Adam Dunn at Reds' Sarasota training complex. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        FORT MYERS, Fla. — Adam Dunn hopes one swing turned around his lackluster hitting this spring.

        Dunn was at the plate Wednesday against Boston right-hander Ugueth Urbina. On an 0-2 fastball, Dunn slammed a three-run home run over the right-field wall at City of Palms Park.

        It was just his second home run of the spring. The Reds would lose 5-4.

        Yes, it's only spring training, so there's no reason to read too much into his lack of homers. But this time of year is important for young players who are still developing. Dunn is no different, as the 22-year left fielder prepares for his first Opening Day.

        “I feel like I'm improving,” he said. “And I'm going to keep working on it.”

        His home run, which scored Todd Walker and Ken Griffey Jr., easily cleared the 330-foot wall in right field and the palm trees behind it.

        “I got a piece of wood on it, and it took off,” Dunn said. “I hit it high, and the wind did the rest.”

        The home run showed the progress Dunn has made recently. He has hit safely in four consecutive games (4-for-12, .333) and six of his last seven (6-for-20, .300). Against the Red Sox, Dunn went 1-for-3.

        Before Dunn started his brief hitting streak, he struggled.

        Dunn is averaging .200. The only Reds starter with a lower average is catcher Jason LaRue (.110).

        “It's going to take time,” Dunn said.

        At the same time, he talks about the attitude he said helped him reach the big leagues last season and set a new NL mark for home runs in a month (12) by a rookie.

        “I'm pretty hard on myself,” he said. “It's going to help me in the long run.”

        Not everyone is as hard on Dunn as he is on himself.

        “What some of our players don't realize is that I have more patience with them than they have with themselves,” manager Bob Boone said.

        Dunn knows that.

        “It's a great coaching staff for a young player like me,” he said. “They've all played the game. They know what you're going through, what to say to you and what not to say to you.”

        Dunn, though, hasn't solved all of his problems. Defense, like hitting, is still a work in progress.

        In the bottom of the fifth Wednesday, Dunn misplayed a fly ball in left field.

        “As soon as I took off after it, the wind stopped,” Dunn said.

        The ball dropped in left field, and a Boston run scored.

        “So I picked it up and threw it to the cutoff man,” Dunn said, lowering his head along with his voice.

        This will be Dunn's first full major-league season, and he knows he'll have plenty of fastballs and fly balls to worry about.

        “That's why you have spring training,” Dunn said. “You take the good with the bad.”

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