Andy Van Slyke had words of praise for Cincinnati`s Paul O`Neill during the Pirates` brief workout here Saturday. Players from rival clubs, more often than not, have a healthy respect for each other, so Van Slyke`s laudatory comments about O`Neill were not unusual.
It was a pivotal play for the Reds and helped blunt a budding, sixth-inning Pittsburgh rally. Van Slyke had opened with a single to deep right, stopped at second on Bobby Bonilla`s single to left and then tagged up and tried to advance on Barry Bonds` fly to O`Neill.
Play doesn`t resume here with Game 3 until Monday afternoon. This best-of-seven series is tied at 1. It figured to be close, with neither team having a decisve edge. Still, it is somewhat remarkable that each team has scored the same number of runs-five. The Reds hit a collective .175 in the first two games, the Pirates .210.
Van Slyke made it clear he expects the Pirates` bats will come alive.
Insofar as contributing, the Reds` so-called ''Nasty Boys''-the bullpen triumvirate of Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers-have dominated thus far. Together, they have worked 6 2/3 innings and have given up only one run for a combined 1.35 earned-run average.
Of the three, only Dibble appeared in both games. He came on in the ninth inning of the first game and struck out the side. In the two games, he has faced eight batters and struck out five.
Still, there appears to be some unrest on Cincinnati. Dibble has a 95-m.p.h. fastball, an intimidator reminiscent of Goose Gossage. Since the All-Star break he has 66 strikeouts in 52 innings, a remarkable ratio, above and beyond Nolan Ryan Country.
But Dibble has been expressing unhappiness because manager Lou Piniella uses him as a set-up man for closer Randy Myers. As the finisher, Myers has the glamor role and gets the most of the saves. During the regular season, Myers had 31 saves, Dibble 11.
Dibble has been engrossed in a season-long salary drive. His 1990 pay is $200,000, a boost of $115,000 from the previous year but still a pittance in these days of the multimillion-dollar player. If he doesn`t break down, Dibble eventually will get his millions. But it won`t happen until after next season when he becomes eligible for salary arbitration.
And Dibble, of course, is aware the closers, not the middlemen, make the big dough, although his case could be the exception.
The Cubs, among other teams, could use Dibble. But Marge Schott, the Cincinnati owner, isn`t likely to let him go, and certainly not while she has him at a bargain basement price.