Sean Casey decided enough was enough after playing most of the season in pain.

        Casey went on the 15-day disabled list after the Reds' 9-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first baseman will have arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder Thursday.

        “I want to get it taken care and get it back so it's right,” Casey said.

        The shoulder — he has a torn muscle in the rotator cuff group — has affected his hitting. Casey finished the year with a .261, 50 points below his career mark entering the season.

        “For me personally, the year's been frustrating,” Casey said. “We were in the pennant race. I wanted to be part of it.”

        Casey went on the DL from July 23 to Aug. 7. It helped for a while, but the shoulder flared up about two weeks ago. Casey had been used only as a pinch hitter recently and had just one hit in his last 19 at-bats.

        The Reds also put Brandon Larson (broken left hand) on the DL. They recalled shortstop Gookie Dawkins from Triple-A Louisville and outfielder Wily Mo Pena from Double-A Chattanooga.

        Neither is expected to see much action.

        “I'm going to play every game to win,” Reds manager Bob Boone said.

        Pena will make his big league debut. The 20-year-old is considered one of the top prospects in the organization, but he hit .255 with 126 strikeouts in 105 games this year.

        “This is a chance for him to get a taste,” Boone said. “We'll work with him to get him in good hitting position.”

        Pena must contractually be on the 25-man roster next season or the Reds risk losing him.

        Dawkins started the year with the Reds, but he was sent to Chattanooga when Juan Castro came off the DL. Dawkins, 23, was promoted to Louisville, where he hit .251 in 47 games.

        LARSON'S BAD BREAKS: Larson says he feels like he's got a target on his back.

        First, he took a Randy Johnson fastball off the big toe on Aug. 16. That put him on the disabled list. Then, last Wednesday, he took Todd Walker's foul ball off the ear. That ended his season.

        But it wasn't the blow to the head that sidelined Larson. Somehow, the incident left him with a broken left hand.

        At first, Reds officials thought Larson fell and broke his hand after the ball hit him. Now, Larson thinks the ball might have gone off his hand before it hit his head as he ducked.

        Larson didn't realize he'd hurt his hand until he noticed swelling while waiting at the hospital for a CT scan of his head. An X-ray showed the fracture.

        Although Larson isn't sure how the injury happened, he does know he's had a major run of awful luck.

        “Hopefully, I'll be ready in time for the Instructional League,” Larson said. “I'm going to try to stay out of the way of cars.”

        Larson, normally an outfielder or third baseman, will go to the Instructional League to work at second base.

        TRADE COMPLETE: The Reds sent Triple-A Louisville outfielder Brady Clark to the New York Mets to complete last month's deal for left-hander Shawn Estes. Clark opened the season with the Reds and hit .152 in 51 games.

        UP NEXT: The Reds play the Pirates in the second game of their three-game series at Cinergy Field. Reds right-hander Danny Graves (6-3, 3.32) makes his first start, and will face Pittsburgh righty Kip Wells (12-13, 3.68).

Reds 9, Pirates 8 Reds Box, Runs Reds left to guess on budget for '03 Left shoulder injury ends Casey's season Sasaki says elbow OK Sosa fed up, wants changes Ballplayer's kindness honors mother's heroics Cardinals 3, Brewers 0 Cubs 3, Expos 2 Astros 6, Rockies 5, 10 innings Athletics 2, Angels 1 Giants 6, Dodgers 5

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