By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Saturday's game

It wasn't a big deal for the Reds' Seth Etherton - he has been to the big leagues before - when he took the mound for Saturday's game against the Houston Astros at Great American Ball Park.

"But for my family it was a big deal," he said. "My mom really missed watching baseball and watching me throw. It's been a long road back."

Because of shoulder surgery March 20, 2001, Etherton hadn't pitched in the big leagues since Aug. 4, 2000.

Etherton's comeback Saturday was spoiled by Lance Berkman's three-run home run in the fifth inning that broke up a one-run game. The Astros won 5-2 before 29,902 fans.

"He's worked as hard as anybody in the game to come back," said Reds manager Dave Miley. "He's a guy you really pull for because of the work he's done."

He gave up a solo shot to Jeff Kent on a changeup in the second inning before Berkman's blast.

"One pitch - one pitch," said Etherton referring to Berkman's shot. "If there were any such thing as a do-over or mulligan in baseball, I'd take it right there because I definitely changed the momentum of the game."

This was a guy who was once on top of the young pitchers baseball world. He was 23 years old and won his last five decisions with the Anaheim Angels over eight starts.

He was right where he should be, a first-round draft choice who had coasted through his 2 1/2 seasons in the minors.

But then came a 2 1/2-year stretch that was as fast a spiral downward as the previous 2 1/2 seasons had been rocket-fueled.

He spent the last two months of the 2000 season on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. The Reds acquired him for infielder Wilmy Caceras in December, 2000, and he has had an inside look at the Reds' medical and rehab department since then.

Arthroscopic surgery repaired born spurs and a torn labrum in his shoulder in March 2001, forcing him to miss the entire season. He was back on the 60-day disabled list from March to July 2002, which is when the Yankees - who hadn't forgot the sight of the phenom in 2000 - claimed him off waivers.

But that waiver claim was voided by Major League Baseball for medical reasons, and he was returned to the Reds.

He spent the rest of the 2002 season on the DL but had shown promise at Triple-A Louisville (7-7, 4.31 ERA, 2 complete games, 1 shutout) this season when he was recalled for Saturday's start.

"I never doubted I'd come back," Etherton said.

He said he knew his return to a big-league mound was probably emotional for his wife, Summer, who was in attendance Saturday with his in-laws.

But for Etherton, it was business as usual, facing the lineup of Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Kent, Berkman and Richard Hidalgo.

He was appreciative of having made it back, but he wasn't savoring any moments. He went right to working, getting the Astros 1-2-3 in the first before giving up the leadoff home run to Kent.

"Maybe I'll reflect back some (Saturday night) on how far back I've come, but right now I'm just thinking about that one pitch (to Berkman)," he said. "On the previous pitch I had missed with a fastball about 6 inches in, and I tried to get some of the plate on the next pitch. I got a little too much of it. He hammered it. It was a great piece of hitting, and he's a great hitter."

Houston	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Biggio cf	3	0	0	0	1	0	.256
Ensberg 3b	5	1	2	0	0	0	.291
Bagwell 1b	2	1	0	1	2	0	.269
JKent 2b	4	1	1	1	0	0	.293
Berkman lf	2	1	1	3	2	0	.286
Hidalgo rf	4	0	0	0	0	1	.305
Ausmus c	4	0	1	0	0	2	.220
AEverett ss	4	0	0	0	0	3	.232
WMiller p	3	1	1	0	0	0	.146
RiWhite p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Dotel p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Merced ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.238
BWagner p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	32	5	6	5	5	6

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Olmedo ss	3	0	0	0	1	1	.282
Taylor cf	3	0	1	1	1	0	.211
DJimenez 2b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.322
Casey 1b	4	0	0	0	0	1	.292
RMateo rf	4	0	0	0	0	1	.246
Stenson lf	4	1	3	0	0	1	.500
Stinnett c	3	1	0	0	1	1	.247
Larson 3b	3	0	0	0	1	1	.101
Etherton p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
CMiller ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Reith p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
WPena ph	1	0	1	1	0	0	.175
Sullivan p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
JCastro ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Totals	31	2	5	2	4	6

Houston	011	030	000	-5	6	0
Cincinnati	001	000	100	-2	5	0

LOB-Houston 7, Cincinnati 7. 2B-Stenson 2 (2). HR-Berkman (22), off Etherton; JKent (17), off Etherton. RBIs-Bagwell (73), JKent (62), Berkman 3 (75), Taylor (17), WPena (4). SB-Berkman (3). S-Etherton. SF-Bagwell.

Houston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
WMiller W, 10-10	6	1	1	1	4	4	101	4.43
RiWhite	1	2	1	1	0	0	22	9.00
Dotel H, 24	1	1	0	0	0	1	12	2.90
BWagner S, 35	1	1	0	0	0	1	16	1.77

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Etherton L, 0-1	5	6	5	5	2	2	84	9.00
Reith	2	0	0	0	1	1	19	3.79
Sullivan	2	0	0	0	2	3	41	3.62

HBP-by Etherton (Biggio).

T-2:54. A-29,902 (42,263).