By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Friday's game

Jake Peavy made a reader a believer Friday. "I was reading before the game that he's one of the top young arms in baseball," Reds catcher Kelly Stinnett said of the Padres' 21-year-old starting pitcher. "He showed us."

With a sneaky throwing style and a fastball that consistently registered in the mid-90s, Peavy baffled the Reds during his part of a 7-3 San Diego win before 22,453 at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds struck out 11 times - nine times against Peavy in his 6 1/3 innings - to raise their major-league-leading total to 207 in 23 games. Cincinnati has just 175 hits.

"I think it's just everybody trying to be too aggressive," left fielder Adam Dunn said.

Barely a month into the season, the Reds already have seen some of the best starting pitching the National League offers.

Dodgers starter Kevin Brown took a perfect game into the fifth inning Thursday. Peavy struck out eight of the first 10 hitters he faced Friday and didn't allow a hit until Stinnett singled to lead off the sixth.

"We've just got to deal with it," Dunn said. "Teams aren't going to say, 'OK, these guys are facing everybody else's top three starters, so let's throw out our fourth and fifth starters and bring up somebody from the minors.' "

Friday marked the 10th time this season that the Reds scored three runs or fewer. Two of their runs against the Padres came on solo homers, one by right fielder Jose Guillen in the seventh and the other a pinch-hit home run by Reggie Taylor in the eighth to make it 7-3.

One positive for the Reds was a fourth consecutive solid outing by their starter.

Jeff Austin, a bullpen veteran, allowed four runs on three hits over six innings in his first major-league start.

"I thought he pitched very well," manager Bob Boone said. "He missed a lot of bats, popped a lot balls up, got some strikeouts early and challenged hitters."

The right-hander, who made 31 career relief appearances for Kansas City in 2000 and 2001, retired the Padres in order in the first inning only to struggle with his control in the second and third.

He walked two consecutive batters on four straight pitches but escaped the second inning without allowing a run.

Austin wasn't as fortunate in the third.

After walking Ramon Vazquez and Ryan Klesko, he hung a 1-2 curveball that Rondell White smacked for a double that put San Diego ahead 2-0.

"I lost a little bit of feel," Austin said. "My confidence took a little bit of a hit there. Luckily I was able to battle through without too much damage."San Diego scored two runs in the sixth, then three over the seventh and eighth innings off Brian Reith in what was his first Reds appearance since 2001. Austin, Reith and Kent Mercker combined to walk seven Padres. Three scored.

"Walks will always haunt you," Boone said.

San Diego	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
RVazquez ss	3	1	0	1	1	1	.291
Loretta 2b	5	0	1	0	0	1	.253
Klesko 1b	3	1	0	0	2	1	.257
White lf	4	2	2	2	1	0	.241
Burroughs 3b	4	1	1	0	1	1	.188
Nady rf	3	1	1	2	1	1	.256
MiRivera c	3	0	0	0	1	2	.133
Victorino cf	4	1	2	2	0	0	.192
Peavy p	2	0	0	0	0	2	.111
MMatthews p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Hackman p	1	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Orosco p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Totals	32	7	7	7	7	10

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
FLopez ss	4	0	0	0	0	3	.232
JGuillen rf	4	1	1	1	0	1	.212
Casey 1b	3	1	0	0	1	1	.341
Kearns cf	4	0	1	0	0	1	.282
ABoone 3b	3	0	0	0	1	1	.231
Dunn lf	1	0	0	1	2	0	.222
JCastro 2b	3	0	0	0	0	1	.286
Stinnett c	3	0	1	0	0	1	.316
Austin p	1	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Freel ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Reith p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Taylor ph	1	1	1	1	0	0	.205
Mercker p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Totals	28	3	4	3	4	11

San Diego	002	002	120	-7	7	0
Cincinnati	000	000	210	-3	4	2

E-Dunn 2 (6). LOB-S.D. 7, Cin. 3. 2B-White (1), Victorino (1). HR-Taylor (1), off Hackman; JGuillen (3), off Peavy; Nady (3), off Austin. RBIs-RVazquez (8), White 2 (15), Nady 2 (6), Victorino 2 (3), JGuillen (4), Dunn (13), Taylor (4). S-Peavy. SF-RVazquez, Dunn. GIDP-FLopez, JCastro. DP-S.D. 2.

San Diego	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Peavy W, 4-1	6 1/3	3	2	2	3	9	82	3.99
MMatthews H, 4	1/3	0	0	0	0	0	1	3.31
Hackman H, 4	1 1/3	1	1	1	0	1	18	3.38
Orosco	1	0	0	0	1	1	20	4.70

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Austin L, 0-1	6	3	4	4	4	6	87	6.00
Reith	2	3	3	2	2	3	47	9.00
Mercker	1	1	0	0	1	1	20	2.70

T-2:37. A-22,453 (42,263).