Enquirer staff and wire reports

Shortstop Barry Larkin played the outfield for the first time in his career and spent most of the time retrieving run-scoring hits as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-5 on Monday.

Nomar Garciaparra went 3-for-4 with a single, double and solo homer. David Ortiz added a two-run homer and RBI single off left-hander Jimmy Anderson, who was roughed up in his first appearance since winning a job in the Reds' rotation.

Both teams had fun with manager Bob Boone's decision to move Larkin to centerfield for one game, giving him experience in case an emergency outfielder is needed during the season.

Larkin, 38, has played three games at second base and 1,940 at shortstop during his 16-year career. He had never played the outfield at any level of baseball.

"It was uneventful, which was cool," said Larkin, who didn't get a fly ball hit his way. "After the first couple of innings, I felt confident. I'm still waiting for my first fly ball. Ground balls - I didn't have any problem with those."

The public address system played John Fogarty's "Centerfield" as he ran out to the position. He doubled over in laughter while warming up with left fielder Reggie Taylor, who was making jokes at his expense.

He got to move when Garciaparra hit a homer to right-center with two outs in the first. The ball easily cleared the wall as Larkin pulled up and watched, then caught grief for it. When Manny Ramirez grounded out to end the top of the first, he slowed and sought out Larkin as he ran off the field.

"He told me I was supposed to get Nomar's ball," Larkin said. "He said, 'You're supposed to get to the wall and jump.' I said, 'Oh, really?"'

Nothing came his way until the fifth, when the Red Sox sent 12 batters to the plate for seven runs. Larkin smoothly fielded four singles and returned them to the infield.

He never got used to the new perspective on the game.

"It's totally different," Larkin said. "One thing that I don't recognize at shortstop is the crack of the bat and the echo after the ball is hit. I've never heard that before defensively. Out in the outfield, it's like 'crack-crack.' It sounds like he hit it twice."

Larkin's flawless six-inning stint convinced Boone that he could play outfield in an emergency. Larkin will move back to shortstop on Tuesday.

"He might sneak out there again," Boone said. "I'm not sure."

Larkin doesn't envision himself playing a lot of outfield.

"I'm the eighth or ninth outfielder," Larkin said. "I'm the just-in-case outfielder."

• The Reds' slide continues. They lost their fourth straight and fell to 2-10-1 in their last 13 games.

The arms: Jimmy Anderson, the starter, got pounded for 10 runs on 13 hits. Josias Manzanillo pitched a perfect inning. He's given up two hits in 10 innings this spring.

The bats: The Reds hit three home runs. Aaron Boone, who entered the game with three hits in his last 22 at-bats, homered twice. He and Adam Dunn hit back-to-back homers in the first. Brandon Larson went 2-for-4.

The rest: It was a sellout crowd of 7,621, thanks to a lot of Red Sox fans.

Up next: The Reds play their last spring game at Ed Smith Stadium against Minnesota at 1:05 p.m. Jeff Austin makes his first start of the spring against Kenny Rogers, the almost Red. The game is on Fox Sports Net.

BOSTON					CINCINNATI
	ab	r	h	bi		ab	r	h	bi
Damon cf	4	1	2	0	Larkin cf	3	1	1	0
Dorta 2b	1	0	0	0	Mateo ph-lf	1	0	0	0
Walker 2b	4	1	1	2	Boone 2b	3	2	2	3
Nieves 3b	1	0	0	0	Freel 2b	1	0	1	0
Grcparra ss	4	2	3	1	Dunn dh	4	1	1	1
Seiber cf	1	0	0	0	Larson 3b	4	0	2	0
Ramirez lf	4	1	0	1	Casey 1b	4	0	0	0
TBrown rf	1	0	1	0	Kearns rf	4	0	1	0
Millar dh	4	1	2	0	Larue c	3	1	1	0
Brisson ph	1	0	0	0	Pena ph	1	0	0	0
Ortiz 1b	3	2	2	3	Lopez ss	4	0	0	0
Coste 1b	2	0	0	0	Taylor cf-lf	4	0	0	0
Mueller 3b	3	1	1	0
Jackson ss	1	0	0	0
Nixon rf	3	0	1	0
Bailie lf	1	0	0	0
Mirabelli c	2	1	1	2
Lloyd c	1	0	0	0
Totals	41	10	14	9	Totals	36	5	9	4

Boston	120	070	000-10
Cincinnati	200	002	100-5

E-Jackson, Dorta, Taylor, Casey. DP-Boston 1, Cincinnati 1. LOB-Boston 1, Cincinnati. 2B-Damon, Garciaparra, Mirabelli, Larson, Kearns, Larue. HRs-Garciaparra (5), Ortiz (3), Boone 2 (4), Dunn (5). SB-Millar (1).

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Boston
Burkett W, 2-0	4	4	2	2	0	1
Mendoza	2	3	2	2	0	1
Howry	1	1	1	1	0	0
Castillo	2	1	0	0	0	2
Cincinnati
Anderson L, 2-2	41/3	13	10	9	1	2
Reith	22/3	0	0	0	0	4
Manzanillo	1	0	0	0	0	0
Williamson	1	1	0	0	0	2

WP-Howry. T-2:38. A-7,621.