By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The starting pitcher for whom the Reds have been searching the baseball world may have been down on their Louisville farm team all season.
Jose Acevedo, fresh up from Triple-A, threw seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball Monday in the Reds' 11-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers before a crowd of 22,360 at Great American Ball Park.
Acevedo said despite the long wait at Louisville, he didn't feel any pressure.
"I'm 25 years old," he said. "I know what I'm doing. I was ready to go."
It was only one start, but it came at a perfect time for the Reds.
"We really needed this as a team," Reds manager Bob Boone said. "We battled pretty hard against Houston and didn't have anything to show for it."
The Reds pounded out 15 hits, including home runs by Jose Guillen, Ruben Mateo and a pinch-hit grand slam by Russell Branyan. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak and a seven-game home skid.
But Acevedo was the story of the night. He struck out six, walked two, and his pitches consistently were clocked at 94 mph. He didn't allow a hit after the third inning and retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced.
Acevedo, like many, wondered why he wasn't brought up earlier.
"That's the way it is," he said. "There were a couple guys in front of me, guys who made more money, guys with more experience."
Joey Hamilton, Jeff Austin, Brian Reith, Chris Reitsma, Todd Van Poppel and Jimmy Anderson were all called up from Louisville before Acevedo. All but Reith and Reitsma failed miserably after their call-up.
Acevedo's past failings with the Reds could have been keeping him in the minors.
"Not with me," Boone said. "I'm one of the guys who counts. He pitched real good down there. But we used him in relief until the last month or so."
Acevedo was used in relief in his first 26 games at Triple-A. He went 6-2 with a 3.17 ERA. He made his first start June 30 and was building innings slowly. He allowed only three earned runs over nine innings in his next two starts.
Acevedo's first three pitches Monday were balls, but he battled back to get leadoff man Eric Young to pop up. He gave up a two-out double to Geoff Jenkins, but he struck out Richie Sexson.
"He mixed up his pitches and kept the ball down," catcher Jason LaRue said "That's what you needed to do to be successful, and he didn't make too many mistakes."
The Reds took a 2-0 lead in the first. D'Angelo Jimenez extended his career-high hitting streak to 11 games with a leadoff single. Barry Larkin walked. Both moved up on a passed ball. Guillen's single to right scored Jimenez and Larkin.
Mateo made it 3-0 in the second with his third home run of the year.
LaRue singled in the sixth and scored on Jimenez's sacrifice fly.
Guillen led off the seventh with a home run, and five batters later Branyan hit the third grand slam of his career. It was his first pinch-hit homer.
| Milwaukee | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| EYoung 2b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .252 |
| Podsednik cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .314 |
| Jenkins lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .279 |
| Sexson 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .260 |
| Vander Wal rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .284 |
| Hall ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| KGinter 3b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .266 |
| EddPerez c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .304 |
| Clayton ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .207 |
| Kinney p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .029 |
| Kieschnick p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .362 |
| Nance p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
| Totals | 31 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |
| Cincinnati | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| DJimenez 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .326 |
| Larkin ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .275 |
| Larson ph-3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .078 |
| JGuillen rf | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .339 |
| Taylor cf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .223 |
| Casey 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .304 |
| ABoone 3b-ss | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .266 |
| JCastro ph-ss | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .239 |
| RMateo cf-rf | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .242 |
| Dunn lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .202 |
| LaRue c | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .241 |
| JoAcevedo p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Branyan ph | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .235 |
| Riedling p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .235 |
| Mercker p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- |
| Totals | 37 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 5 | |
| Milwaukee | 000 | 000 | 002 | -2 | 4 | 1 |
| Cincinnati | 210 | 101 | 60x | -11 | 15 | 2 |
E-Sexson (8), ABoone 2 (14). LOB-Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 9. 2B-EYoung (16), Jenkins (22), ABoone (18), RMateo (2). 3B-LaRue (1). HR-KGinter (6), off Mercker; Sexson (26), off Mercker; Branyan (3), off Kieschnick; JGuillen (19), off Kinney; RMateo (3), off Kinney. RBIs-Sexson (72), KGinter (20), DJimenez (1), JGuillen 3 (54), RMateo (9), LaRue 2 (34), Branyan 4 (10). SB-JGuillen (1), Dunn (8). S-JoAcevedo. SF-DJimenez. GIDP-Jenkins, EddPerez, Casey.
Runners left in scoring position-Milwaukee 2 (Jenkins, Sexson); Cincinnati 5 (DJimenez 2, RMateo, LaRue 2).
DP-Milwaukee 1 (Sexson, Clayton and Kinney); Cincinnati 2 (ABoone, DJimenez and Casey), (DJimenez, ABoone and Casey).
| Milwaukee | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| Kinney L, 6-8 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 99 | 5.00 |
| Kieschnick | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 4.81 |
| Nance | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5.87 |
| Cincinnati | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
| JoAcevedo W, 1-0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 102 | 0.00 |
| Riedling | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 5.83 |
| Mercker | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 2.76 |
Kinney pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.
Inherited runners-scored-Kieschnick 2-2.
IBB-off Kieschnick (Dunn) 1. HBP-by Kieschnick (LaRue). WP-JoAcevedo.
PB-EddPerez.
T-2:39. A-22,630 (42,263).
How the runs scored in Monday's game between the Brewers and the Reds
Reds first. Jimenez singled to right. Larkin walked on a full count, Jimenez to second. On Perez's passed ball, Jimenez to third, Larkin to second. Guillen singled to right, Jimenez scored, Larkin scored. Casey grounded into a double play, first baseman Sexson to shortstop Clayton to pitcher Kinney, Guillen out. Boone flied out to center fielder Podsednik. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Reds 2, Brewers 0.
Reds second. Mateo homered to center on a 0-2 count. Dunn singled to right. LaRue popped out to second baseman Young. Acevedo flied out on a bunt to catcher Perez. Dunn stole second. Jimenez grounded out, second baseman Young to first baseman Sexson. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Reds 3, Brewers 0.
Reds fourth. Mateo doubled to left. Dunn fouled out to third baseman Ginter. LaRue tripled to center, Mateo scored. Acevedo struck out. Jimenez struck out. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Reds 4, Brewers 0.
Reds sixth. Dunn struck out. LaRue singled to left. Acevedo safe on a sacrifice plus first baseman Sexson's throwing error. LaRue to third. Jimenez hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder Podsednik, LaRue scored. Larkin flied out to center fielder Podsednik. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 left on. Reds 5, Brewers 0.
Reds seventh. Guillen homered to center on a 1-1 count. Casey singled to center. Boone doubled to center, Casey to third. Kieschnick pitching. Mateo lined out to pitcher Kieschnick. Dunn was intentionally walked. LaRue was hit by a pitch, Casey scored, Boone to third, Dunn to second. Branyan pinch-hitting for Acevedo. Branyan homered to center on a 1-0 count, Boone scored, Dunn scored, LaRue scored. Jimenez grounded out, second baseman Young to first baseman Sexson. Larson pinch-hitting for Larkin. Larson struck out. 6 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Reds 11, Brewers 0.
Brewers ninth. Castro in as shortstop. Mercker pitching. Sexson homered to left on a full count. Hall pinch-hitting for Vander Wal. Hall grounded out, pitcher Mercker to first baseman Casey. Ginter homered to left on a 1-0 count. Perez grounded out, first baseman Casey to pitcher Mercker. Clayton struck out. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Reds 11, Brewers 2.
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