Luebbers

        DETROIT - Larry Luebbers welcomes the tension he knows he'll feel as he approaches today's start against Detroit.

        “If you're not a little bit nervous before you go out there, it's not fun,” said Luebbers, who joined Cincinnati from Triple-A Louisville after last Wednesday's Denny Neagle trade. “That's part of the fun and excitement of the game. The stakes are a little higher.”

        Luebbers, 3-3 with a 5.12 ERA in eight starts last year with St. Louis, hasn't pitched since allowing three runs and eight hits in seven innings on July at Durham. The right-hander, who'll be making his first Reds appearance since 1993, tried to offset his inactivity by throwing on the side Saturday and last Thursday.

        “It really shouldn't affect what you do,” said Luebbers, a Cincinnati native and graduate of St. Henry High School in Erlanger, Ky. “It might take a little bit away from your control, but that's not an excuse.”

        Luebbers' pitching style fits in with the rest of the Reds' staff. “I'm not going to strike out many people,” said the Frankfort, Ky., resident, who was 7-6 with a 3.53 ERA for Louisville.

Tigers 6, Reds 2 Box, runs Seven years between Red starts for Luebbers Fight no surprise to Sullivan Sparky's big break turned out to be Reds' Results of our Reds poll

• Return to Reds front page...