Reds manager Jack McKeon, left, questions a close play at first base with umpire Phil Cuzzi. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        DENVER — At Coors Field, where truth is always stranger than fiction, D.T. Cromer etched another chapter Monday into his unlikely professional saga.

        Though the Reds lost to the Colorado Rockies, 7-5, Cromer emerged triumphant. The reserve first baseman, who was expected to be in the majors only while Sean Casey's broken right thumb mends, continued his bid for attention and a more significant role by lifting a three-run, ninth-inning homer off reliever David Lee into the right-field seats.

        Cromer's first major-league home run provided symmetry alongside Ken Griffey Jr.'s 400th career homer, a fourth-inning shot off Rockies starter Rolando Arrojo. While Griffey's blast rewrote baseball history, Cromer's just might prompt Reds manager Jack McKeon to scribble a new lineup.

        Cromer, a 29-year-old refugee of eight minor-league seasons, remains no threat to unseat Casey, a 1999 All-Star. But by stroking pinch hits in his first three major-league plate appearances and building a .571 (4-for-7) batting average, Cromer has capitalized on his scant opportunities, which is the goal of every borderline player.

        Like each of his counterparts, McKeon wants results. He certainly has noticed Cromer's.

        “I don't know what the heck you're going to do with him,” said McKeon, admitting that simply optioning Cromer back to Triple-A once Casey returns won't be easy. “He just keeps hitting.”

        Asked if he might consider starting Cromer at first base and returning Dmitri Young to the outfield while Casey heals, McKeon said, “I might. You never know what I'm going to do. But that's an option.”

        It's an option McKeon probably won't explore tonight, since Cromer bats left-handed and Brian Bohanon, tonight's Rockies starting pitcher, is a lefty. But if the Reds (3-4) keep scuffling with a team batting average near their current .252, McKeon just might increase Cromer's exposure.

        “I hope so,” Cromer said. “I know they kind of have to do what they have to do. But I know I haven't hurt myself. I know I can play, and I think they know that now.”

        Being suddenly thrust into prestigious surroundings and intense pressure hasn't overwhelmed Cromer.

        “I've actually felt at ease, like I've belonged here,” he said. “This team helps a lot, with "Lark' (captain Barry Larkin) and all the guys. The Good Lord just keeps me at peace with all I've been through.”

        McKeon is hardly at peace with his starting pitchers, whose ERA climbed to 5.88 (compared to the relievers' 3.90) after Steve Parris (0-2) allowed five runs and eight hits.

        Parris sauntered through the first four innings, striking out five Rockies. But he quickly unraveled in the fifth inning, when Colorado scored four runs to break the 1-1 tie that Griffey's homer forged.

        Arrojo, a former American Leaguer with only three career at-bats until this season, lined a leadoff single after clobbering a mammoth foul home run. He scored on Tom Goodwin's triple, which preceded Mike Lansing's home run. Parris vanished after Larry Walker singled and Jeff Cirillo walked.

        Though McKeon didn't threaten to juggle his rotation, he indicated that his patience has limits.

        “He cruises along well for four innings all the time,” McKeon said of Parris. “Then he makes mistakes galore. Some of these starters are going to have to pick it up.”

        That might have to wait until the Reds visit a normal ballpark. Monday's game reinforced the notion that much of what transpires at Coors borders on the surreal.

        The simple fact that the Rockies' home opener began at 1:04 p.m. locally wasn't as plain as day. A power surge knocked out the stadium's lights and halted action in the sixth inning for 13 minutes. Yet the overcast skies seemingly cast enough light to allow play to continue.

        Though the flags atop the left-field scoreboard and the center-field stands flew toward third base, gusts felt near home plate blew toward the outfield. The latter breezes ultimately proved more telling, as the Rockies scored a pair of seventh-in ning runs off Scott Sullivan on Cirillo's double and Todd Helton's homer that initially appeared to be mere fly balls.

        The Reds' last game here was their ridiculous 24-12 victory on May 19, 1999. This one wasn't an out-and-out slugfest, but it still fit the stadium's profile.

        “The fact that the game's never over is pretty typical of Coors Field,” said Reds right fielder Dante Bichette, a former Rockies star.

        Nor has Cromer's story ended yet.

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