Reds manager Bob Boone gave Austin Kearns the hit sign on 3-0 with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, but Kearns took a fastball down the middle for a strike.

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Austin Kearns launches his grand slam ... (AP photo) 600 | 800 | 1024

... and gets a grand greeting at home plate. (Craig Ruttle photo) 600 | 800 | 1024

        “I probably would have tried to swing too hard at that one and might have hit into a double play,” Kearns said.

        Instead, after fouling off the next pitch to fill the count, Kearns concentrated on shortening his swing, getting the ball in play and driving in a run or two.

        He still hit the ball 369 feet over the wall in left for a grand slam, giving the Reds their final four runs in a 6-1 victory Tuesday night against the Florida Marlins before 16,841 chilled fans at Cinergy Field. Game-time temperature was 55 degrees.

        Reds starter and winner Chris Reitsma (3-0) pitched out of trouble in the fourth to keep the game tied at 1.

        The Marlins loaded the bases with one out. But Reitsma, who went a Reds season-long 7 2/3innings, struck out Charles Johnson and Andy Fox — Fox on a changeup — to end the threat with no runs scoring.

        “Last year, I'd get into a situation like today, into the fourth or fifth inning with the bases loaded and one out, and instead of bearing down and being confident in myself, I would throw one down the middle a little bit and they'd hit it,” Reitsma said. “It's one of those things where you have to stay mentally strong.”

        Reitsma struck out six, and the Reds are 7-2 in his nine starts this season. His earned run average dropped from 2.85 to 2.59.

Chris Reitsma improved to 3-0. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Boone was going to let Reitsma finish, but the Marlins loaded the bases in the eighth with two outs. Closer Danny Graves came in to get Johnson to ground into a force play, and he earned his 15th save because the tying run was on deck.

        The Reds (27-18) snapped a two-game losing streak and maintained their three-game lead over the Cardinals in the National League Central. The Reds had been outscored 17-4 in losing the last two games of a four-game series in St. Louis.

        The outing illustrated Reitsma's maturity as a pitcher, Boone said.

        “What he's realized, and we kind of beat on him last year, is what happens to mistakes,” Boone said. “The only reason he made mistakes last year was he lost focus. You're seeing him now, and instead of making a mistake, he's making a pitch. And that's how you grow up.”

        Kearns came into the major leagues this season already grown up.

Kearns breaks into his home-run trot. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        “The most professional bat on the ballclub,” said Boone, who joked with the rookie outfielder in the dugout after the home run.

        Boone told Kearns: “So you didn't like the 3-0 pitch with the bases drunk? They never gave me that sign. They never let me hit.”

        Kearns has hit safely in 21 of his 28 Reds starts, and he now has six home runs and 18 RBI. Kearns ended the night batting .362.

        The 3-0 pitch that he took for a strike showed his seasoning as a hitter.

        “(A grand slam) is the last thing on my mind; you're just trying to get a run in,” Kearns said. “I thought it was going when I hit it.”

        He is only the second rookie in the National League to hit a grand slam this season. The other is teammate Reggie Taylor, who connected May 12 against the Cardinals.

        The first Reds run of the fifth scored when Sean Casey lined a single to left-center field to drive in Barry Larkin, who had walked to reach base for the third consecutive time.

        Juan Encarnacion singled to move Larkin to second before Casey's hit. Adam Dunn then walked to set the stage for Kearns.

        The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the second. Todd Walker doubled to left with one out. After Aaron Boone struck out swinging, the Marlins walked catcher Corky Miller to get to Reitsma. But Florida starter A.J. Burnett walked Reitsma to load the bases, then walked Larkin to force in Walker.

        Reitsma was perfect in the first two innings, striking out two. But he allowed the leadoff hitters to reach in the third and fourth.

        Florida's Luis Castillo singled in a run in the third to tie it, and Reitsma received some defensive help in the fourth to avoid more trouble.

        With runners on first and second and one out, Marlins first baseman Derrek Lee lined a sharp single to left field that Dunn played on one hop. He fired a strike to Miller to hold Florida's Preston Wilson at third.

        “That was big. It's a second chance for a pitcher,” said Reitsma, who made the most of the opportunity by striking out the next two batters.

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