By John Fay and John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Reds outfielder Jose Guillen has continued to contribute to the Reds' winning ways, despite his earlier demand for a trade.

He got a start in left field Wednesday night and had two hits in four at-bats, one of them a big RBI single in the Reds' six-run fourth inning that lifted them to a 9-3 win over the Braves.

On Tuesday, he had a pinch-hit single in Cincinnati's 9-8 victory against Atlanta.

"(The four-man outfield) is working as well as it can work, and I'm helping it work," Guillen said. "I've got to be a realist. (Ken) Griffey's got to play, and Kearnsie (Austin Kearns) and Dunnie (Adam Dunn) are doing great. I'll wait for my turn and hang in there. When I get my chance, I'll do all I can. We're winning, and everybody's happy."

He said frustration is what led him to speak out - "I was mad, I'm not going to lie to you," he said - but he also knows he needs to step back before just popping off.

"I have to keep it inside and just keep playing hard," he said. "I know there will be opportunities. I know they're not going to trade me. That's what (Reds general manager Jim Bowden) said to my agent. This team gave me a chance to play. I'm happy here; whatever happens, happens. Things have a way of working out."

DUNN DAZZLES: Manager Bob Boone watched Dunn take early batting practice and then declared: "That's the best round of batting practice I've seen in my whole life."

Boone's comments seemed prescient when Dunn pinch hit in the eighth inning and hit his 17th home run.

But if Dunn's batting practice was so impressive, why didn't Boone change his lineup to include Dunn?

"I would have if we hadn't run out of Wite Out last night with Larkin," Boone kidded.

Dunn was 0-for-his-last-8 coming into Wednesday and had struck out three times Tuesday. That and the fact that left-hander Mike Hampton was starting for the Braves were part of the decision to bench him.

"But I wanted to get Guillen in there," Boone said. "We're trying to get (Griffey) some consecutive at-bats."

But Dunn seems to have his swing down, Boone said.

"Every one was perfect, and every ball went out of the ballpark," Boone said.

GRIFFEY VS. MADDUX: After striking out swinging on 3-and-2 pitches in his first two at-bats Tuesday, Griffey hit a long homer off Greg Maddux to right field.

Did he learn something in the first two at-bats?

"Really, it was what I did, not what he did," Griffey said. "He gave me good pitches to hit the first two times up and I didn't hit them. He got me with two good change-ups on 3-2."

SULLY SUFFERS: Scott Sullivan doesn't buy the all's-well-that-ends-well theory when it comes to the runs he gives up.

Sullivan gave up the three-run homer Tuesday that allowed Atlanta to come all the way back from a 7-2 disadvantage.

"I wouldn't say it's out of my mind," Sullivan said. "I've been thinking about it today. You've got to learn from your mistakes. But I felt bad for Danny) Graves. I felt bad for the team. Fortunately, Jason LaRue picked us up."

Sullivan's ERA is 5.11. But most of the time, he has been effective. He gave up four earned runs in one-third of an inning in a 13-1 loss to Philadelphia on April 13 and three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning in a 9-3 loss to Milwaukee on May 10. Take away those two outings and Sullivan has a 2.28 ERA over 21 games.

"I think you can throw out ERA with relievers," Sullivan said.