Wednesday, September 08, 1999
Cameron returns, homers in first at-bat
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Mike Cameron must have learned something by watching all those Reds home runs in the last five days.
Cameron, playing for the first time since straining his left hamstring Aug.27, hit the first pitch thrown to him out to right field for his 18th home run of the year.
Cameron missed 10 games with the injury before starting Tuesday's second game.
But he was able to taking batting practice and keep his edge in the meantime.
He was the Reds' best hitter in August (.309, five home runs).
Jeffrey Hammonds played extremely well in Cameron's place. Hammonds hit .519 in the first eight games he started for Cameron, but he cooled off in Chicago. He has had one hit in three games here.
Manager Jack McKeon started Cameron and Hammonds in the nightcap Tuesday. With left-hander Brian McNichol starting for Chicago, McKeon gave Sean Casey the game off and played Dmitri Young at first.
McKeon said Cameron will play when he's healthy because of his speed on defense.
Cameron showed that by going to the wall to catch a McNichol flyball.
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