By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Saturday's game

CLEVELAND - Before Saturday's game, Reds manager Bob Boone was talking about how Rainer Olmedo had a knack of being in the middle of rallies.

But never in his wildest dreams would Boone have guessed how much Olmedo was going to be in the middle of things Saturday.

The littlest Red came up positively huge. He drove in four runs to lift the Reds to a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians before a crowd of 31,924 at Jacobs Field.

"I'm feeling great right now," Olmedo said. "This is very exciting for me."

Olmedo, a 22-year-old from Venezuela, wants to be just like Cleveland shortstop Omar Vizquel. So to have the best game of his professional career on Vizquel's home field was very sweet.

"I talked to him this morning in the training room," Olmedo said. "He told me to do the little things."

Saturday, Olmedo did the big things:

• In the fifth inning, with the Reds down 1-0, he hit a two-out, two-run double to give them the lead. The hit was only the second of the game for Cincinnati, and it came after Olmedo fouled off four pitches - all in the 95 mph range - from C.C. Sabathia to get the count to 2-2.

• In the seventh, Olmedo's RBI single put the Reds ahead 3-1.

• In the ninth, he produced the game-winning run with a single to left field that scored Russell Branyan.

"This is a game he'll never forget," Boone said. "I don't think I will, either."

That's because it was one sweet win for the Reds. They had lost three games in a row and six of seven on this road trip.

"It's huge," Adam Dunn said. "It's been a weird series. We've been struggling. Maybe this will get us going."

A lot of good things happened for the Reds in the game. Ken Griffey Jr. made two leaping catches at the wall in center, including one to take a home run away from Milton Bradley. Austin Kearns made a great catch in right, banging hard into the wall to rob Jody Gerut of a hit and save a run. Ryan Dempster pitched 6 1/3 strong innings.

And Olmedo played the game of his life. Besides the big day at the plate, he made a diving stop and threw out Ben Broussard in the eighth. That saved a run, because Ricky Gutierrez followed with a double.

But it still looked as if the Reds would lose this one. Felix Heredia, who had not allowed a run in 13 1/3 innings, gave up two in the seventh to put Cleveland ahead 4-3.

The Reds went out 1-2-3 in the eighth, and Indians closer Danny Baez got the first two outs of the ninth. He then got Dunn down 1-2 in the count, and the Reds were down to their last strike.

But Dunn kept the at-bat alive until he got a pitch he could handle.

"He kept throwing me pitches to hit," Dunn said. "But I kept fouling them back. I finally got enough of one."

Dunn sent it off the end of the bat and into the right-center gap for a double.

The Reds sent Branyan, a former Indian, to pinch-hit for Kelly Stinnett. The boos were loud and clear.

"It wasn't any louder than the last few weeks I was here," said Branyan, who came to the Reds in a trade for Broussard last year. "It gives you a little grit. It locks you in. It's very gratifying if you lace one in the gap for a double."

Branyan, of course, did just that to tie the game at 4.

Up came Olmedo. Before Saturday, he was 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position and had one RBI.

As he did in two previous at-bats, he fell behind 0-2. Olmedo, at 5-feet-11, 155 pounds, knows his limitations.

"He's the one guy we have who doesn't go up there and swing for home runs," Boone said.

Olmedo singled the opposite way to left for the game-winner. His 3-for-4 day raised his average to .320.

"I played with him in Dayton and Chattanooga," Dunn said. "He's only been switching three years. ... His left-handed swing is better than guys' who have been hitting left-handers their whole life. He's pretty impressive."

Scott Williamson earned his 18th save with a 1-2-3 ninth, and the Reds had their 18th one-run victory, 19th come-from-behind win and 20th win with runs scored in their last at-bat.

Olmedo planned on having dinner with Vizquel.

"I got some things to tell him," Olmedo said.

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Larkin ss	5	0	0	0	0	0	.264
JGuillen lf-rf	4	0	1	0	0	1	.340
Griffey Jr. cf	4	0	0	0	0	1	.250
Kearns rf	3	0	0	0	0	0	.272
Taylor ph-lf	1	0	0	0	0	1	.224
ABoone 3b	4	1	1	0	0	1	.265
Casey 1b	3	1	1	0	1	0	.303
Dunn dh	2	2	1	0	1	1	.207
Stinnett c	2	0	0	0	0	2	.268
Branyan ph	1	1	1	1	0	0	.222
LaRue c	0	0	0	0	0	0	.248
Olmedo 2b	4	0	3	4	0	0	.320
Totals	33	5	8	5	2	7

Cleveland	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Crisp cf	4	0	0	0	1	0	.206
Lawton lf	5	2	2	3	0	1	.233
Bradley dh	3	0	1	0	1	0	.348
Gerut rf	4	0	1	0	0	0	.271
Broussard 1b	4	0	1	0	0	1	.261
Gutierrez 3b	3	0	1	0	1	0	.231
VMartinez c	4	1	1	0	0	1	.250
JMcDonald ss	4	0	0	0	0	2	.248
Sorensen 2b	1	0	0	0	1	1	.143
BPhillips ph-2b	1	1	0	0	1	0	.213
Totals	33	4	7	3	5	6

Cincinnati	000	020	102	-5	8	0
Cleveland	100	000	300	-4	7	0

LOB-Cincinnati 5, Cleveland 7. 2B-JGuillen (13), Dunn (6), Branyan (2), Olmedo (3), Gerut (15), Gutierrez (1), VMartinez (1). HR-Lawton 2 (10), off Heredia, Dempster. RBIs-Branyan (4), Olmedo 4 (5), Lawton 3 (38). CS-Bradley (4). S-Stinnett. GIDP-Larkin. DP-Cleveland 1.

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Dempster	6 1/3	4	2	2	4	4	111	6.21
Heredia BS, 2	1/3	2	2	2	1	0	21	2.64
Reitsma W, 7-2	1 1/3	1	0	0	0	1	21	4.63
Williamson S, 18	1	0	0	0	0	1	13	3.66

Cleveland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Sabathia	6	3	2	2	2	5	108	3.48
Mulholland	0	1	1	1	0	0	4	3.77
Westbrook	1	1	0	0	0	0	11	4.55
Riske H, 8	1	0	0	0	0	2	11	3.22
DBaez L, 0-6	BS, 5	1	3	2	2	0	0	20	3.69

Mulholland pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

Inherited runners-scored-Heredia 1-1, Reitsma 1-0, Westbrook 2-1. HBP-by Mulholland (Dunn). WP-Sabathia. PB-Stinnett. T-3:05. A-31,924 (43,368).