By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Monday's game

The stage was set for a dramatic comeback Monday night. Jose Guillen singled and Adam Dunn walked with two outs in the ninth before 28,669 at Great American Ball Park. Another walk-off victory waiting to happen.

But Barry Larkin struck out on a nasty low and outside 2-2 pitch. That was the ballgame. Cubs 4, Reds 3.

The fourth-place Reds fell four games behind the first-place Cubs in the NL Central Division.

"We were a hit away," Dunn said. "(Chicago closer Joe Borowski) made some good pitches and got Lark."

Jimmy Anderson was OK in his return to the rotation, allowing four runs in six innings of work.

But he gave up back-to-back home runs in the sixth after the Reds scored a run in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead.

"After they get me the lead, I've got to put up a zero," Anderson said. "I thought I threw the ball pretty well - except for two pitches. I let it get away."

Anderson was making his first start since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville.

"I know if I pitch well, I'll stay," he said. "That's what I want to do."

The Reds took a 2-0 lead in the first. Dunn and Larkin started the inning with back-to-back singles. It was Dunn's first single in 10 days.

Chicago starter Matt Clement struck out Ken Griffey Jr. and Austin Kearns. But Dunn and Larkin pulled off the double steal as Kearns swung through strike three. Aaron Boone lined a single to right to drive them in.

The Cubs got one back in the second. Troy O'Leary singled with one out, and went to third on Alex Gonzalez's single. Damian Miller followed with a single, but Kearns threw out O'Leary trying to go to third.

The Reds had a chance for a rally in the second. Jason LaRue and Anderson singled to give the Reds runners on first and third and one out. But with the count 3-2 on Dunn, Boone started the runners. Dunn struck out. Anderson would have been out at second, so LaRue broke for home. He was caught in a rundown.

The Cubs tied it in the third, when Mark Grudzielanek doubled and scored on Corey Patterson's groundout.

The Reds retook the lead in the fifth. With two outs, Griffey doubled to the wall in left-center. Kearns, who came in hitting .388 with runners in scoring position, hit one right up the middle. Griffey scored to make it 3-2.

Anderson was cruising. The double-play ball he got to end the third inning was the first of seven in a row he retired. Unfortunately for Anderson, the streak ended with a bang, or rather a bang-bang, by Moises Alou and Eric Karros.

"The (change-up) to Alou was really bad," he said. "It was waist-high over the plate. Anyone hits that out. The one to Karros was away, but it was up."

"This is a tough one," Dunn said. "We played well enough to win, but it didn't happen."

Chicago	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Grudzielanek 2b	4	1	1	0	0	1	.282
REMartinez 3b	4	0	1	0	0	1	.276
CPatterson cf	4	0	0	1	0	0	.316
Alou lf	3	1	1	1	1	0	.300
Karros 1b	4	1	1	1	0	0	.303
O'Leary rf	4	1	1	0	0	0	.216
ASGonzalez ss	3	0	1	0	1	0	.254
DMiller c	4	0	2	1	0	1	.226
Clement p	2	0	0	0	0	1	.190
b-Hill ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Farnsworth p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Alfonseca p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Borowski p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Totals	33	4	8	4	2	5

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Dunn lf-1b	4	1	1	0	1	2	.204
Larkin ss	5	1	1	0	0	1	.254
Griffey Jr. cf	4	1	1	0	0	1	.272
Kearns rf	3	0	1	1	1	1	.295
ABoone 3b	4	0	2	2	0	2	.283
Casey 1b	4	0	1	0	0	1	.288
Reitsma p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
LaRue c	4	0	1	0	0	2	.254
JCastro 2b	3	0	0	0	0	0	.254
c-Branyan ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.150
JAnderson p	2	0	1	0	0	1	.167
a-Taylor ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.222
Sullivan p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
JGuillen lf	1	0	1	0	0	0	.340
1-Olmedo pr	0	0	0	0	0	0	.273
Totals	36	3	10	3	2	13

Chicago	011	002	000	-4	8	0
Cincinnati	200	010	000	-3	10	1

E-ABoone (8). LOB-Chicago 4, Cincinnati 8. 2B-Grudzielanek (16), Griffey Jr. (8). HR-Karros (7), off JAnderson; Alou (7), off JAnderson. RBIs-CPatterson (48), Alou (41), Karros (14), DMiller (23), Kearns (57), ABoone 2 (45). SB-CPatterson (13), Dunn (5), Larkin (1). CS-LaRue (1). GIDP-Karros, DMiller.

Runners left in scoring position-Chicago 2 (REMartinez, Alou); Cincinnati 2 (Larkin, Casey).

Runners moved up-CPatterson, JCastro.

DP-Chicago 1 (DMiller, ASGonzalez, DMiller and REMartinez); Cincinnati 2 (Larkin, JCastro and Casey), (Larkin, JCastro and Dunn).

Chicago	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Clement W, 5-6	6	9	3	3	1	9	106	4.48
Farnsworth H, 7	1	0	0	0	0	1	9	2.53
Alfonseca H, 7	1	0	0	0	0	1	16	3.22
Borowski S, 14	1	1	0	0	1	2	21	2.14

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
JAnderson L, 1-3	6	7	4	4	1	2	72	7.76
Sullivan	2	1	0	0	0	3	24	5.03
Reitsma	1	0	0	0	1	0	8	5.40

WP-Sullivan.

T-2:45. A-28,669 (42,263).