Kearns sent to Triple-A

CINCINNATI -- Austin Kearns has heard his name in trade rumors, and he's seen the multitude of clubhouse shakeups the Reds have made in the first few months of this '05 season.
So when he received the news late Saturday night that the Reds would be sending him down to Triple-A Louisville, the initial shock didn't take long to wear off.

"I was surprised," Kearns said as he packed up his belongings in the Reds' clubhouse Sunday. "But with the stuff that's happened this year, nothing surprises me anymore."

Kearns' struggles at the plate this season were certainly a surprise. After a stellar spring in which he clearly won the starting right field job over Wily Mo Pena, he was expected to have a breakout season.

Instead, he hit .224 with six homers and 25 RBIs, including just three hits in his past 36 at-bats (.083) and a .176 average with runners in scoring position.

"It just didn't come together for him," general manager Dan O'Brien said.

With numbers like those, Kearns was destined to lose his starting job when Pena came off the disabled list earlier this week.

Then Kearns lost his spot on the roster altogether. The Reds filled that spot with Louisville outfielder Kenny Kelly.

Kearns, who had recently begun working with hitting coach Chris Chambliss on backing off the plate a bit, said the organization lost confidence in him.

"I think that's something that's been going on for a while," he said. "Last year, that started early in the year. It's just been an ongoing thing. I probably put too much pressure on myself and tried too hard to prove people wrong instead of just relaxing and playing and doing what I do best."

But in a Reds clubhouse that includes four capable starting outfielders -- Kearns, Pena, Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn -- Kearns said he found it difficult not to press.

"We've got an outfield problem here," he said. "We've got guys who can play every day who are trying to establish themselves as everyday players. Even if I go down and come back, it's still going to be the same situation. It just comes to a point in everyone's career where you want to establish yourself and be in there every day. Call that selfish or anything you want, but that's just how it is."

The 25-year-old Kearns sounded like a man who wouldn't mind a change of scenery.

"It's going to be hard for this to be a positive if I stay here," he said. "Just the way some stuff has happened. If I come back [to the Reds], or if I get a chance to play somewhere else, I just want to play in the big leagues."

Wily Mo Pena / RF
Born: 01/23/82
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 215 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R

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Just as he did throughout Spring Training, O'Brien said he's not interested in shopping Kearns or any of his other outfielders. He said it's important for Kearns to get regular at-bats in the Minors to get his swing back in shape.

"Right now our only focus is to get [Kearns] back to where he should be and needs to be," O'Brien said. "That's our one and only focus."

But pardon Kearns if he's not surprised to end up somewhere new.

"I've heard my name being thrown out there all year," he said. "So we'll see what happens."

LaRue on leave: Catcher Jason LaRue was placed on the bereavement list to attend the funeral of his grandfather, Carl LaRue, in Crockett, Texas. He is expected to return to the Reds on Tuesday, and he'll be activated Wednesday.

Javier Valentin will assume the starting catching duties in LaRue's absence. The team promoted Dane Sardinha, who was batting .223 with four homers and 15 RBIs with the Bats, from Louisville to fill in as the backup.

Long time coming: Kelly has waited since 2000 to make it back to the big leagues.

His last callup came when he was with the Devil Rays in September of that season. Since that time, Kelly, a second-round pick in the 1997 draft and a former University of Miami quarterback, became a Minor League free agent and was acquired by the Reds before the 2004 season.

He was simply stellar with the Bats this season, leading the team in average (.327), runs scored (41), hits (72), triples (4) and stolen bases (17).

"I worked my butt off to get to this point, and it's finally starting to pay off," Kelly said. "This is a reward for all the hard work and all the sweat and tears I've been through. I've had a lot of ups and downs, but I haven't reached my full capability. Hopefully, this gives me an opportunity to do that."

Sign here: The Reds have signed Cuban defector and left-handed pitcher Arian Cruz to a Minor League contract. The 27-year-old Cruz established residence in Costa Rica before being signed by the club. He's awaiting the necessary visa connections to pitch in the States.

Once that paperwork is complete, O'Brien said he expects Cruz to report to either Louisville or Double-A Chattanooga.

"We feel he's fairly advanced," O'Brien said. "He's a fairly polished pitcher."

In other signing news, the Reds have finished contract talks with several of their draft picks, but an official bulk announcement of those signings isn't expected until early this week.

Reds report: Pena and Ryan Freel remained out of the starting lineup Sunday. Both are day-to-day with knee injuries. ... Griffey's season-high 13-game hitting streak was snapped Saturday. ... Sean Casey has not struck out in his past 65 plate appearances, the longest current stretch in the Majors. ... Reds Hall of Famer Joe Nuxhall will rejoin Marty Brennaman in the booth for 700 WLW's broadcasts of Monday and Wednesday's games at Fenway Park.

On deck: The Reds will be heading to Boston for the first time since the 1975 World Series for a three-game Interleague set with the Red Sox. Left-hander Eric Milton (3-7, 7.46 ERA) will go up against right-hander Matt Clement (6-1, 3.79).

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Reds roughed up in return to Fenway

BOSTON -- We'll start with the good news, because Eric Milton is probably in need of something along those lines right about now.
Milton didn't allow any home runs on Monday night.

There. That's the good news.

The bad news for Milton and the Reds is the left-hander gave up plenty of other hits in his team's 10-3 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Milton (3-8, 7.97 ERA) was beat up for nine runs on 11 hits over the course of 5 2/3 innings, giving the Reds little chance of coming up with a victory in their first game at Fenway since the '75 World Series.

And yet, for all his struggles, the consensus in the Reds' clubhouse was that Milton made a step in the right direction.

"I thought he pitched better," manager Dave Miley said. "I really did. It looked like he made some strides. The numbers don't show it, but I thought he threw the ball better."

Two plays led Miley to that belief. In the third inning, Milton gave up a two-run double to Edgar Renteria that was misplayed by center fielder Ryan Freel. And in the fourth, catcher Javier Valentin threw the ball away when trying to throw it back to Milton, allowing Manny Ramirez to move from second to third and opening the door to a three-run inning for the Red Sox.

Milton said he felt better, and Miley and Valentin both said he looked better. Still, calling an outing in which Milton's already robust ERA jumped half a point "better" was a tough sell, and Milton knew it.

"I've been busting my [rear end] trying to get out of this [funk], and it's not working," Milton said. "I felt good with the [mechanical] changes we made, and I felt pretty strong. But again, it didn't work out."

When he briskly retired the first seven batters he faced, Milton seemed to have made progress. The bulky 7.46 ERA he brought to this outing looked as if it might drop a few pounds in the sticky Boston humidity.

Then came the familiar sound of ball meeting bat.

Jay Payton began the onslaught with a one-out double off Milton in the third. Johnny Damon followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and Renteria knocked them both in with the two-out double that made it 2-0. Freel broke in a little too quickly on the play, and the ball sped past him.

"If we do catch it, it's a 0-0 game and things are different," Miley said.

But the Reds' deficit kept growing in the fourth, when Milton served up RBI hits to Jason Veritek, Bill Mueller and Damon. Valentin's throwing error forced the infield to play in with Ramirez on third, which certainly didn't aid Milton's cause.

"You can't blame Javy," Milton said. "There was a lot of perspiration on the ball. I know the ball slipped out of my hand a few times."

This game was a study in contrast between Milton and Boston right-hander Matt Clement. The Reds tried to woo both free agent pitchers this offseason, and the results of those courtships played out in ugly fashion in this matchup.

By the time the Reds finally put two across against Clement in the fifth with Felipe Lopez's RBI triple and ensuing run scored on Rich Aurilia's sacrifice fly, the Red Sox were in a groove against Milton that couldn't be stopped.

That groove led to a brutal sixth inning that Milton was unable to survive. He let the Sox load the bases for David Ortiz, who lofted a perfectly placed single to center field to bring in two runs and send Milton to the dugout.

And while Milton didn't serve up any home runs, his replacement, Matt Belisle did. Ramirez stepped up and ripped a three-run home run to right that all but ended the drama.

Belisle could hardly be blamed for the homer, though, for Wily Mo Pena had the ball in his glove before it bounced into the seats.

Still, the details of anything that transpired after Milton left the mound barely mattered, because Milton's continued troubles on the mound were too much for the Reds to overcome.

That Milton felt "better" and looked "better" did nothing to change the result.

"I felt great tonight," the southpaw said. "I felt like I had it, and it didn't work out. I thought I would have turned things around by now. Again, I felt better tonight, but it didn't turn out the way I wanted."

He sounded like a man who could use some good news.

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Wilson set for shoulder surgery

BOSTON -- Paul Wilson hates knives. He hates doctors. He hates hospitals. And he hates surgery.
But in his pro career, the 32-year-old Wilson has suffered two injuries in which he wasn't able to avoid any of those things. And he was unable to avoid them a third time this season.

The right shoulder tendinitis that landed Wilson on the disabled list on May 25 will now land him on the operating table. Wilson will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder on Friday.

Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the Reds medical director, will perform the surgery. He said it was the only option remaining with Wilson's shoulder.

"He tried to fight through it, and we shut him down then rehabbed him pretty hard the last couple weeks," Kremchek said. "But he's hit a wall. He just hasn't been able to get over the hump. We had him throw, we rehabbed him, stretched him, we've done everything. The last thing you want to do is have surgery on his shoulder, but he's not helping the team, and he's not helping himself. We just had to do what's best for the Reds organization and Paul Wilson."

What Kremchek will do is look to see if Wilson, who had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder in 1996 and surgery on his elbow in 1999, has a torn labrum or some other injury that's not showing up on an MRI.

"You don't know if the degenerative process has caught up with him," Kremchek said. "It's time to be more aggressive. You're able to go in there and look at things you would never pick up on an MRI. If it's repairing a torn labrum, that's what we'll do. If it's just cleaning it out, that's what we'll do."

Because he's not sure what the surgery will uncover, Kremchek said he can't say for certain how long Wilson, the Reds' Opening Day starter, will be out.

Wilson struggled on the mound all season, going 1-5 with a 7.77 ERA in nine starts. The velocity on his fastball was noticeably lower his last few times out.

When the Reds first announced that Wilson had shoulder tendinitis last month, he admitted he pitched through the pain for several weeks, which might have worsened his condition.

"I think Paul's biggest issue is he didn't want to let his teammates down," Kremchek said. "He's a leader, and he feels strongly about his teammates. As much as he hates doctors and hospitals, he hates letting his teammates down more. But he realizes this is what's best for the organization."

Soaking in Fenway: Todd Coffey was out jogging in left field at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon when a tour group filed into the stands.

"I was out there running, but I was listening to the tour guide," Coffey said with a laugh.

With the Reds playing in Boston for the first time since the '75 World Series, some of the younger Reds players, who had never been to the historic park, didn't try to hide their appreciation of the unique surroundings.

"Just the feeling you get when you come through the tunnel, just like Chicago, and you think about all the players who have come through there before," Matt Belisle said. "It's awesome."

A few others weren't quite as inspired. Adam Dunn shrugged when asked what his impressions of the park were.

"Baseball's baseball, wherever you play," he said. "I don't get into that [historical] stuff."

But will Dunn be trying to put one the other way, over the Green Monster?

"I've been trying to put one the other way for a month," he said with a smile. "I can't do it anymore. I used to be able to do it. Maybe tonight."

Put me in, coach: After manager Dave Miley posted Monday's lineup, in which Ken Griffey Jr. was listed as the designated hitter, Griffey had a little fun lobbying to play in the field.

"This is the first time the Reds have played here in 30 years, and there's not going to be a Griffey in the outfield?" Junior said with a laugh.

Third base coach Mark Berry jokingly suggested Griffey play his dad's old position in right -- a treacherous spot in Fenway. Griffey wasn't all that excited about that proposition.

Miley, meanwhile, didn't budge. He said Sunday that he expects to "spread the wealth" when it comes to deciding who will play DH in each of these three games under American League rules.

Hancock watch: Josh Hancock struggled again in his second rehab outing with Triple-A Louisville, though not to the extent of his first.

In an 11-2 loss to Buffalo, Hancock gave up four runs on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over five innings.

Bong gone: Left-hander Jung Bong made his first rehab appearance on Monday night, and he'll immediately begin rehabbing again.

Bong fractured his left hand on a comebacker during his outing with Class A Sarasota. He's expected to miss three to six weeks.

Bong, who's been on the DL all season following shoulder surgery last fall, had given up three runs, two of which were earned, on four hits with a walk and a strikeout in four innings before suffering the injury.

Reds report: Legendary broadcaster Joe Nuxhall was back in the booth on 700 WLW's broadcast of Monday's game. He'll also be pairing with Marty Brennaman on Wednesday. ... Dane Sardinha, who bats right-handed, is expected to make his first start at catcher on Tuesday against left-hander David Wells. Sardinha is with the club until Wednesday, when Jason LaRue is expected to be activated from the bereavement list. ... Ryan Freel and Wily Mo Pena both returned to the starting lineup from knee injuries on Monday. ... Sean Casey has not struck out in his last 70 plate appearances, the longest such streak in the big leagues this season. ... The Reds have scored at least 10 runs in four of their last five games and have homered in each of the last nine games.

On deck: The Reds and Red Sox continue their Interleague series with Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. ET game at Fenway Park. Right-hander Luke Hudson (1-0, 7.50 ERA) will go up against left-hander David Wells (4-4, 5.07).

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Batting Around with Ryan Freel

The Vitals: 5-10, 179
DOB: March 8, 1976 in: Jacksonville, FL

Childhood Heroes: "No, I didn't have any. (Favorite players as a kid?) Gary Carter and Craig Biggio."

Nicknames: "They used to call me Freaky -- Freaky Freel."

Hobbies/Interests: "I love fishing. And I love hunting."

Favorite Movies: "Hmmm, good one ... I've got a lot of them. I loved 'The Sixth Sense.' Seeing that the first time, that was awesome."

Favorite TV Shows: "I don't watch a lot of TV."

Musical Tastes: "I like 50 Cent."

Early Baseball Memory: "Probably when I got drafted, I was excited. (Freel was selected by Toronto in the 10th round of the June 1995 First-Year Player Draft.)"

First Job: "I used to work at a flea market in Jacksonville when I was a kid, eight or nine. Just selling stuff, working with people at the flea market."

First Car: "I had an Isuzu Pup. (Color?) Maroon and tan."

Pre-Game Feeling: "I'm always nervous. ... I guess go out there and perform well to help the team win."

Favorite Meal: "I love lobster."

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: "Probably Lucky Charms."

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Hmmm, chocolate chip. No, raspberry chip."

Greatest Sports Moment: "Probably making it to the big leagues. My first game I played (with Toronto) I was 1-for-4. I got a hit in my first at-bat. Probably that -- getting my first hit out of the way (vs. Brian Rekar of Tampa Bay in 2001)."

Most Painful Moment: "Probably playing this year, as a team. It stinks when you lose."

Favorite Uniforms: "Old school last year -- '76 I think. Those were sweet."

Favorite Ballpark(s): "I like either Houston or St. Louis."

Closest Baseball Friend(s): "Probably Sean Casey."

Funniest Player Encountered: "Kent Mercker. He's just very witty, funny. Comes out with some funny stuff all the time."

Toughest Competitors: "Probably facing Randy Johnson."

Funny Baseball Memory: "Last year -- I lead off the inning and I struck out. And I put my helmet and my bat down, thinking it was three outs. Leading off the inning [smiles]."

Embarrassing Baseball Moment: "That was it right there."

Favorite Vacation Spot: "I like Aruba. I had a good time in Aruba."

Favorite Athletes To Watch: "I liked watching Pete Rose. (Current?) I like watching Jim Edmonds. He's fun. (NBA?) I don't really care about it. I like college basketball. (NFL?) Jacksonville Jaguars. (Boxing?) I liked Roy Jones in his prime. (Tennis?) Andy Roddick. Maria Sharapova -- she's fun to watch. (Golf?) David Duval -- represents Jacksonville. (Auto racing?) Dale Earnhardt Jr. I like Dale."

People Qualities Most Admired: "Just being good people. Just being genuine and treating people with respect.

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Reds' bats frozen on chilly Boston night

BOSTON -- The Reds did make some contact off David Wells on Tuesday night.
Any Fenway Park patrons who came up with foul balls have the souvenirs to prove it.

"Once [Wells] did leave [his pitches] out over the middle, we hit him pretty well," Rich Aurilia said. "But we hit them off someone's head in the stands."

They don't give out runs for such bean balls, and they don't give out wins to teams that notch just one hit over the course of a night.

So when the Reds managed but a single base hit -- literally, a single base hit, as in Ryan Freel's sixth-inning single -- off Wells and the Red Sox on Tuesday night, their 7-0 loss at Fenway was signed, sealed and delivered.

One is a lonely number, and the Reds were a lonely team on this night.

They were also a team with no shortage of praise for the left-handed Wells (5-4), whose seven innings of work were a study in how to avoid keeping the basepaths at his historic home park from becoming a tourist trap.

"Sometimes you've got to tip your hat," a hatless Freel said. "And my hat is tipped."

The scales were not tipped in right-hander Luke Hudson's favor. With Wells holding the Reds hitless through 5 2/3 innings, Hudson was asked to be nothing short of perfect in just his second big-league start of the season and just his third competitive outing.

It wasn't going to happen.

Hudson (1-1) ran into trouble in the second inning, walking two batters and letting the Sox load the bases on Jason Varitek's single. When Bill Mueller ripped a two-run single and Johnny Damon threw in an RBI double to make it 3-0, the Reds were already on the path to their 11th loss in their last 12 road games.

"It's just the old saying that walks will kill you," Hudson said. "The guys I walked ended up scoring. In that second inning, a couple batters slipped away and I fell out of that little groove. It came back to haunt me."

But it was Wells who haunted the Reds and pounded the outside corners.

By taking advantage of an often-generous outside strike zone, Wells seemed to have no trouble keeping the ball down and away.

"If he's getting a pitch, he's going to keep throwing it as long as they're calling it," said Aurilia, who was teammates with Wells in San Diego for the second half of last season. "That's the sign of a smart and a good pitcher."

Wells' only mistake through 5 2/3 innings was when he plunked Sean Casey in the fourth. A blink of an eye -- or, at the least, a trip to the hot-dog stand -- was enough for one to miss the Reds' half of an inning.

But just when it seemed like Wells might be on the way to a career highlight similar to his '98 perfect game with the Yankees, along came Freel in the sixth. He slapped Wells' 0-2 sinker into shallow right for the Reds' lone hit on this chilly Boston night.

Ryan Freel / CF
Born: 03/08/76
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 180 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R

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"I dove in and kind of cheated on that pitch," Freel said. "I was able to get some wood on it. I was looking for the outside pitch."

By that point, Hudson's pitching was over for the night. Though the right-hander settled in nicely following that rough second inning, manager Dave Miley pulled him after just five innings and 81 pitches, citing the cold air and a conservative pitch count as the reasons why.

"Even on a warmer night, he probably would have only went out there for one more inning," Miley said. "We're trying to keep him around the century mark [in terms of pitch count] right now."

But it really didn't matter who Miley had on the mound, because Wells was untouchable.

"It was the David Wells show," Miley said. "He was right on us, and we didn't have a lot of good passes at him. He had good movement, spotting the ball everywhere."

After Ryan Wagner let two runs across in the sixth and Kent Mercker served up another pair in the seventh, the Reds went down in order against Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke, sealing their first one-hit performance since a 3-0 loss to the Marlins on May 26, 2004.

So while bad pitching is the main culprit behind the Reds' 6-23 road record this season, good pitching -- namely, Wells' pitching -- was the reason for this latest defeat.

"Sometimes you've got to give the opposing pitcher credit," Miley said. "As well as we were swinging the bats coming in, sometimes you've got to give the opposing guys credit."

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Sardinha gets first ML start

BOSTON -- Dane Sardinha would have been nervous enough to be making his first Major League start in any other ballpark.
But tossing in the fact that the start was coming in Fenway Park on Tuesday night didn't help matters much.

"That's what makes me a little more nervous, is the atmosphere here," Sardinha said before the game, in which he started at catcher and batted ninth. "They'll probably be sold out here tonight, and I don't think I've ever played in front of a sold-out crowd before."

Sardinha was just going to try to enjoy and make the best of the experience, because he knows he's bound for Triple-A Louisville come Wednesday.

Jason LaRue, who was in Crockett, Texas, for the funeral of his grandfather, will be returning from the bereavement list, and Sardinha, a right-handed hitter who got the start because left-hander David Wells was on the mound for Boston, will be back with the Bats.

"I know I'm just filling in, and hopefully everything's OK with [LaRue's] family," Sardinha said. "I've just got to try to come up with some big hits."

Sardinha, who made one previous Major League appearance as a pinch-hitter for an injured LaRue on Sept. 6, 2003, is hitting .223 with four homers and 15 RBIs with Louisville this season.

"It's been all right, off an on," he said. "But I've been struggling lately."

Regardless, Sardinha enjoyed his time in the big leagues, even if it was just for a few fleeting days.

Casey grieves: Sean Casey was in Tuesday's lineup as the designated hitter. Distracted by a death in the family, Casey asked manager Dave Miley to give him the day off from the field.

Casey will be away from the team Wednesday and Thursday to attend the funeral.

Because of the sudden and unexpected death, Casey will be unable to make a scheduled appearance at St. Patrick Parish in Lawrence, Mass., on Wednesday afternoon.

Casey and Rev. Paul O'Brien have teamed up to form the "Labels Are For Jars" program, which is helping to raise funds for the Cor Unum Meal Center in Lawrence, the poorest city in Massachusetts and one of the poorest cities in the United States.

More information on the program can be found at www.labelsareforjars.org.

Fisk-y business: Remember Carlton Fisk? You know, the Red Sox catcher who hit the dramatic 12th-inning home run off the left-field foul pole at Fenway Park to force Game 7 against the Reds in the '75 World Series?

Well, of course you remember the Hall of Famer, though the Red Sox have apparently been successful in blocking the result of that Series from their minds.

The Sox dedicated the foul pole in Fisk's honor before Monday's game. Following the ceremony, Fisk was asked if he agreed with the sentiment that the '75 Series was perhaps the best in the history of the game. He was non-committal, though he did offer this nugget:

"We won that Series three games to four," he joked.

In some ways, Fisk is right. The highlight of him coaxing the ball to stay fair is shown on ESPN enough to make anyone who doesn't know better believe the Sox went on to win that Series.

Fisk was asked if he's ever crossed paths with Pat Darcy, the Reds reliever who gave up that big home run.

"I saw him last year, as a matter of fact," Fisk said. "We talked about our grandkids. It was fun."

Perhaps they talked about the Series result, too.

Sign me up: The Reds have signed 18 of their draft picks, including No. 1 pick Jay Bruce.

The club assigned 13 of the players to the rookie team in Billings, Mont.: Right-hander Jeff Stevens (6th round), outfielder Brandon Roberts (7th), right-hander Bo Lanier (10th), right-hander Carlos Fisher (11th), shortstop Adam Rosales (12th), right-hander Logan Ondrusek (13th), right-hander Jason Vecchio (16th), left-hander David Wilson (17th), first baseman Ben Mummy (20th), catcher Ben Blumenthal (21st), left-hander James Morris (23rd), catcher Mark Rodriguez (30th), catcher Chris Denove (32nd).

The other five players, including Bruce, will head to the Gulf Coast League team in Sarasota, Fla. They are: Shortstop Mike Jones (8th), outfielder Taylor Johnson (25th), right-hander Russell Haltiwanger (29th) and outfielder Matt Garrett (47th).

Reds report: With Casey off the field Tuesday, Adam Dunn filled in at first base, Ryan Freel took over the left-field spot and Rich Aurilia remained at second base. ... Ken Griffey Jr.'s eight career home runs off Wells are his most against any pitcher in baseball. ... Felipe Lopez leads all National League shortstops in home runs (10), RBIs (36) and slugging percentage (.562). ... The Reds' six-game road losing streak is the longest of the season and the longest since a nine-game skid from April 21-28, 2001.

Down on the farm: Right-hander Elizardo Ramirez allowed just one unearned run on four hits in four innings, and right-hander Tom Shearn (4-3) picked up the win in relief despite giving up two runs over two innings, as the Bats beat Buffalo, 4-3, on Monday. Chris Denorfia extended his hitting streak to eight games by going 2-for-3 with a solo home run. ... Left-hander Ben Kozlowski (4-1) continued his strong season with Double-A Chattanooga, giving up three runs on six hits over seven innings to get the 6-4 win over Mississippi on Monday. ... Jung Keun Bong fractured his left hand on a line drive during his first outing with Class A Sarasota on Monday. Bong, who had just come back from left shoulder surgery, is expected to miss another three to six weeks because of the hand injury.

On deck: The Reds and Red Sox wrap up their Interleague matchup Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. Right-hander Aaron Harang (4-4, 3.52 ERA) will go up against right-hander Bronson Arroyo (4-3, 4.54).

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Reds stymied in series finale

BOSTON -- The Reds brought their cameras to snap pictures of historic Fenway Park.
But they didn't bring their bats.

A 6-1 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday night wrapped up a three-game set in which the Reds were punchless at the plate and swept out of Beantown in their first return to the city since the '75 World Series.

Over the course of the series, the Reds managed just four runs on 15 hits to Boston's 23 runs on 36 hits. They didn't notch a single RBI in either of the last two games.

"We scored four runs in three games," manager Dave Miley said. "That's not necessarily a good thing."

Well, no. Not necessarily.

The Reds weren't necessarily expecting such a poor performance at the plate following a six-game homestand that saw them average 9.5 runs per game.

"We felt we were swinging the bats well coming in here," Joe Randa said. "It's kind of hard to put anything together when they're throwing strike one and keeping you off-balance."

This series was anything but balanced. The Red Sox never trailed in any of the three games, and the Reds never seemed to be in contention.

Though the offense could certainly shoulder the majority of the blame for that fact, the pitching staff didn't help matters much.

Even Aaron Harang, who's been nothing short of the Reds' ace all season, didn't have it under the Fenway lights. The 4 2/3 innings on Wednesday amounted to his shortest outing of '05. But it was long enough to put the Reds in a hole they would never climb out of.

Facing right-hander Bronson Arroyo, the Reds picked up right where they left off the previous night. They didn't repeat their one-hit wonder performance of a night before, but they did go hitless until two outs had passed in the third, when Luis Lopez finally lofted a single off the Green Monster.

That was one of only three Reds hits the Monster's manual scoreboard operator was required to post through six innings.

"Arroyo was on top of his game," Randa said. "He was throwing strikes on both sides of the plate. When a pitcher's able to throw both pitches -- an offspeed pitch and a fastball -- for strikes, it definitely keeps you off-balance. We didn't generate much."

And while the bats were flailing away unsuccessfully at Arroyo's pitches, the Red Sox were battering Harang (4-5).

Harang gave up five runs on nine hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. The back-to-back doubles he served up to Edgar Renteria and David Ortiz in the third gave the Sox their first run, but he really let them come alive in a four-run fifth that knocked him out of the game.

Johnny Damon and Renteria jumpstarted that inning with consecutive singles, the latter of which was fumbled by right fielder Wily Mo Pena. Ortiz knocked both runners in with a double off the Monster.

When Manny Ramirez doubled and Kevin Millar drew a one-out walk to load the bases, it was clear Harang was struggling.

"I wasn't on tonight," the right-hander said. "I was leaving pitches up. I didn't get ahead early, so I was pitching behind to an offense that thrives on situations where a pitcher's behind in the count."

Bill Mueller thrived on that situation when he stepped up and drove in another pair of runs with a single over the head of second baseman Ryan Freel to make it 5-0. That was it for Harang, and that was basically it for the Reds, too.

They continued to go down without much incident as the game wore on. When Ken Griffey Jr. crossed the plate on a wild pitch by Arroyo (5-3) in the seventh, it was the first run scored by the Reds in 16 innings of play.

They were put out of their misery by reliever Keith Foulke in the ninth. And when Jason LaRue struck out swinging to make the final out and lost control of his bat in the process, it was a fitting ending to the series.

"You go four or five days where you swing the bats well, and three days here, where we scored four runs," Miley said. "They've got some good pitching. I guess we just have to make better adjustments."

Indeed, because any snapshots taken from this road trip were not worth saving for the scrapbook.

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Road most unwelcome to Reds

BOSTON -- Ken Griffey Jr. had a solution for the Reds' road woes.
"Maybe we'll just play in our white uniforms the rest of the way," he said.

Hey, whatever works. The Reds would probably be willing to try just about anything right now.

With a 6-23 road record entering Wednesday night's game at Fenway Park, the Reds are on pace to finish 17-64, which would establish new franchise single-season records for most road losses (57 in 1931) and lowest road winning percentage (.260 in 1931).

Oh, and for the record, the Reds are a franchise that's been around for quite a while.

The stats tell the story of the Reds' weary travels, as they are scoring 1.7 runs per game less on the road (4.1 runs per game) than at home (5.8).

The pitching staff doesn't have much of an ERA to brag about at home (5.03), but on the road, it's been even more of a struggle, as they've compiled an ERA of 6.30.

So it's not as if the Reds can point to one factor as the culprit behind their struggles away from Great American Ball Park.

"As a whole, we just haven't played well on the road," reliever Ryan Wagner said. "Obviously, it's always easier back home. But as a team, there hasn't been one thing we've done extremely well on the road. I don't know how you go about fixing something like that, but we've just got to focus on doing the same thing no matter where we're at."

Wagner should know as well as anybody the difference between the road and home. At home, he's 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA. On the road, he's 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA.

"I've had a lot of bad luck on the road," the 22-year-old reliever said. "I'm sure a lot of those earned runs have been bad luck. You can't take them away, but if you did, things would be different. You just have to roll with the punches."

Every time the Reds have strutted out from the corner after an encouraging homestand, such as the 5-1 spurt they rattled off at Great American last week, they've been punched back down to the canvas when visiting another city.

Their current seven-game losing streak on the road is the longest of the season and the longest by a Reds team since a nine-game skid from April 12-28, 2001.

"It's not just one thing or another," Griffey said. "I think it's a confidence at home that's a lot different than on the road."

It wasn't all that long ago that the Reds were known as the "Big Road Machine." Three times since 1999, they have compiled a better record on the road than at home. In two other seasons in that stretch, the home record has been better by just a single game.

This Reds team, which is 20-15 at home, isn't heading down a similar path.

Griffey was asked if the reason could be that Great American Ball Park's dimensions are so well-suited for the Reds' power hitters, but he shrugged off that last-resort theory. The Major Leagues, after all, aren't without other hitter-friendly parks these days.

"As long as it isn't the Polo Grounds, it's going to be a hitter-friendly park," Griffey said with a laugh.

Few parks have been friendly to the Reds this season.

Aurilia banged up: Rich Aurilia was scratched from Wednesday's lineup when he reported to Fenway feeling the effects of Tuesday night's game.

Aurilia made a diving stop of a Johnny Damon grounder in the bottom of the fifth inning. When he woke up on Wednesday, his right hip was bothering him.

"I just jammed something up," he said. "When I woke up, I was pretty stiff and sore. Without this turning into a week or two-week thing, I'll just take the day off, especially with the cold weather."

Temperatures in the Boston area were 50 degrees and falling on Wednesday, just two days after the Reds and Red Sox played a night game in 90-degree heat.

With Aurilia out of the lineup and Sean Casey away from the team to attend a family funeral, Joe Randa was in as the designated hitter, Luis Lopez played third, Ryan Freel returned to second, Dunn manned first and Jacob Cruz started in left field.

LaRue returns: Catcher Jason LaRue was back in the starting lineup after being away from the team for three days to attend the funeral of his grandfather in Crockett, Texas.

Dane Sardinha, who went 0-for-3 in his first Major League start Tuesday night, was optioned back to Triple-A Louisville.

What's this Monster thing, anyway? Cruz didn't seem to be too worried about playing left field in Fenway.

Or maybe he was.

"How hard could it be?" he said with a smile, before adding, "Wait, did I just say that out loud and jinx myself?"

Down on the farm: Outfielder Austin Kearns, who was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday, is expected to report to his new team on Thursday. Kearns took advantage of the 72-hour grace period he had before reporting. The Bats were off on Wednesday. ... Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI in Louisville's 6-1 win over Buffalo on Tuesday. He's batting .295 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs this season. ... Ramon Ortiz is with the big-league club, but he still managed to take a loss with Class A Sarasota on Tuesday. The Reds lost, 6-4, in the continuation of an April 26 game against Tampa, which was suspended by rain. Ortiz had started that game in a rehab assignment and given up four runs over three innings.

On deck: The Reds return to home, sweet home to begin a four-game set with the Braves on Thursday. Left-hander Brandon Claussen (3-3, 3.94 ERA) will face right-hander John Smoltz (5-5, 3.22 ERA).

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Pair of home runs not enough for Reds

CINCINNATI -- The offense is asking the pitching staff to be perfect, and the pitching staff is asking the offense to show a little life.
Negotiations between the Reds' two sides are at a standstill these days.

What's not at a standstill is the Reds' losing streak, which grew to four games with Thursday night's 5-2 loss to the Braves in front of 23,362 at Great American Ball Park.

Brandon Claussen fought an uphill battle in each of his 5 2/3 innings of work, and the offense, save for a pair of solo home runs from Joe Randa and Adam Dunn, did little to counter against John Smoltz.

You can take the team out of Fenway, but you can't take the Fenway funk out of the team. The Reds struggled just as much in their home environment as they did during the three-game sweep in Boston this week.

"Basically, that's how it's been the last four games," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "We've been falling behind early to some good pitchers."

The Reds were behind early -- very early -- in this one when Claussen (3-4) gave up a home run to leadoff man Rafael Furcal on the fourth pitch of the game. Toss in a single by Marcus Giles, a double by Andruw Jones and a sacrifice fly from Andy Marte, and the Reds found themselves in a 2-0 hole before their first at-bat.

A tone had been established for Claussen's brief outing, in which he let the leadoff hitter either homer or reach base in each inning he pitched.

"I didn't have one easy inning out there," he said. "My back was up against the wall."

So was the collective back of the Reds. And that wall wasn't budging with Smoltz (6-5) on the mound.

His eight innings of work, in which he gave up just two runs on four hits with no walks and nine strikeouts, were a simple case of domination of a club dealing with a lumber shortage.

"We've been facing guys who are throwing the ball well," Dunn said. "When [Smoltz] is locating all his pitches like he was tonight, it's tough. It seems like the last four games, we've struggled offensively and the pitchers have been on their game."

Even when Smoltz made his first mistake in the fourth -- a 1-2 pitch left over the middle for Randa that resulted in a solo home run to right-center -- his offense was ready to counter.

Brandon Claussen / P
Born: 05/01/79
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: L

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This time around, it was Giles who led off an inning with a homer off Claussen, sending the left-hander's first pitch of the fifth into the right-field seats to make it 3-1.

Still, for all his troubles at the outset of each inning, Claussen did pitch his way out of some jams. He also struck out a career-high nine batters. But the combination of those two feats ran his pitch count up to 107 midway through the sixth.

Claussen said that count wasn't aided by home plate umpire Jerry Meals.

"The outer half of the plate was taken away from me," Claussen said. "I don't throw 95 mph, and if they don't give me the outer half, that's like fighting with one arm behind my back. So I had to pitch a different ballgame and start challenging guys on the other half. And if you pitch in and you don't get it in there, they're going to hit the ball."

The Braves didn't have any trouble hitting the ball against reliever Matt Belisle, either. They also didn't have any trouble working the basepaths against the young right-hander.

Julio Franco got on board in the seventh with a leadoff single against Belisle, then proceeded to steal second and third base. That made for an easy RBI double for Johnny Estrada later in the inning.

It was the first time since July 17, 1994, that the 46-year-old Franco stole two bases in a game. Belisle was all of 14 years old that last time.

Miley, to say the least, wasn't pleased with what he saw.

Adam Dunn / LF
Born: 11/09/79
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 240 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: R

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"Basically, [Belisle] fell asleep," Miley said. "He was in one-look mode, and Mr. Franco took advantage of it."

The 43-year-old Miley showed respect of his elders with that remark. But this game and the three that preceded it had to make him feel older than he is.

If home runs carried additional worth for length, perhaps Dunn's 455-foot solo blast over the center-field batter's eye would have brought the Reds back in this one.

"It's only four games, but it is frustrating," Dunn said of the losing skid. "Especially with the way we put up runs before that."

The Reds aren't putting up many runs these days, and the pitching staff isn't doing its part, either. Perhaps both sides are in need of a change in bargaining stance.

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Wilson preparing for the news

CINCINNATI -- Paul Wilson emerged from the trainer's room, and it was very much like seeing a ghost.
The veteran right-hander hadn't spoken with reporters since going on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis on May 25.

But here he was Thursday, though the circumstances that led to this impromptu session with the press weren't exactly what Wilson was hoping for. Wilson was one day away from going under the knife for exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder -- the second shoulder surgery and third surgery overall in his professional career.

He admitted it's an awful feeling.

"This isn't helping the team at all," he said. "It isn't helping me at all, either. But it's the next step, and we have to figure out what's going on."

Wilson and the Reds' trainers have been perplexed by his injury, to this point. It began when he pitched with a little bit of pain his last few times on the mound, but it's escalated into something that might be much more serious.

Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the team's medical director, said earlier this week that the surgery will reveal if Wilson has a torn labrum -- the same injury he had in 1996 -- or degeneration in his shoulder.

Because the exact injury hasn't been revealed through MRIs, the Reds won't know until after the surgery how long to expect Wilson to be on the sidelines.

But Wilson, who went 1-5 with a 7.77 ERA in nine starts this season, didn't sound optimistic about a return this year.

"It's the worst," he said. "Not only am I having surgery, but my season's done. Ballplayers have routines. We do things every day to keep us sane."

And Wilson was losing his sanity throughout a slow and painful rehab process that didn't seem to be going anywhere. He agreed with Kremchek's assessment that the team did everything possible to avoid surgery, but it turned out to be inevitable.

"We did everything known to man," Wilson said. "All the rehab we did in the past went backward."

Wilson, the Reds' Opening Day starter this year, said it feels as though someone is "grabbing" him when he tries to throw.

Paul Wilson / P
Born: 03/28/73
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 215 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R

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"It came on real fast," he said.

Still, he felt it coming the last couple weeks he pitched this season.

"I had to go out there and get it done with what I had," he said. "It wasn't working. I can't do what I'm not physically capable of doing. All I end up doing is hurting the team and hurting me."

So did he have any regrets about pitching through the pain and potentially worsening his condition those last few starts?

"I had to at least try, you know?" he said.

Now he'll try the surgical route to get back to form.

"Whatever's broke, fix it," he said.

Feeling better now: Rich Aurilia remained out of the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the Braves with soreness in his right hip, though he said he felt "89 percent" better than he did a day earlier.

While that was literally an odd number to throw out, Aurilia was happy to report it.

"It's a little tender, but it's a lot better than what it was," he said. "I pretty much assume I'm available."

Still, manager Dave Miley opted to give Aurilia, who's hitting .387 in 37 at-bats this month, another day off.

Ken Griffey / CF
Born: 11/21/69
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 205 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: L

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Reds report: The Braves put right-hander Tim Hudson, who was Saturday's scheduled starter, on the DL with a strained left oblique. Right-hander Jorge Sosa will start in his place against the Reds. ... June 16 is one of only 14 calendar days from March 31-Oct. 3 on which Ken Griffey Jr. has not hit a home run in his career. ... The Reds rank fourth in the Majors and second in the National League with 81 home runs this season. ... First base coach Randy Whisler celebrated his 43rd birthday on Thursday.

Sign here: The Reds announced the signing of four more draft picks.

Second baseman Michael De Jesus (15th round), shortstop Eric Eymann (19th) and left-hander Brandon Camardese (34th) will head to the club's rookie team in Billings, Mont. Third baseman Angel Colon (35th) will play for the Gulf Coast League Reds in Sarasota, Fla.

The Reds have now signed 22 of their 50 picks.

Down on the farm: Austin Kearns was scheduled to begin play with Triple-A Louisville in Durham on Thursday night. ... Right-hander Josh Hall (2-1) allowed three hits over six scoreless innings to get the victory in Double-A Chattanooga's 9-0 win at Mississippi on Wednesday. ... Ben Himes' RBI single produced the go-ahead run in Class A Sarasota's 6-4, 10-inning win over Tampa on Wednesday. Joel Barreto (2-0) won with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. ... Bobby Mosby smacked a two-run double to snap a 5-5 tie in the 12th, as Class A Dayton beat South Bend, 7-5, on Wednesday. Homer Bailey started for the Dragons and gave up three runs, two of which were earned, on three hits over three innings.

On deck: The Reds and Braves continue their four-game set with Friday's 7:10 p.m. ET game. Right-hander Ramon Ortiz (2-4, 6.10 ERA) will start against left-hander Horacio Ramirez (4-4, 5.20 ERA).

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Special group convenes in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI -- Their paths had crossed countless times before, but Friday's meeting at Great American Ball Park had special significance for Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Ken Griffey Jr.
For this otherwise nondescript Interleague game between the Orioles and Reds carried with it a touch of history. It marked the first time three members of the 500-home run club appeared in the same game.

"It's a pretty neat thing, once you think about it," Palmeiro said.

Griffey was thinking about it beforehand. He declined to talk to reporters about the unique situation until after the game was completed out of fear of jinxing anything.

Last year, Griffey heard all the talk about a potential National League outfield of himself, Sosa and Barry Bonds in the All-Star Game. But his hamstring injury put the kibosh on that dream scenario.

"I'm superstitious," Griffey said after Friday's game, which the Orioles took by a 4-3 count. "Most people have no idea how bad I am. I wasn't going to ruin it by talking to [reporters] beforehand. But it's over with, it's done. And it was fun."

Griffey's fun on this night included an eighth-inning solo home run off John Parrish that brought his career total to 511, tying him with Mel Ott for 18th on the all-time list.

Sosa and Palmeiro, meanwhile, went homerless. Sosa is in seventh place with 580 home runs, while Palmeiro stands in 10th place with 559.

The three sluggers have combined for 1,650 home runs and 4,836 RBIs in their illustrious careers.

This night might have been a mere footnote on those careers, but it was still appreciated by the group as something special.

"I've faced them before," Griffey said. "But to have two other guys on the field who have done it was an honor. They're not only great baseball players, they're great people."

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Aurilia frustrated on bench

CINCINNATI -- Rich Aurilia was frustrated to find himself in a utility role when he came back from the disabled list.
Then he finally started hitting well, and the frustration mounted.

Aurilia was batting just .198 when he went on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring last month. In the seven games since his return, he's hit .333 with two homers and six RBIs.

It's no secret that the veteran isn't all that pleased to have lost his regular job to Felipe Lopez while he was on the DL.

"I've never been at a place where you've been judged after 92, 94 or 96 at-bats," he said. "If that's what was done here, well, then I saw something new. But, you know, for me to come back now and swing the bat well, if anything, it's good for my own psyche."

Forget psyche. What Aurilia is doing might be good for his trade value. Playing on a one-year contract, he knows he's the type of guy who might get shipped from this club before next month's trading deadline.

"All I really can control is my performance on the field when I play," he said. "They [the front office] know the situation here. The best I can do for myself right now is play well."

Aurilia certainly played well in Thursday night's mauling of the Devil Rays. He went 3-for-5 with two runs, a double and an RBI in his second three-hit game of the season.

But the regular shortstop job belongs to Lopez now, as the numbers indicate it should. Lopez and his .299 average were back in the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the Orioles.

And so, Aurilia's frustration builds.

"I can play every day," he said. "I know I can. Especially [Thursday] night, I showed I'm healthy. My main concern is going out and playing well. [Thursday] night, I had the opportunity to do that, and I did some little things that helped us win the ballgame. I guess I'm in a situation now where I have to do that whenever I'm called upon."

Hall of Fame weekend: Outfielder Eric Davis and right-hander Jose Rijo will be on hand Saturday for their induction into the Reds Hall of Fame. Also being inducted will be 19th-century stars Harry Wright and George Wright.

The ceremony will take place before Saturday's 7:10 p.m. ET game against the Orioles. The event will begin at 6:35 p.m.

Davis and Rijo were voted into the Hall by Reds fans this past winter.

Davis, a two-time All-Star, spent nine of his 17 seasons with the Reds, finishing his career with a .269 batting average, 282 home runs, 934 RBIs and 349 stolen bases.

Rijo, an All-Star in 1994, spent 10 of his 14 seasons with the Reds. He owns a career record of 116-91 with a 3.24 ERA. He's best remembered for going 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA to earn MVP honors in the 1990 World Series sweep of the A's.

The Wright brothers were selected by the Hall of Fame veterans' committee.

Harry Wright served as captain of the Red Stockings from 1866-70. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as an executive in 1953. George Wright played shortstop for the Red Stockings for two seasons. He hit .633 in 1869 and .536 in 1870. He went into the Hall of Fame as an executive in 1937.

Josh Hancock / P
Born: 04/11/78
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 215 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R

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Shake it off: Josh Hancock had been anticipating his return to the mound for months. What he didn't anticipate was what happened Tuesday night at Triple-A Louisville.

Making his first rehab appearance in a comeback from a strained right groin, the right-hander gave up a whopping 10 runs on 15 hits in 4 1/3 innings of work.

It may have been just a rehab outing, but it was a big deal to Hancock.

"Everybody says, 'As long as you're healthy ...,'" he said. "Well, it matters to me."

Hancock admitted he wasn't at his best.

"I didn't feel comfortable at all," he said. "I'm healthy, but I just didn't feel any rhythm."

Hancock will get another chance Sunday, when he makes his second rehab start in Louisville.

Reds report: The Reds scored 34 runs in their sweep of the Devil Rays, their highest three-game series total since May 17-19, 1999, at Coors Field (36 runs) and their highest three-game series total at home since May 26-28, 1898, against the New York Giants (36 runs). ... This weekend's series at Great American Ball Park features three of the top 20 home-run hitters of all-time, including Ken Griffey Jr. (510), Sammy Sosa (580) and Rafael Palmeiro (559). Friday's game marked the first time in big-league history that three players with at least 500 home runs appeared in the same game. ... First-round draft pick Jay Bruce signed with the Reds on Friday afternoon.

Down on the farm: Shortstops Anderson Machado and Ray Olmedo officially joined Louisville to begin their rehab assignments. Machado is coming back from a left knee injury, while Olmedo's returning from an elbow injury. Machado, though, had an immediate setback in his first game with the Bats on Friday night. He left in the top of the fifth inning with pain in his left knee. ... Right-hander Jared Fernandez (3-4) allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings to get the win in the Bats' 5-1 victory over Charlotte on Thursday. ... Jeff Bannon's three-run home run wasn't enough to get Double-A Chattanooga a win over Huntsville. The Lookouts lost by a 4-3 count. ... Class A Sarasota split a doubleheader with Dunedin. Right-hander Daniel Rincon (1-2) took the loss in Game 1, while right-hander Erik Lohse (6-1) earned the win in relief in the nightcap.

On deck: The Reds and Orioles continue their weekend Interleague series Saturday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Left-hander Brandon Claussen (2-3, 4.50 ERA) will start against right-hander Daniel Cabrera (5-4, 5.10).

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Lopez's grand game powers Reds

CINCINNATI -- They began the season in obscurity, forgotten men often left watching from the bench.
But on Saturday night, Brandon Claussen and Felipe Lopez were very much in the forefront.

As Claussen put up the strongest start of his career, Lopez turned in the most productive day of his.

What the two came out with was a 10-1 Reds thumping of the Orioles in front of 32,834 at Great American Ball Park.

Claussen tossed a career-high eight innings while holding the Major Leagues' top-hitting offense to a mere run on three hits. Lopez swatted the second grand slam of his career in the second inning and went on to post a career-high six RBIs.

"It's a long season," manager Dave Miley said. "It's basically a tribute to both of them. Looking back in the archives, we went at least 10 days without using [Claussen], and Felipe started out with a bench role. But they both kept working."

Now Claussen is in the rotation, and Lopez is the everyday shortstop. This game proved why.

Claussen (3-3, 3.83 ERA) was masterful in throwing 4 1/3 perfect innings, until Rafael Palmeiro finally touched him for a soft single to center field in the fifth.

"He hit a good pitch," Claussen said of Palmeiro. "It was 0-2. I felt like it wasn't over the plate. He reached out and got it. You just tip your hat to the guy."

That was one of the few tips of the hat the left-handed Claussen had to give out in this one. Unless, of course, he wanted to pay tribute to his supporting cast, which backed him with plenty of early run support against Orioles right-hander Daniel Cabrera.

The Reds jumped all over Cabrera (5-5, 5.88) in the second inning. They loaded the bases for Javier Valentin, who drew a walk to bring in the game's first run. One out later, Lopez stepped up and all but sealed the game in the Reds' favor.

Cabrera threw Lopez a 1-1 hanging slider that hung a bit too long, and Lopez crushed it over the right-field wall for the grand slam.

"He got me in the first inning with a similar pitch," Lopez said of Cabrera. "I just tried to stay back and hit it hard somewhere. The ball stayed up, and I took advantage of it."

Lopez's previous grand slam came April 27 in Chicago in a game lost by the Reds. But with Claussen in total command of the Major Leagues' best-hitting offense, the Reds had little chance of losing this one.

Even with the big lead -- a lead that jumped to 7-0 when Adam Dunn launched a two-run shot to right-center field in the third inning -- Claussen kept dealing.

"For some guys, that's difficult to do," Miley said. "But he used all his pitches and kept their guys off stride."

Claussen said it was no trouble at all.

"Mentally, you're thinking the game is still 0-0," he said. "It's just nice to come out of the game, look up and see you've got a 10. Any pitcher can tell you once you get in that groove, pitching's easy. The key is just staying in it."

Claussen stayed in it, and Lopez and the rest of the Reds kept feeding him run support. Lopez's two-run single and Sean Casey's RBI single off reliever John Parrish gave Claussen that 10 he was looking for.

By the time Claussen finally did make a mistake -- serving up a solo home run to Sal Fasano in the eighth -- this game was long over with.

And so two guys once listed in the latter half of the 25-man roster way back on Opening Day were instrumental in staking the Reds to their fourth win in five games.

To Claussen, it was just a matter of two players doing what they're paid to do.

"I might have been in a relief role [earlier this year], but I was on this team," he said. "I'm sure Felipe feels the same way. Any way we can help out, we'll do whatever it takes. I'm thankful -- and I'm sure Lopie's thankful -- for the opportunity."

The Reds were thankful for the result.

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Davis, Rijo enter Reds Hall of Fame

CINCINNATI -- As teammates, they won together.
As friends, they bonded together.

And as Reds Hall of Famers, they were inducted together.

As far as Eric Davis and Jose Rijo were concerned, the fact that their respective inductions into the Reds Hall of Fame both came Saturday at Great American Ball Park couldn't have been more appropriate.

"You couldn't have picked a better person to go in with," Davis said of Rijo. "If I could pick anybody to go in with, it would be him."

When the hard-throwing, 22-year-old Rijo joined the Reds via a trade with the Oakland A's in 1988, Davis was the established member of the club who took him under his wing.

"I'm very fortunate to have had great teammates in the 12 years I was in Cincinnati," Rijo said. "But the only guy that empowered me and motivated me was Eric Davis. I'm very fortunate to have him next to me."

Rijo and Davis, who were inducted alongside 19th-century stars George and Harry Wright, have so much in common beyond their entry into the Reds Hall of Fame.

Both had the credentials early in their careers to be headed to that other Hall of Fame -- the one in Cooperstown, N.Y. -- but injuries sidetracked those goals.

And, of course, both were key members of the 1990 Reds team that swept Oakland in the World Series.

It was Davis who hit the two-run home run off Dave Stewart in the first inning of Game 1 to set the tone for the four-game sweep. And it was Rijo who earned victories in Games 1 and 4, earning the MVP award in the process.

"I don't think I had ever been on a team where the players actually rooted for the other teammates and weren't jealous when somebody had success," Davis said. "There were times Jose would be pitching and I'd ask him, 'How many runs do you need today?' He'd say, 'Give me two.' Then he'd give up a three-run home run in the first inning and say, 'I need one more.' And then we'd win 4-3. That's the confidence and the camaraderie we had."

Rijo described that camaraderie best when recounting his memories of Game 4, in which he gave up an early run then retired 20 consecutive A's batters.

"Every time I threw a pitch, I didn't throw it to look good myself to the other guys," Rijo said. "Because I knew I had 24 other guys throwing the same pitch with me."

The 43-year-old Davis, who now runs a clothing company, a music company and a realty company, and the 40-year-old Rijo, who now works as a special assistant to Nationals general manager Jim Bowden, said joining the Reds Hall is a special honor.

Davis recalled fondly the first time he donned a Reds jersey.

"It was the whitest white you've ever seen and the reddest red you've ever seen," he said. "My motivation was to keep that Reds jersey on."

Keeping any jersey on proved difficult for the two later in their careers.

Davis retired after the 1994 season because of a herniated disc in his neck, but returned in 1996 to bat .287 with 26 homers and 83 RBIs for the Reds. And he overcame adversity again in 1998, when he came back from colon cancer to post a .327 average with 28 homers and 89 RBIs for the Orioles.

Rijo endured five surgeries on his right elbow before making a dramatic return to the Reds in 2001. He put up a 2.12 ERA in 13 relief appearances.

That they went through similar health struggles made the two appreciate each other all the more.

"Knowing what he's endured, and watching him come from Oakland and grow from throwing straight 97 or 98 [mph] to pitching -- it was probably one of the most gratifying things to see," Davis said of Rijo. "And to have him not quit, you have to admire that."

Davis and Rijo had a similar appreciation for the fans who voted them into the Hall earlier this year.

"Numbers don't matter as much [to the fans] as what you do for the city," Rijo said. "Having them be a part of [the voting] -- that's the way it should be."

Rijo said he'll take this Hall induction over any other -- especially with Davis at his side.

"I might not get elected into the [National Baseball] Hall of Fame," he said. "But I really don't care. To be elected into this Hall of Fame is all I need. This is everything I want to be."

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/

Pena, Freel nursing injuries

CINCINNATI -- Friday night was hard on the Reds' knees.
Right fielder Wily Mo Pena and second baseman Ryan Freel both suffered minor knee injuries during the Reds' 4-3 loss to the Orioles, and both were out of the starting lineup on Saturday.

Pena's injury came in the third inning, when he tried to make a leaping catch at the wall of a Miguel Tejada triple. He crashed into the wall as the ball sailed over his head.

"He irritated his right knee," head athletic trainer Mark Mann said. "It's nothing of major significance."

But it was enough to keep Pena out of the starting lineup. He was available for pinch-hit duties.

Manager Dave Miley opted to put Jacob Cruz in right, as opposed to Austin Kearns, for Saturday's game, because left-handed hitters are batting .306 against Orioles right-hander Daniel Cabrera, while right-handers are batting .177.

Freel couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when he injured his left knee, which, for the record, isn't the knee he had surgery on this past offseason.

"As the game proceeded, he felt soreness in his left knee, and he has a little inflammation," Mann said. "But he should be OK. He's listed as day-to-day right now."

Utility infielder Rich Aurilia filled in for Freel at second base Saturday.

The Reds weren't just taken out at the knees at the Major League level.

Down at Triple-A Louisville, shortstop Anderson Machado aggravated his surgically repaired left knee in the first game of a rehab assignment with the Bats.

Machado was in Cincinnati on Saturday, getting evaluated by team medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek.

"[Machado] made a great jumping catch on a line drive, and when he came down and landed, he hyperextended his knee," Mann said.

The Reds were not yet sure when Machado would return to the field.

Mayor and Mother: On a table in the Reds' clubhouse Saturday sat a stack of books, such as "The Art of Hitting" by Ted Williams and "The Art of Pitching" by Tom Seaver. Cruz had placed the books there so his teammates could autograph them for a charity auction.

Those are the kinds of books you might expect to find in a baseball clubhouse. But sitting next to Sean Casey's locker was a stack of a different sort. The Reds first baseman had a stockpile of books about Mother Teresa.

Casey's already finished one called "No Greater Love," and he was working on another called "Heart Full of Love." He had several others waiting in the wings.

Sean Casey / 1B
Born: 07/02/74
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 225 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: R

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"It really puts things in perspective," Casey said. "We're so materialistic, and to see that she had nothing and did so much for so many people really opens your eyes. Her faith was just awesome."

The topic of sainthood was brought up, and Casey was asked if he knew whether Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, is eligible to become a saint.

"I think it begins five years after you die," Casey said, before adding with a laugh, "kind of like the Baseball Hall of Fame, where you're eligible five years after you retire."

Reds report: Eric Davis, Jose Rijo and 19th-century stars George and Harry Wright were inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame before Saturday's game. ... Casey has not struck out in his past 60 plate appearances, the longest current streak in the big leagues and the second-longest of his career (73 plate appearances from June 8-26, 2004). Casey averages one strikeout per 14.1 plate appearances, sixth-best ratio in the National League. ... Ken Griffey Jr. has a season-high hitting streak of 13 games.

Down on the farm: Left-hander Jeriome Robertson (2-7) picked up the win as Louisville defeated Charlotte, 2-1, on Friday. Robertson allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings. Ray Olmedo, playing second base, went 1-for-4 in his first game of a rehab assignment. ... Double-A Chattanooga took a 6-5 loss at Huntsville, with Eddy Valdez (1-3) giving up five runs on six hits in two innings of relief. The Lookouts placed right-hander Richie Gardner on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right biceps muscle. ... Calvin Medlock (2-2) pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to get the victory in Class A Sarasota's 3-2 win over Dunedin. ... Homer Bailey fell to 1-3 after allowing four runs on three hits in 4 2/3 innings of Class A Dayton's 4-1 loss at Lansing.

On deck: The Reds and Orioles wrap up their Interleague set with Sunday's 1:15 p.m. ET game at Great American Ball Park. Right-hander Ramon Ortiz (1-4, 6.25 ERA) will go up against right-hander Sidney Ponson (6-3, 4.94 ERA).

Source: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/