry Zito, a USDHS alumnus now with the San Francisco Giants.

“At Oakland, I learned you had to go right at guys and be consistent,” Harang said. “Their three main guys were going give you seven solid innings every time out. If the No. 4 or No. 5 guys got in trouble, they’d go to the bullpen. The Reds were the team that gave me a chance to get some innings.”

He hasn’t let the Reds’ losing record or lack of run support effect his consistency on the mound. Cincinnati is 10th in the NL in batting average (.256).

“My goal every time out is to pitch a complete game,” Harang said. “I want to give our bullpen a night off. I take pride in a complete game or at least being able to go seven.”

Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com.