By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Juan Castro watches his three-run homer sail out. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

No matter the position, Juan Castro always brings his glove. "I've been practicing all over the field," the Reds infielder said. "I want to learn. Every time I go out there I learn something different."

Learning should be so easy. A pair of highlight-reel defensive plays at third base and a three-run home run by Castro helped the Reds beat the Astros 4-3 before 28,576 on Sunday at Great American Ball Park.

Cincinnati had lost 10 consecutive to Houston before winning two of three over the weekend.

"Everybody did their job today," Reds starting pitcher Paul Wilson said. "The bullpen did a great job. The defense did a great job. And we hit when we had to."

That's all one can ask for from a team reshaped and repaired by roster turnover and injury.

Though all facets shined for the Reds on Sunday, Castro's performance simply sparkled.

"He made some great plays for me today," Wilson said. "It's fun watching him. It's especially fun because I'm out there."

Essentially playing out of position at third base, Castro made two stellar defensive plays in the fourth and eighth innings.

In the fourth, with the Astros leading 2-1, Houston's Lance Berkman hit a foul ball. Castro reached into the stands and emerged with the inning's second out.

"I just wanted to try and get close to the stands before the ball came down," he said. "I just saw two hands that wanted to grab the ball. I said I got to get it before those guys. I'm glad I caught it."

With the Reds holding a one-run lead with nobody out and a runner on first in the eighth inning, Castro gloved his second highlight.

"If they hit the ball to me, that's what I'm there for," he said. "I want to make a play, and I want to help my teammates and pitchers. If I can help them out, that's great."

Jeff Kent's ground ball to third took an eye-blink to reach Castro, who fielded the ball cleanly and threw to second base to start a double play.

"That was a great play because we needed a double play," he said. "I'm glad I caught the ball because it kind of got me on a tough hop."

Castro also provided the bulk of the Reds offense.

With two runners on and two outs in the fourth, Castro hit a home run that just cleared the top of the center field fence. His ninth home run - he had nine total in the majors the previous three seasons - gave the Reds a 4-2 lead.

"When he first hit it, we didn't know if he had gotten enough of it or not," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "I guess it got caught up a little in the jet stream or something. But it just kept going. It was huge."

Particularly for Wilson, who turned in his 15th quality start this season.

The right-hander allowed three runs on five hits over six innings and picked up his seventh win of the season.

Eleven of the 18 outs he recorded Sunday came via either ground ball or strikeout.

It continued a trend for a pitching staff that has seen 13 different pitchers start a game this season.

With an infusion of new faces lately - Aaron Harang, John Bale and Seth Etherton among them - Reds starters have a 3.14 ERA over the past 11 games.

Rookie Ryan Wagner, Heredia and Chris Reitsma each pitched one scoreless inning of relief. Reitsma earned his fifth save.

"Everybody is here for a reason," Castro said. "I know we have a lot of young guys that are learning. But they're here because they're capable of doing the job."

Houston	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Porter cf	4	0	0	0	0	3	.207
Ensberg 3b	3	2	1	0	1	0	.291
Bagwell 1b	3	1	2	1	1	0	.272
JKent 2b	4	0	1	2	0	0	.293
Berkman lf	4	0	0	0	0	1	.284
Hidalgo rf	4	0	0	0	0	0	.301
Ausmus c	3	0	0	0	0	2	.218
Zaun ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.209
AEverett ss	3	0	1	0	0	0	.233
Blum ph	1	0	0	0	0	1	.257
Redding p	2	0	1	0	0	0	.184
Merced ph	0	0	0	0	1	0	.238
Gallo p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Stone p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	32	3	6	3	3	8

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Olmedo ss	4	0	2	0	0	1	.289
LaRue c	4	0	1	0	0	2	.239
DJimenez 2b	3	1	0	0	1	0	.315
Casey 1b	4	0	0	0	0	2	.289
RMateo rf	4	0	0	0	0	0	.239
Stenson lf	3	2	2	1	0	1	.556
JCastro 3b	3	1	1	3	0	0	.251
Taylor cf	2	0	0	0	1	1	.209
PWilson p	2	0	0	0	0	2	.130
Wagner p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Stinnett ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.245
Heredia p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
Reitsma p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
Totals	30	4	6	4	2	9

Houston	100	101	000	-3	6	1
Cincinnati	010	300	00x	-4	6	0

E-Bagwell (6). LOB-Houston 5, Cincinnati 4. HR-JCastro (9), off Redding; Stenson (1), off Redding; Bagwell (28), off PWilson. RBIs-Bagwell (74), JKent 2 (64), Stenson (1), JCastro 3 (26). SB-Olmedo (1). GIDP-JKent.

Runners left in scoring position-Houston 1 (Ensberg); Cincinnati 1 (Casey).

Runners moved up-Bagwell.

DP-Houston 1 (AEverett and JKent); Cincinnati 1 (JCastro, DJimenez and Casey).

Houston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Redding L, 8-11	6	5	4	1	2	8	105	3.66
Gallo	1 2/3	1	0	0	0	1	28	3.29
Stone	1/3	0	0	0	0	0	4	3.10

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
PWilson W, 7-10	6	5	3	3	1	4	101	4.90
Wagner H, 3	1	1	0	0	1	2	20	2.57
Heredia H, 6	1	0	0	0	1	0	15	2.83
Reitsma S, 2	1	0	0	0	0	2	17	3.92

Umpires-Home, Ron Kulpa; First, Rob Drake; Second, Mike Winters; Third, Bruce Froemming.

T-2:38. A-28,576 (42,263).

How the runs scored in Sunday's game between the Astros and the Reds

Astros first. Porter struck out. Ensberg flied out to right fielder Mateo. Bagwell homered to left on a 1-0 count. Kent grounded out, shortstop Olmedo to first baseman Casey. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Astros 1, Reds 0.

Reds second. Mateo lined out to right fielder Hidalgo. Stenson homered to center on a full count. Castro grounded out, second baseman Kent to first baseman Bagwell. Taylor struck out. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Reds 1, Astros 1.

Astros fourth. Ensberg walked on a full count. Bagwell grounded out, third baseman Castro to first baseman Casey, Ensberg to second. Kent singled to center, Ensberg scored. Berkman fouled out to third baseman Castro. Hidalgo grounded out, second baseman Jimenez to first baseman Casey. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Astros 2, Reds 1.

Reds fourth. Jimenez safe on Bagwell's error. Casey struck out. Mateo lined out to shortstop Everett. Stenson singled to center, Jimenez to third. Castro homered to center on a 1-0 count, Jimenez scored, Stenson scored. Taylor walked on a full count. Wilson struck out. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 left on. Reds 4, Astros 2.

Astros sixth. Ensberg singled to center. Bagwell singled to center, Ensberg to third. Kent grounded into fielder's choice, third baseman Castro to second baseman Jimenez, Ensberg scored, Bagwell out. Berkman struck out. Hidalgo grounded out, second baseman Jimenez to first baseman Casey. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Reds 4, Astros 3.