By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Reds starter Jimmy Anderson lasted five innings against the Cardinals Thursday night, allowing 11 runs and 15 hits. (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

ST. LOUIS - Before Thursday's game, Cincinnati manager Bob Boone said the Reds would activate John Riedling from the disabled list.

"We still have to decide whose spot he's going to take," Boone said.

Jimmy Anderson probably made the decision a lot easier by pitching the way he did in the Reds' 11-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Anderson equaled a career-high by allowing 11 runs and set a career-high by allowing 15 hits. The last Red to allowed 15 hits was Mario Soto on Sept. 6, 1982.

The 11 runs is the most allowed by a Reds pitcher since Ray Kolp allowed that many on May 30, 1931.

"I'm just going to chalk this up today and get ready for my next start," said Anderson, who is 1-4 with a 9.08 ERA.

The Reds staked Anderson to a 2-0 lead in the second against Woody Williams, who came into the game 9-2 with a 2.55 ERA.

That lead didn't last the inning. The Cardinals scored seven runs in the second.

Anderson was 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA against St. Louis last year. He thinks there may be more to it than just some off nights.

"Last year, somebody told me the Cardinals had my pitches," he said. "I know they're a good-hitting club, but they seemed to be waiting on my pitches tonight."

Anderson wasn't accusing the Cards of stealing signs, but thinks he may have been tipping pitches.

"I saw Tino (Martinez) pointing to my glove," Anderson said. "I'll have to look at the tape and see if I can see anything."

The Reds (37-40) are three games under .500 for the first time since they were 26-29 on May 31.

They are 1-5 so far on their 12-game, 14-day road trip.

Thursday's game was Anderson's third start since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville. He lost all three.

Thursday, the Reds were out of the game about halfway through the bottom of the second inning.

"That seven-run second did it," Boone said.

The Reds took a 2-0 lead in the top of that inning. Adam Dunn doubled with two outs for his first two-base hit since April 30. He stole third with Jason LaRue at the plate, and catcher Mike Matheny's throw hit off Dunn's helmet.

Dunn stayed in the game and scored on LaRue's double. Juan Castro got LaRue in with a single.

Dunn left the game in the fifth and had a knot over his left eye.

"I'm fine," he said. "It hurt. But I knew right away I'd be alright."

Anderson worked a 1-2-3 inning in the first, but the second inning resembled batting practice. The highlight for the Cards: Three-run homers by Martinez and Jim Edmonds.

But the Reds bullpen was quiet. After Tuesday's 14-inning game, Anderson was going to have to suck up some innings.

"That's what made it particularly hard to swallow," Boone said. "It happened on night when we needed innings from the starter, so we couldn't do anything to stop it."

Anderson stayed in, allowing one run in the third inning and another in the fourth.

The Reds scored twice the fifth on Jose Guillen's 14th homer of the season. It equaled his career high.

Had Anderson not allowed two runs in the fifth, making the Cardinals' advantage 11-4, the Reds might have rallied.

They scored once in the sixth, then things got interesting in the seventh. Russell Branyan, Rainer Olmedo and Guillen singled to load the bases with no outs.

Ken Griffey Jr. beat out an infield grounder to make the score 11-6, and Sean Casey got another run home with a sacrifice fly. Austin Kearns then loaded with the bases with a walk.

That brought the tying run to the plate in Reggie Taylor. But he struck out and LaRue grounded out to end the threat.

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Larkin ss	3	0	1	0	0	0	.284
Olmedo pr-ss	2	2	1	0	0	1	.283
JGuillen rf-lf	5	1	2	2	0	1	.339
Griffey Jr. cf	3	0	1	1	1	0	.267
Reitsma p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
Stinnett ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.275
Casey 1b	4	0	0	1	0	1	.302
ABoone 3b	3	0	0	0	0	1	.269
Reith p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Kearns ph-rf	1	0	0	0	1	0	.275
Dunn lf	2	1	1	0	0	1	.203
Taylor lf-cf	2	1	1	0	0	1	.226
LaRue c	4	1	2	2	0	0	.247
JCastro 2b	4	0	1	1	0	0	.246
JAnderson p	2	0	0	0	0	1	.111
Branyan 3b	2	1	2	0	0	0	.192
Totals	38	7	12	7	2	8

St. Louis	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Hart 2b	5	1	3	1	0	1	.514
Edmonds cf	5	1	2	4	0	1	.302
Pujols lf	5	2	4	0	0	0	.394
Rolen 3b	4	1	1	1	1	0	.291
EduPerez rf	3	1	2	1	1	0	.298
JDrew ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.317
Calero p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Renteria ss	3	1	1	1	0	0	.336
WDelgado ph-ss	2	0	0	0	0	0	.190
TMartinez 1b	4	2	3	3	0	0	.279
Matheny c	4	0	1	0	0	0	.273
WWilliams p	2	2	0	0	1	0	.265
Kline p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Robinson ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.192
Painter p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
OPalmeiro rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	.291
Totals	39	11	17	11	3	4

Cincinnati	020	021	200	-7	12	0
St. Louis	071	120	00x	-11	17	0

LOB-Cin. 7, St. Louis 7. 2B-Dunn (5), LaRue (16), Edmonds (20), Renteria (25), TMartinez (16). HR-JGuillen (14), off WWilliams; Edmonds (21), off JAnderson; TMartinez (9), off JAnderson. RBIs-JGuillen 2 (39), Griffey Jr. (20), Casey (39), LaRue 2 (28), JCastro (13), Hart (5), Edmonds 4 (51), Rolen (53), EduPerez (17), Renteria (51), TMartinez 3 (36). SB-Dunn (7), Taylor (6). SF-Casey.

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
JAnderson L, 1-5	5	15	11	11	3	2	106	8.84
Reith	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	4.58
Reitsma	2	2	0	0	0	2	31	4.78

St. Louis	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
WWilliams W, 10-2	6	10	7	7	1	4	114	2.97
Kline	1	1	0	0	1	1	22	3.82
Painter	1	1	0	0	0	1	18	3.12
Calero	1	0	0	0	0	2	9	2.82

WP-WWilliams. PB-LaRue.

Umpires-Home, Eric Cooper; First, Tim Timmons; Second, Bill Hohn; Third, Matt Hollowell.

T-2:51. A-34,738 (50,354).