By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHILADELPHIA - Todd Van Poppel was just following orders. His 4-year-old daughter phoned before Saturday's game against the Phillies to tell dad she scored two goals in a soccer game. "Daddy, I did good," she said. "Now you go out and do good."

What Van Poppel did exceeded good. It was promising.

The Reds pitcher held the Phillies scoreless for 6 1/3 innings in a 2-0 win at Veterans Stadium.

"In a game like this, when you're playing a team in a pennant race, it's a lot of fun," Van Poppel said.

The right-hander allowed four hits - the Phillies' only hits of the game - and struck out five. His third quality start in four tries with Cincinnati also was his longest outing in more than five years.

"He's a guy that has been around and worked hard to get back to where he's at," Reds manager Dave Miley said.

The win, however, never would have materialized if not for a clutch performance from the bullpen.

Phil Norton relieved Van Poppel with two runners on and one out in the seventh inning of a 2-0 game. Norton retired both batters he faced to get out of the inning, and then pitched a scoreless eighth.

Chris Reitsma pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 10th save.

Center fielder Ryan Freel and third baseman Juan Castro also saved runs with nifty glovework.

With a runner on base, Freel dove to catch a fly ball by Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins to end the second inning.

Castro speared a sharply hit grounder off Placido Polanco's bat and threw to second to start a double play with nobody out in the sixth inning.

Outfielder Wily Mo Pena hit a run-scoring single in the fourth and Freel drove in a run on a fielder's choice in the seventh.

NUXHALL OK: Longtime Reds broadcaster Joe Nuxhall was taken to Methodist Hospital after becoming ill before Saturday's game.

He returned to Veterans Stadium before the game was over.

Nuxhall, 75, will broadcast the remaining seven games this season and 60 regular-season games in 2004 before retiring.

NO GO FOR WILY MO: Pena will not participate in the Arizona Fall League after the regular season ends.

Assistant general manager Brad Kullman said Pena, whose development has been slowed because of the limitations of signing a major-league contract in 1995, instead will go to the Florida Instructional League before playing in the Dominican Winter League.

Pena had expressed a desire not to play for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the AFL.

"We want him to go, but we want it to be a positive experience," Kullman said.

Dernell Stenson will take Pena's place on the Scottsdale roster.

ODDS AND ENDS: Catcher Jason LaRue was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning, tying the club record of 20 set by Frank Robinson in 1956.

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Freel cf	4	0	1	1	0	1	.309
JCastro 3b	4	0	0	0	0	1	.254
DJimenez 2b	4	0	0	0	0	2	.301
Casey 1b	4	1	1	0	0	2	.290
Branyan lf	4	0	0	0	0	3	.221
WPena rf	3	0	1	1	1	0	.217
LaRue c	3	1	1	0	0	2	.229
Olmedo ss	4	0	1	0	0	0	.254
Van Poppel p	3	0	1	0	0	0	.125
PNorton p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Stenson ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.231
Reitsma p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
Totals	34	2	6	2	1	11

Philadelphia	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Byrd cf	3	0	1	0	1	0	.300
Polanco 3b	4	0	0	0	0	1	.286
BAbreu rf	4	0	0	0	0	1	.302
Thome 1b	3	0	0	0	1	2	.268
Lieberthal c	4	0	1	0	0	2	.322
Ledee lf	3	0	1	0	1	1	.252
Rollins ss	3	0	0	0	0	0	.264
Utley 2b	2	0	0	0	0	1	.235
Michaels ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.320
Plesac p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
MiWilliams p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Telemaco p	2	0	1	0	0	0	.286
ToPerez 2b	1	0	0	0	0	0	.274
Totals	30	0	4	0	3	8

Cincinnati	000	100	100	-2	6	0
Philadelphia	000	000	000	-0	4	2

E-Polanco 2 (6). LOB-Cin. 7, Phil. 6. 2B-Casey (18), Telemaco (3). RBIs-Freel (11), WPena (16). DP-Cin. 1.

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Van Poppel W, 1-1	6 1/3	4	0	0	2	5	98	4.25
PNorton H, 4	1 2/3	0	0	0	1	1	22	3.00
Reitsma S, 10	1	0	0	0	0	2	13	4.11

Philadelphia	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Telemaco L, 1-4	7	6	2	1	1	8	86	3.53
Plesac	1	0	0	0	0	2	18	2.78
MiWilliams	1	0	0	0	0	1	8	5.82

Inherited runners-scored-PNorton 2-0.

HBP-by Telemaco (LaRue).

Umpires-Home, Dan Iassogna; First, Fieldin Culbreth; Second, Rob Drake; Third, Terry Craft.

T-2:31. A-35,239 (62,418).