CLEVELAND — Five former Cleveland Indians helped the Reds win Friday night, which was mostly coincidence.

        Their contributions might have been wasted if not for Alex Ochoa, who is part of the Reds' basic plan.

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Bill Selby is greeted in the dugout after his two-run HR. (AP photos) 600 | 800 | 1024

        This mixture gave the Reds their third consecutive victory, a 7-4 interleague decision over the Cleveland Indians. Ochoa broke a 4-4 tie with his seventh-inning RBI single before getting two clinching RBI with a ninth-inning double.

        Most fans in the sellout crowd of 42,512 at Jacobs Field turned out to see their American League Central Division leaders, coming off a 7-3 road trip, throttle the helpless Reds (24-35).

        They didn't expect to watch Cincinnati's bullpen limit the Indians to one run after struggling starter Rob Bell yielded three runs in 2 2/3 innings.

        Three of the four relievers manager Bob Boone summoned were Cleveland alumni — Jim Brower, Chris Nichting and closer Danny Graves, who pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 14th save.

Michael Tucker and Pokey Reese score on Alex Ochoa's ninth-inning double. | ZOOM |

        They didn't anticipate witnessing Bill Selby's first major-league home run since May 28, 1996, a two- run shot in the sixth inning off Steve Reed.

        “He saved it for the perfect time for us,” Boone said of the blast, which capped a three-run uprising that erased Cleveland's 3-1 edge. The inning's first run was driven in by Sean Casey, Cincinnati's most notable ex-Indian.

        “The Indians have had so many good players go through here,” Boone said. “We're just getting some of the castoffs.”

        Spectators knowing who's hot and who's not might have been wary of Ochoa, whose resurgence has propelled his team's.

Danny Graves celebrates the final out and his 14th save. | ZOOM |

        Ochoa helped generate all but two of the Reds' runs, scoring their first two before launching his late-inning charge. He went 4-for-5, lifting his average on this road trip to .484 (15-for-31) with six doubles and eight RBI.

        The journey and Ochoa's hot streak are linked. On the afternoon of May 31, shortly before the Reds left Cincinnati, Ochoa spent hours studying videotapes and hitting in a Cinergy Field batting cage to correct a flaw in his balance and weight transfer.

        “I'm picking up breaking balls better. They've been throwing a lot of them to me,” Ochoa said.

        Said Boone, “He identified what the problem was and really went to work on it.”

        Ochoa's work became especially noticeable in the seventh inning, after pinch hitter Brady Clark singled off Rich Rodriguez (2-2) and stole second base. Facing Paul Shuey, Ochoa lined his tiebreaking hit up the middle, scoring Clark easily.

Reese tags out Ellis Burks trying to steal second in the third inning. | ZOOM |

        In the ninth, Ochoa relieved the tension of Cincinnati's one-run lead by lining Steve Woodard's 1-0 pitch into the left-field corner.

        This marked the first time in Bell's eight starts that the Reds had won, which bodes ill for him. Boone called Bell's performance “unacceptable.” But Boone gave no indication that he would replace the second-year right-hander in the starting rotation with Brower (3-3), who has allowed just one run in 12 innings over five games since his second recall from Triple-A.

        “That's an obvious question,” Boone said. “Robbie has to get consistent. He's a semi-power pitcher with a good breaking ball. You just can't miss with the fastball the way he was missing tonight.”

        The only other burning issue was the revenge motive of the former Indians. But Graves, who was traded to the Reds on July 31, 1997, didn't fuel this fire.

        “For me, you're going to still go about it the same way, whether you pitch against your old team or not,” said Graves. “If you're successful against your old team, I don't think it's going to mean any more than beating another team.”

        By contrast, Selby admitted feeling an extra thrill. But he was not vindictive.

        “I'm not trying to show anybody,” he said. “It's about having some friends over there, the front-office people, the coaching staff ... It's just the competitive part of it: "Hey, I'm here, and I want to show you guys I'm still here and it's nice.'”

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