PITTSBURGH — Dmitri Young and Sean Casey, friends off the diamond, have begun a spirited yet unintentional competition on the field. Unless the Reds obtain a genuine slugger in the offseason, either Casey or Young is likely to begin next season as the team's No.4 hitter. Since the Aug.31 trade of Dante Bichette, which forced manager Jack McKeon to shuffle the pair in the cleanup spot, both Casey and Young have dis played an aptitude for that role.

        Their forceful hitting continued Saturday night, as each clobbered a homer to help the Reds outlast the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4.

        It was the 100th victory at Three Rivers Stadium for the Reds, who play their final game here today. The Pirates move into PNC Park next year.

        Steve Parris also reached a milestone, becoming the first Reds right-hander to win six starts in a row since Jose Rijo (Aug.20-Sept.15, 1991).

        Parris (11-14) prevailed despite allowing three first-inning runs, which appeared to be a monumental deficit against Kris Benson. The Pirates ace entered the game with the league's fourth-best home ERA (2.34) and the 10th-best opponents' batting average overall (.247). But Benson (9-12) allowed 12 hits and five runs in seven innings. Parris, meanwhile, blanked Pittsburgh on four hits from the second through sixth innings.

        “Coming back from a 3-0 deficit against Kris was unbe lievable. That guy has some quality stuff,” said Parris, crediting his teammates. “That was huge on their part. They're the story of the game, not me.”

        “They” included Young, whose two-run homer off Benson in the top of the seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie. It was Young's 17th homer of the season.

        Young has driven in at least one run in each of his five starts while batting fourth.

        He's hitting .389 (7-for-18) in those games with two doubles, a homer and six RBI.

        Casey, who batted fifth, delivered a fourth-inning leadoff homer, his 14th of the year. He has homered in three of his last four games and four of his last six. Strictly as a cleanup hitter, Casey is batting .286 (6-for-21) with a double, a triple, two homers and six RBI in five games.

        “They've both been coming through,” McKeon said. “Some days you look like a genius, and then the next day, the next guy does it.”

        Said Casey, “Whatever works is fine with me.”

        Pittsburgh narrowed Cincinnati's lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh, when Parris disappeared after yielding John Vander Wal's ground-rule bloop double. On came Dennys Reyes, who surrendered pinch hitter Alex Ramirez's RBI double to right-center field.

        Relievers Scott Sullivan, John Riedling and Danny Graves preserved Parris' triumph. While Graves secured his 26th save, Riedling was particularly impressive, striking out the side in the eighth inning.

        Michael Tucker's ninth-inning homer gave Cincinnati its final run. It was Tucker's first RBI since July 26, ending a 38-game drought.

        Though Parris attributed this victory to others, he let himself bask in the glow of his winning streak.

        “I can't lie. It feels great,” he said. “Everybody was writing me off a long time ago, even you (reporters). I don't blame you. When you're 5-14, things aren't going well.

        “But it really didn't matter to me. I've been through a lot harder times than being 5-14. Going through a couple of surgeries and trying to come back, going back to A ball and Double-A and trying to get back to the big leagues — that's a heck of a lot harder than being 5-14.”

        The Reds played about as poorly as possible without committing an error during Pittsburgh's first inning. They botched three catchable balls — two hits and catcher Benito Santiago's passed ball — while Parris issued three walks, one of which figured in the scoring.

        Cincinnati got to Benson by scoring in the third through fifth innings. Ken Griffey Jr. barely missed a third-inning grand slam as Vander Wal made a leaping catch of his one-out blast less than two feet below the top of the wall. Griffey settled for a sacrifice fly, scoring Chris Sexton.

        One inning later, Casey lashed his unlikely looking home run, an opposite-field line drive that almost grazed the left-field foul pole.

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