Cincinnati Enquirer

Shortstop/captain Barry Larkin isn't mailing it in in what apparently is his final season.

Larkin, 49 games from joining the top 10 in games played all-time at his position, is batting .306 while playing in 28 of 30 games.

He has hit safely in 17 of his past 19 games (29-for-81, .358).

While he doesn't have the range he once did, he has made some outstanding plays and hasn't committed an error.

And the whiff . . .

The Reds' problems with strikeouts was never more evident than in Wednesday night's victory over the Brewers. The Reds had the tying run on third with one out in both the eighth and ninth innings, only to suffer back-to-back strikeouts to end each inning.

The Reds entered Saturday leading the major leagues in strikeouts with 239, 18 more than the Brewers.

Are they too patient? They were second in walks to the Yankees with 135.

Trivia

Danny Graves is four saves from tying John Franco for the club's all-time saves total. Who is third on the list (answer below).

Who's hot

The bullpen. The crew that leads the big leagues in blown saves - the Reds have lost nine games in which they had the lead - has rallied.

The bullpen has allowed only two earned runs in the past six games for an 0.81 ERA over 22 innings. That lowered the crew's ERA from 6.00 to 4.88.

Who's not

Reds catchers. They are tied with the Dodgers for the major-league lead with five passed balls. Reds catchers also have six errors.

They have, however, thrown out six of 16 would-be base stealers (38 percent).

Remember him?

Jose Guillen. The Reds dealt him to Oakland last July 30 for pitchers Aaron Harang, Joe Valentine and Jeff Bruksch. Signed as a free agent by the Angels, he entered Saturday batting .313 with five home runs and 24 RBI. He had a .384 on-base percentage.

By the numbers

31 Homers by Barry Bonds at Cinergy Field, most by a Reds opponent.

8 of 17 Number of first batters faced that have reached base against closer Danny Graves, including Dustin Mohr, who hit a home run Saturday.

12-6 Reds' record in games in which they homered.

4-7 Record in games they haven't homered.

16-9 Record in games in which they've scored three or more runs.

0-5 Record in games they've scored three or fewer runs.

Trivia answer

Clay Carroll was third on the Reds' all-time save list with 102. He saved seven games, third on the team behind Rawley Eastwick (22) and Will McEnaney (15), in 1975, his final season as a Red.

The week ahead

The Reds visit the top two teams in the NL West, the Padres and Dodgers. The Reds' first visit to San Diego's new Petco Park - the 56th stadium Joe Nuxhall would have played or broadcast in - begins Tuesday. The Los Angeles series begins Friday.