By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LOS ANGELES - The criteria for Austin Kearns to return to the big leagues is he has to hit like he's capable of hitting.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Sunday's game

It's safe to say that Kearns has met that criteria.

Kearns went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI in Triple-A Louisville's 5-2 victory over Toledo Sunday.

Kearns, on the disabled list with a fractured left forearm, is hitting .333 with two home runs and seven RBI after playing six games on his rehab assignment.

You'd think the Reds would activate him for Tuesday's series opener against Colorado.

But Reds general manager Dan O'Brien wouldn't commit to that.

"Nothing has changed," O'Brien said. "There's no timetable. We get reports on him every day."

But given how weak the Reds' bench is and the fact that no one has seized the right-field job in Kearns' absence, it seems clear that Kearns could help the Reds.

Kearns was struggling, hitting .137 when the injury occurred April 26.

"You never want to say there's a good time for an injury," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "But if it had to happen, it's better that it happened when he was struggling. It gives him a chance to step back and get untracked."

TOUGH CALL: When Kearns comes back, the Reds have to make a roster decision.

It won't be an easy call - because the Reds will potentially lose whomever they send out.

The two prime candidates are Wily Mo Pena (.182, 0-for-10 as a pinch-hitter) and Jason Romano (.067, 0-for-6 as a pinch hitter).

But neither has options. That means the Reds would have to put them through waivers to send them to the minors. Any club could claim them.

Jacob Cruz was the guy brought up when Kearns went on the DL. But he has played better than Pena or Romano - he is hitting .241 with five RBI in 29 at-bats.

Cruz is also out of options. He can elect free agency if the Reds try to send him down.

FREEL HURTING: Ryan Freel left Sunday's game in the eighth inning with a sore left thigh, the result of getting hit by a Jeff Weaver pitch in the first inning.

"It almost feels like a pull," Freel said. "Let's put this way, I'm glad (today's) an off day."

Freel went 2-for-2 with two hit-by-pitches, a walk and a triple - his fifth, moving him into the National League lead.

NO CASEY: The Reds decided to give Sean Casey Sunday off to further rest his sore left thumb. With today's off day, it amounts to giving the first baseman two extra days.

"It's much better today," Casey said. "I could have pinch hit."

The Reds are confident there's no structural damage.

"It's inflamed and sore," trainer Mark Mann said. "We want to get him over the hump."

SURPRISE PLAYER? A Los Angeles writer asked Miley who has surprised him among his players.

"I don't know if he's been a surprise but the guy who's been real consistent is Barry (Larkin)," Miley said. "I don't like to talk about streaks, but he hasn't made an error. And he's made some great plays - ESPN plays. It's amazing to see a 40-year-old baseball player do that."

Larkin is the only starting shortstop in the majors without an error.

Larkin, who did not play Sunday, is hitting .288. That's after a slow start - he's hitting .324 in his last 25 games.

FARM REPORT: Tony Blanco hit his 12th home of the year for Single-A Potomac Saturday. The 22-yea-old left fielder leads the Southern League.

The winning pitcher in Louisville's victory was Bubba Nelson, the right-hander obtained in the Chris Reitsma trade. Nelson, who came in 0-5 with a 7.04 ERA, went 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits.

The Reds promoted Seth Etherton from Double-A Chattanooga to Louisville. Etherton was 4-1 with 1.98 ERA at Chattanooga.

UP NEXT: The Reds are off today. They open a 10-game homestand with a 7:10 p.m. game against Colorado Tuesday.

The Rockies are in for three games, followed by four with Houston and three with Florida.

REDS FACT: The bullpen has allowed only five earned runs in its past 41 1/3 innings over the last 11 games, an ERA of 1.09.

Reds statistics

(Through Sunday's game)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.374	.411	139	23	52	15	1	4	25	9	12	1	0	1
Dunn	.301	.490	113	28	34	6	0	11	24	41	41	2	0	2
Larkin	.288	.331	132	20	38	6	1	1	12	9	19	2	0	0
Larson	.278	.350	36	4	10	3	0	1	5	4	6	0	0	5
Freel	.274	.358	106	13	29	3	5	1	6	8	21	7	3	4
Hummel	.261	.308	23	1	6	1	0	0	4	2	3	0	0	0
Castro	.258	.310	66	10	17	3	1	1	8	5	15	0	0	4
Griffey	.248	.353	129	21	32	8	0	8	26	20	30	1	0	0
Cruz	.241	.333	29	5	7	2	0	0	5	4	13	0	0	0
Jimenez	.209	.327	139	20	29	7	0	3	14	24	27	2	2	3
LaRue	.197	.308	66	8	13	4	0	1	10	8	15	0	1	3
Pena	.182	.265	44	3	8	1	1	1	5	4	22	0	0	0
Valentin	.167	.200	60	5	10	2	0	2	7	3	6	0	0	3
Kearns	.137	.290	51	7	7	2	1	2	5	10	15	1	0	1
Romano	.067	.176	15	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	7	0	0	0
Totals	.244	.341	1232	172	301	66	10	36	159	167	298	16	6	27

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Matthews	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0.1	1	1	0	0	1	0
Riedling	1	0	0.47	18	0	0	19.0	10	3	1	0	5	14
Graves	1	3	2.91	22	0	17	21.2	21	11	7	6	4	14
Van Poppel	2	1	3.27	8	2	0	22.0	21	8	8	1	7	12
Wilson	5	0	3.99	8	8	0	49.2	58	24	22	7	14	26
Harang	4	1	4.57	8	8	0	45.1	53	23	23	6	18	36
Jones	2	1	4.57	20	0	0	21.2	19	11	11	1	10	16
Lidle	2	3	4.70	8	8	0	51.2	49	28	27	6	10	30
Acevedo	2	3	5.53	7	7	0	40.2	39	26	25	8	12	34
Norton	0	0	5.68	17	0	0	12.2	16	9	8	2	5	7
Wagner	1	1	7.30	14	0	0	12.1	22	12	10	2	9	8
Reith	0	1	7.50	12	0	0	12.0	15	10	10	1	9	13
Totals	20	17	4.67	37	37	17	324.0	350	183	168	43	111	218