Angry after striking out on a chest-high fastball, Sean Casey snapped his bat on home plate and left the two pieces of wood abandoned in the dirt as he stormed back to the dugout. Amusing? Barry Larkin found it inspiring.

Barry Larkin kneels on second base and grins at the Reds dugout after his bases-loaded double Sunday. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        Larkin followed Casey to the plate and sparked a late rally with a three-run double Sunday, leading the Reds to a 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

        Larkin broke it open in the seventh after Casey fanned on a full-count pitch from Damian Moss (2-2) with the bases loaded, then took out his frustrations on his bat while Larkin watched from the on-deck circle.

        Two pitches later, Larkin doubled into the gap in left-center for a 4-0 lead. Juan Encarnacion's single drove in Larkin, who got an emotional welcome in the dugout from Casey.

        “Casey got everybody fired up,” Larkin said. “When I got back to the dugout, he gave me a nice hug. I'm going to have to go to the chiropractor.”

Sean Casey holds the handle of his broken bat after slamming it on the ground when he struck out with the bases loaded. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        Aaron Boone snapped an 0-for-12 slump with an RBI double in the second inning off Moss, who let the game get out of hand as his pitch count topped 100 in the seventh.

        After getting the pinch-hitting Casey on the high fastball, Moss left one over the plate for Larkin, who hit his 382nd career double and passed Johnny Bench into third place on the team's list.

        “Right pitch, bad location,” said Moss, who was trying to throw the fastball low and away. “If I execute the pitch to Larkin, we're probably still playing or we win.”

        Manager Bobby Cox didn't even consider bringing in a right-hander to face Larkin because Moss was throwing so well.

        “He blew the ball right by Casey,” Cox said. “He was the guy. The way he was throwing, he was almost unhittable today.”

Todd Walker made several key defensive plays. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        Center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. made his biggest contribution since returning from a torn knee tendon, but it came in the field, not at the plate. With the Reds up 1-0 in the fifth, he nabbed Andruw Jones at home as he tried to score from second on a single.

        Griffey went 0-for-3 with an intentional walk Sunday, leaving him 3-for-23 during his comeback.

        Elmer Dessens (4-3) pitched seven shutout innings for his first career win over the Braves.

        “There was a nice strike zone and he used it to his full advantage,” said Chipper Jones, who flied out twice to the warning track. “He was as good as I've ever seen him.”

Adam Dunn scurries back to first base to beat a pickoff throw. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        The game got off to a distracted start when workers assembling the Reds' new ballpark just beyond the outfield wall let a large slab of stone temporarily dangle in play.

        With Rafael Furcal at bat to start the game, a crane slowly lowered the oblong slab until it touched the top of the 40-foot wall in center. One end hung over the warning track, a few feet behind Griffey, and a rope briefly drooped in front of the wall.

        Furcal wasn't distracted — he singled up the middle. The construction crew moved the slab into place, then moved to another part of the new ballpark.

Resilient Reds eager for Cards Reds 5, Braves 1 Reds Box, Runs DAUGHERTY: Dessens best pitcher you never heard KIESEWETTER: Reds radio no place for sex ad Reds Notebook: Rijo may be skipped Basestealers rue LaRue Bonds ties Robinson with 586th HR

• Return to Reds front page...