Little Things Add Up to a Red Loss : NL playoffs: Oester can’t bunt runners along, Bates is caught stealing, Rijo can’t hold lead and Davis plays too shallow.

Ron Oester grabbed his bat, and was about to walk toward the plate Thursday night for the biggest at-bat of his life, when Lou Piniella, manager of the Cincinnati Reds, called him aside.

Oester, gasping for breath with excitement, stood there and listened. He had waited 11 years to be in the playoffs, and now, in what might be his final season, he had finally made it.

“You wait your whole life for something like this,” said Oester, born and raised in Cincinnati. “When I walked up there, I was so numb, I couldn’t feel a thing.”

The crowd of 52,911 at Riverfront Stadium produced a deafening roar when Oester walked to the plate. The Reds, who had managed one baserunner since the first inning, were on the verge of a dramatic victory. They still were trailing, 4-3, but they had runners on first and second, and nobody was out.

“I thought we had it,” Piniella would say later. “It was the perfect situation, and I thought we were going to win the damn thing, and all go home happy.”

Oester stepped to the plate with orders to bunt. The strategy appeared perfect. Anyone in the Red clubhouse will tell you that Oester is the finest bunter on the team.

It all seemed so perfect. Oester would bunt the runners to second and third. Pirate Manager Jim Leyland probably would have to intentionally walk Chris Sabo. Piniella then was going to bring Glenn Braggs off the bench with the bases loaded, thinking surely he would drive in at least one run.

Oester stood at the plate, squared when Bob Patterson went into his stretch, and laid down what appeared to be the perfect bunt. It bounced toward the left side of the mound. Todd Benzinger got a decent jump from second. And Oester ran as hard as he could to first.

“I thought it was going to be a good one as soon as I laid it down,” Oester said. “Lou told me to make sure the third baseman (Jeff King) fielded it, and I thought I did my job.

“Right before I crossed the bag, I heard a loud roar. It was so loud, I didn’t know if they were cheering or booing. Then I looked across the field.”

Patterson, a left-handed pitcher, fielded the ball cleanly, and threw the ball to third. Dutch Rennert, third base umpire, was signaling out.

Benzinger screamed. Piniella ran from the dugout. The fans booed.

But the damage was done.

It proved to be the mistake that would unravel the Reds. Moments later, Eric Davis, the man who cost the Reds a run in the seventh inning by misjudging a fly ball, took off for third on a steal attempt. He made it easily. The trouble was that rookie Bill Bates, who was pinch-running for Oester, also decided to run. He was thrown out easily.

One pitch later, Sabo was called out trying to check his swing, and the game was over.

Only one game of the National League championship series has been played, but already, the Reds are in trouble. Big trouble. They know it. The Pirates know it.

“We’re down, we’re really down right now,” said Benzinger, the Reds’ first baseman. “It’s the toughest loss of the season without a doubt. We better snap out of it real quick, because if we don’t, this series is going to be over before we know it.”

It was a game that could haunt the Reds the entire winter. They had a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Their ace, Jose Rijo, was on the mound. Their Gold Glove outfielder, Eric Davis, was in left field.

But Rijo failed to last six innings. Davis misjudged Andy Van Slyke’s fly ball in the seventh, turning into the go-ahead run. Oester’s bunt wasn’t good enough. Bates made the mistake of running. And their entire offense was shut down after the first inning.

“This is a a tough loss, a real tough loss,” said Piniella, managing his first playoff game. “We made so many mistakes, so many crucial mistakes. What the hell are you going to do?”

Piniella stayed in his office after the defeat. Oester stayed seated in front of his locker as teammates consoled him. Rijo kept saying over and over that he let his teammates down by blowing a 3-0 lead. Bates dressed quickly and was out of the clubhouse before most reporters entered. And Davis stood in the clubhouse, answering question after question, offering no excuses.

“You hit that ball to me again,” said Davis, a three-time Gold Glove winner, “and I catch it 10 out of 10 times.”

Bates: “I got a terrible jump, a terrible jump. I never should have even ran.”

Rijo: “You make a mistake in a big game like this, and you pay for it. There’s no way I should let a lead like that get away.”

And Oester: “Everything went wrong for us. That’s a ball that Eric always catches. It’s a bunt that I always make. Jose never gives up that many runs. And Billy usually can steal in that situation.

“You figure it out.”

And now, of all times, the Reds will be facing Doug Drabek (22-6) in Game 2 of the playoffs. It’s a game they believe they have to win to survive the playoffs. If they don’t, their whole season could be crumbling upon them.

“You know, I slept like a baby last night,” Piniella said. “I bet I didn’t wake up once. Of course, the four Scotches I had helped.

“I have a feeling I won’t be able to say the same tonight.”