Jose Rijo acknowledges a standing ovation at the start of the game. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

          On a rainy afternoon, Jose Rijo's comeback was more of a throwback. Starting at Cinergy Field for the first time in seven years, Rijo put on another nostalgic show Saturday for enthralled fans and muttering San Francisco Giants hitters.

        Rijo pitched six remarkable innings in a steady rain, drawing one ovation after another, as the Reds beat the Giants 8-4 in a game called in the middle of the eighth.

        The heaviest rains held off just long enough for Rijo (2-0) to amaze 'em more time.

        “I feel like a hurricane today,” Rijo said. “I'm bigger than the rain.”

        The Reds' seventh straight win kept them in first place in the NL Central, a major surprise that pales alongside Rijo's renaissance.

        Rijo, who turns 37 next month, has come full-circle in his comeback from five elbow operations. The right-hander made his second start in a week and got his second win, giving 22,616 fans a few glimpses of the Rijo of old.

Rijo was singing in the rain. | ZOOM |

        Rijo gave up five hits and two runs in six innings, his longest Cinergy Field appearance since May 22, 1995. Rijo (2-0) has beaten the Cubs and the Giants in his two starts, giving up only two earned runs.

        “It's an amazing story,” said Reggie Sanders, a former teammate who got the Giants' first hit in the fifth inning.

        Rijo even had old nemesis Barry Bonds muttering again. Bonds flied out, walked and doubled before leaving as a precaution because of the wet field and the lopsided score.

        Rijo thought he had Bonds struck out once or twice on close two-strike pitches, but didn't get the umpire's call.

        “With him being Barry Bonds and me being Jose Rijo, broken-down old man, he gets the benefit of the doubt,” Rijo said. “I've been out of baseball for six years, he's in his prime. I still got him out. Give me credit, at least. I might be the only pitcher in the league that has pitched to him as much as I did today.”

Rijo waits while a groundskeeper works to dry the mound in the third inning. | ZOOM |

        Bonds is 8-for-37 career against Rijo with one homer and 11 strikeouts. Their most important matchups were in 1990, when Bonds played for Pittsburgh and the two teams met in the playoffs. The Reds went on to win the World Series, with Rijo earning MVP honors.

        Rijo's fastball topped out at 82 mph in Bonds' first at-bat, which ended with a routine fly and a plea.

        “During the first at-bat, he said, "He's throwing too slow,”' catcher Corky Miller said. “The second or third time he was up, he said, "Tell him to break the speed limit.' I just laughed. What am I going to do, go out there and tell him, "He wants you to throw faster?”

        Bonds yelled his speed-limit line to Rijo from second base after his sixth-inning double, having some fun with the moment.

Corky Miller is greeted by Austin Kearns after hitting a two-run homer. | ZOOM |

        Miller and Adam Dunn hit two-run homers off Ryan Jensen (1-2) as the Reds pulled ahead 8-0 before Rijo gave up a hit. It marked the first time this season that the Reds got more than one homer in a game. Miller later doubled home two more runs, matching his career high of four RBIs.

        Even before the first pitch, the focus was on Rijo, who got a standing ovation when he left the bullpen after warming up and headed for the mound. He waved his right arm and made a fist — a symbol of his determination.

        “I got out there and people started yelling and calling my name,” Rijo said. “Not even when I was healthy did they do that for me. It makes you give a little bit extra for the people who are backing you.”

        Rijo worked fast among the raindrops.

        He retired the first 11 batters on only 31 pitches — 26 of them strikes — and didn't allow a hit until the fifth, when Sanders singled with one out. Reliever Chad Zerbe had an RBI single later in the inning and J.T. Snow's groundout drove in a run in the sixth.

        The five elbow operations and ensuing five-year layoff robbed Rijo of his 95 mph fastball and nasty slider. He gets by now with a fastball that topped out at 88 mph on Saturday, a serviceable slider, a forkball and years of know-how.

        Rijo threw 14 consecutive strikes over one stretch, inducing soft fly balls and harmless grounders off pitches regularly registering 77-79 mph. He got an ovation as he left the field after each successful half-inning.

        Rijo threw 72 pitches overall, 54 of them strikes, as he raised his career record against San Francisco to 9-10. Although Rijo returned to the Reds as a reliever late last season, he hadn't faced the Giants since July 5, 1995, when he beat them 9-0 in his third-last start before his series of elbow operations.

        Notes: A downpour finally stopped the game in the middle of the eighth. It was called after a half-hour wait. ... Bonds' sixth-inning double snapped an 0-for-12 slump. He has only one homer since he aggravated his right hamstring on April 14. ... The Giants have lost a season-high four in a row, falling to 4-7 on their longest road trip since August 1999. The Giants return home after Sunday's game. ... Both teams substituted freely in the middle innings, after the game got out of hand and the field grew slick. ... Miller also drove in four runs last Oct. 3 at Wrigley Field.

Rijo, Reds win again Reds box, runs Rijo's return 'a miracle,' but so is rest of his story SULLIVAN: Rijo enjoying it while arm lasts DAUGHERTY: Rijo keeps 'em guessing Reds Notebook: Chemistry, fun abound Reds swing well in rain Reds Minor League Report Reds Q&A with John Fay Reds Chatter Boston's Lowe gets season's first no-hitter Mariners 1, Yankees 0 Angels 11, Blue Jays 4 Rangers 4, Indians 2

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