BASEBALL PLAYOFF NOTES : Red Sox Batters Hitting the Skids

Not only are the Boston Red Sox not hitting so far in the American League playoffs, they’re really in a slump when it counts.

The Red Sox have gone 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position in losing the first two games to Oakland. Overall, Boston is batting only .177.

The powerful Athletics, meanwhile, have gotten 13 hits in each game. Of their hits, 23 are singles and three are doubles.

Manager Lou Piniella says the Cincinnati Reds’ defensive proficiency in the playoffs is no accident.

The Reds led the National League in defense over the course of the season, and Piniella figures that’s the reason they dominated the NL West.

“That’s part of the constant we have here,” Piniella said. “We’ve done that all year. Without the defensive play we’ve had, we wouldn’t have been a first-place team all year.”

Piniella tries to help his defense as much as he can.

“When I make out the lineup card, believe it or not, my first consideration isn’t offense. It’s defense,” Piniella said. “The few times I’ve gone against it this year, it’s burned us. It’s true.”

Carney Lansford, who played some of his best games while with Boston, got off to a pretty hot start again at Fenway Park.

Lansford tied a playoff record for most consecutive hits in two games with six. He went 3-for-5 in each game, helping Oakland take a 2-0 edge over Boston.

Lansford raised his career playoff average to .382, the second-highest for players with at least 50 at-bats. Mickey Rivers batted .386.

Mark McGwire, the slugging first baseman of the Athletics, knows what he’d be doing if he wasn’t playing baseball.

“I’d be a cop,” he said. “It’s been an interest of mine for a long time. It’s something different every day. They deal with a lot of bad apples, but they also do so many things to help people.

“There are so many times I’m driving on the freeway and I see somebody swerving. Obviously, they’re drunk. That’s when I wish I could put a red light on my car.”

The Reds aren’t surprised that the Pittsburgh Pirates have tried to steal a base in both playoff games. The Pirates stole 137 bases during the season, the fifth-lowest total in the league, but Piniella expected them to be aggressive on the bases in the playoffs.

“We felt they’d run,” Piniella said. “That’s one of the reasons we put (Joe) Oliver behind the plate (on Friday).