By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Sunday's game

Jimmy Anderson had plenty of chances to show he could be the Reds' fifth starter. Jeff Austin was given a shot. So were John Riedling and Chris Reitsma.

They were all so underwhelming that after awhile Reds manager Bob Boone decided to forget about trying to find a fifth starter and go with an old-fashioned four-man rotation.

But the five-man is back and tonight the quest for a fifth starter falls upon right-hander Jose Acevedo, who will start against the Milwaukee Brewers. With the Reds now a distant 101/2 games out of first place, the search seems to have lost much of its meaning, except perhaps for next year.

"It's very big to me, coming from Class AAA," Acevedo said Sunday. "I'm going to do my best."

Acevedo, 25, had two auditions with the Reds last year. He went 4-2 in five starts and one relief appearance with a 7.23 ERA.

He was 6-2 this year with a 3.43 ERA at Louisville, where he made his first 26 appearances in relief before starting his last three games.

After working a scoreless inning in his 2003 Reds debut Saturday, he says he's more prepared for the major leagues this time around, both mentally and physically.

"I'm more focused," he said. "I know there's nothing to worry about. Whatever it is, I've been through it already. I know what it is (to pitch on this level). I know what's going on."

While Acevedo is viewing this as a chance to solidify a spot in the starting rotation, Boone sees it as little more than a stopgap measure to get the Reds through the fifth spot in the rotation.

Originally, Boone said he might view this as a bullpen day in which he would use Riedling, Brian Reith, Felix Heredia and Acevedo each for a few innings. And although Acevedo will be allowed to go as long as he's effective, Boone hasn't altered from his basic concept for the day.

"When you start talking about who should you start, Riedling, Reith and Heredia are limited by the number of innings they can pitch," Boone said. "Acevedo is the most stretched out. But I'm still thinking of it as a bullpen day. He'll go as long as he can go, but I'm not thinking of getting nine innings as you would a normal fifth guy."

Still, Boone is eager to see if Acevedo has improved since he was here last year and Acevedo is eager to show him and general manager Jim Bowden that he has.

"I went down there and worked a lot on my breaking pitch," Acevedo said. "Now I can put it where I want it."

That's what Boone will be looking to see.

"They say he's getting the ball down a lot better," Boone said.

But at this point in the season, with so many pitchers having come and gone and so many of them having been disappointments, Boone is taking nothing for granted.

"We'll all be watching and seeing," he said.

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com