Wednesday's 4-1 Reds loss was a perfect slice of what you get with Gookie Dawkins. He can be spectacularly good one inning and frustratingly bad the next.

        First, the spectacularly good: He charged in and fielded a slow grounder from Rob Mackowiak and made a strong throw to just get him to preserve Elmer Dessens' perfect game in the fifth.

        “Gookie's one of the few players who's going to make that play,” catcher Kelly Stinnett said.

        The frustratingly bad: Two innings later, Jack Wilson hit a run-of-the-mill groundball to Dawkins. He caught it on a nice high hop, but then threw it 3 feet over first baseman Russell Branyan's head to break up the perfect game and open the way for four unearned runs.

        “That's a routine play,” Dawkins said. “You've got to make that play. I hurried the throw. I didn't have to.”

        Dawkins, 23, is trying to become the Reds' shortstop of the future. At one time, that seemed like a good bet. It doesn't now. But Dawkins could play his way back into the Reds' plans.

        That's why he, and not Juan Castro, was at shortstop Wednesday. Barry Larkin was rested.

        “We know what Castro is,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “He's our extra player. We don't know what Gookie is. We've got to see him.”

Pirates 4, Reds 1 Reds Box, Runs Dawkins flashes good and bad Reds Notebook: Pena here to learn Reds-Cubs Series Preview Cardinals 4, Brewers 3 Rockies 8, Astros 6 Diamondbacks 6, Padres 5 Angels 6, Athletics 5 Rangers 4, Mariners 3

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