HOUSTON — The Reds waited until the 11th inning to capitalize on a couple of firsts in Friday night's 7-3 victory over the Houston Astros.

Reliever Danny Graves is greeted by third-base coach Ron Oester after his 11th-inning HR. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

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        Pokey Reese became a slugger by belting his first home run of the season, a three-run shot off Astros reliever Mike Maddux that snapped a 3-3 tie with one out in the 11th.

        Danny Graves then collected his first major-league hit by following Reese's clout with his own homer.

        “If I'm stuttering, it's because I'm still shaking,” said Graves, who was hitless in 11 at-bats since his first plate appearance in 1997.

        Graves (5-0) also hurled three scoreless innings, enabling the Reds to lengthen their winning streak to five and improve to 4-0 in extra-inning games.

Pokey Reese hits a 3-run HR in the 11th. | ZOOM |

        “I think (the Astros) were a little too anxious tonight, which kind of helped me,” Graves said. “I was getting pretty wild.”

        The Reds overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 with more than just Reese and Graves. They also received help off the bench. Alex Ochoa rapped an RBI double off Houston relief ace Billy Wagner that tied the score in the ninth inning and Gookie Dawkins contributed a sacrifice bunt and a spectacular diving stop in the 11th that started a double play.

        “We're having a lot of fun now, no matter who's playing,” Graves said. “These guys are playing with a lot of confidence.”

        Said Reese, “After it was 2-1, I told the guys, "This is our game.''

        It became the Reds' game after Maddux (2-2) opened the 11th by walking the first two batters he faced, Aaron

Denny Neagle left in the sixth trailing 3-2. | ZOOM |

        Boone and Ochoa. They advanced on Dawkins' bunt.

        Though that left first base open, Astros manager Larry Dierker allowed Maddux to pitch to Reese instead of intentionally walking him to fill the bases with Graves due up next. The Reds would have used Hal Morris, a left-handed batter, to pinch hit for Graves; Houston would have countered with lefty Yorkis Perez.

        Reese made Dierker regret his decision by clobbering the first pitch off the limestone wall rising above the left-field stands.

        “It was about time,” Reese said.

        Did that mean his lack of homers disturbed him?

        “No,” Reese said. “But you have to love one like this to help the team win.”

        Graves completed the back-to-back longball act by reaching the left-field seats on Maddux's 1-0 pitch. The ball was retrieved by Charles Rich, 25, who received two autographed bats, the promise of free tickets and profuse thanks from Graves.

        “You just try not to strike out,” Graves said of his hitting approach. “Or everybody's all over you, especially the other relievers. It (Maddux's pitch) ended up hitting the good part of the bat. It was really a mistake. I can't hit home runs in batting practice, even if I was standing on second base.”

        Trailing 3-2 in the ninth, the Reds pulled even against an imposing nemesis: Wagner, who had allowed only two earned runs in 21 in nings against them in his stellar career.

Dmitri Young extends his hitting streak to 19 games. | ZOOM |

        Boone, who delivered a sixth-inning homer in his previous at-bat, doubled in front of the 362-foot marker in the left-field power alley. Ochoa, 0-for-7 with four strikeouts against Wagner, materialized as a pinch hitter and doubled off the left-field wall to score Boone.

        The Astros had been 95-0 when leading after eight innings dating back to Sept. 16, 1998.

        Reds pinch hitters lead the National League with a .377 average, 20 hits (in 53 at-bats) and 15 RBI.

        Until Cincinnati's 11th-inning outburst, this wasn't a typical affair for Enron Field, where an average of 13 runs had been scored in the first 15 games. But the Reds' initial visit here looked all too familiar, in some ways.

        Failure to hit in the clutch and perform defensive fundamentals have plagued the Reds, who curbed those tendencies during the four-game winning streak they owned as Friday night began. But those faults returned in the game's early stages.

        The Reds went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position against Houston starter Octavio Dotel, who allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.

        Cincinnati also committed three errors, two of which figured in Houston's scoring.

        Reds starter Denny Neagle endured these shortcomings and his own, emerging with his personal 10-game winning streak intact despite leaving with a 3-2 deficit. He was removed after facing two batters in the sixth inning, having allowed all of Houston's runs and five hits.

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