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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
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Larkin on DL
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Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin went on
the 15-day disabled list Friday with a strained groin.
"I tried to see if I could play on it. But I kept tweaking
it," said Larkin, an 11-time All-Star who sat out the team's last
two games. "There's nothing to do but try to get it calmed down."
The move is retroactive to Thursday.
"It's affecting his ability to run," Reds manager Bob Boone
said. "I didn't think it was fair for him to have everybody
watching him go out there when he's not 100 percent."
Larkin is in an 0-for-17 slump.
The Reds purchased the contract of infielder Bill Selby from
Triple-A Louisville, and right-hander Matt Skrmetta was designated
for assignment. |
HOUSTON (AP) – Jason LaRue and the Cincinnati Reds made the
Houston Astros pay for their one big mistake.
LaRue hit the first grand slam of his career and the Reds
stopped a five-game losing streak, beating the Astros 7-4 Friday
night.
LaRue's slam came in the fourth after a two-out error by
shortstop Julio Lugo kept the inning alive. The Astros' five-game
winning streak ended.
"You have to look to the four-run fourth inning. This is a game
we could have won," Astros manager Larry Dierker lamented.
"We didn't make a double play we should have made before the
error, then the error, that's five outs. We kept having to get more
and more outs in the inning," he said.
Cincinnati took a 4-0 lead on LaRue's fourth home run of the
season. The slam came one pitch after Lugo's high throw enabled
Ruben Rivera to reach base.
"It just took off. I got a good grip. I just threw it in the
wrong direction," Lugo said.
|  | | Jason LaRue's first career grand slam is the difference in the game. |
LaRue, who is from Houston, had his own rooting section at Enron
Field.
"It was a great feeling, especially in front of all the people
I had here. I had about 20 people here," he said.
"Obviously, the error proved to be a big part of the game,"
LaRue said. "It really helped us. Anytime a team makes a mistake
like that, you want to make them play."
Osvaldo Fernandez (5-2) gave up three runs and five hits in 6
2-3 innings. The Reds won for only the third time in 11 games.
Danny Graves pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 13 chances.
Kent Bottenfield (2-3) was tagged for six runs – only two of
them earned – and six hits in five innings.
"It wasn't a good start for him, but it's not fair to judge
him. If we had made the plays, he would have been out there in a
scoreless game," Dierker said.
The Reds increased their lead to 6-0 in the fifth inning. Donnie
Sadler singled and scored on a double by Dmitri Young, and Sean
Casey hit an RBI single.
Houston cut its deficit to 6-4 in the seventh on a three-run,
pinch-hit home run by Daryle Ward and an RBI double by Craig
Biggio.
Brandon Larson got his first major league hit and RBI, singling
home a run in the Reds' ninth.
Game notes
Houston has homered in 10 straight games ... Reds starters
are 1-9 in their last 18 starts ... Deion Sanders is 4-for-34 since
his first game of the season, when he went 3-for-3 ... Cincinnati's
32 home runs this season are the fewest in the National League ...
The Reds placed Barry Larkin on the 15-day disabled list with a
strained right groin. He will be replaced on the roster by
infielder Bill Selby, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A
Louisville.
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RECAPS
Baltimore 7
Minnesota 2
Detroit 18
Tampa Bay 2
Boston 6
Kansas City 3
Toronto 9
Texas 3
Cleveland 7
Anaheim 2
Oakland 3
Chi. White Sox 2
NY Yankees 14
Seattle 10
Arizona 4
Chicago Cubs 0
Florida 2
Colorado 1
Montreal 3
San Diego 1
Philadelphia 5
St. Louis 4
Milwaukee 0
Pittsburgh 0
NY Mets 8
Los Angeles 0
Atlanta 6
San Francisco 5
Cincinnati 7
Houston 4
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