By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

See more photos from today's game.

After he waved at strike three in the eighth inning Sunday, Cory Lidle began a slow stroll back to the Reds dugout.

Applause followed each step of the way, ceasing only when the Reds pitcher disappeared down the dugout steps.

"Oh, I noticed that," Lidle said. "That was pretty neat."

The strikeout drew a favorable response from many of the 29,693 fans at Great American Ball Park on Sunday simply because of what it represented.

"Any time a pitcher gives you four at-bats," Reds center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. said, "you know he's done something right."

Lidle reappeared for the ninth inning and quickly put the final brushstrokes on a 7-0 win against the Astros.

The right-hander baited Houston right fielder Richard Hidalgo into swinging at a 76-mph curveball in the dirt to end the game and complete his six-hit shutout.

"That's really not a pitch I strike guys out on," Lidle said. "But when I decided to throw the curveball I said to myself, 'I'm just going to crank on this one and get it down.'

"He swung right over the top."

Lidle's third complete game in 10 starts this season, combined with continued production from the Reds' offense, also kept them atop the National League Central standings.

It was the fifth consecutive win for the Reds and the eighth in their past nine games. They are now seven games over .500 for the first time since July 1, 2002.

"We're doing the things we need to do," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "We're not trying to do too much.

"(Contributions are) coming from different guys."

The Reds are tied for first place with the Chicago Cubs, who beat St. Louis 4-3 Sunday night, at 25-18. Houston is one game back at 24-19.

"It's definitely nice to be in this position," said Lidle, now 3-4 with a 4.52 ERA this season. "But we have a long way to go."

Backed by an offense that has produced 22 runs on 34 hits in the first three games against the Astros - including 12 hits Sunday - Lidle faced 33 batters and threw 71 of 106 pitches for strikes.

He faced no more than five batters in any inning and did not allow a Houston base runner to reach third.

"It was exactly what we needed," Miley said. "Those guys got to sit down in the bullpen and watch the game."

The Reds hit three home runs Sunday, two off Houston starter Wade Miller, and gave Lidle a 5-0 lead by the fifth inning.

"It just lets you breath, takes a little bit of the pressure off," he said of the run support.

"You're able to get a rhythm going and you get momentum . . . I just went with it, continued to try and make pitches. It worked out perfect."

Four Reds batters finished with two or more hits in the game.

Reds first baseman Sean Casey raised his league-leading batting average to .380 by going 3-for-4 with a solo home run. Griffey hit his ninth homer of the season, raising his career total to 490.

Right fielder Austin Kearns went 2-for-4, including a two-run single that gave Cincinnati a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Backup catcher Javier Valentin homered and also doubled while reserve shortstop Juan Castro, the defensive star Saturday, had two singles and a run-scoring ground-rule double in the eighth inning to make it 7-0.

Lidle, who struck out four and walked two, even contributed with a pair of sacrifice bunts.

"Right now we're getting timely hits," he said. "There were times (earlier this season) when we weren't getting the timely hits, but everything is working now.

"And I think we have the type of pitching staff that feeds off each other . . . Everyone is pulling for everyone and I think it shows."

Houston	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Biggio cf	3	0	1	0	0	0	.310
AEverett ss	4	0	1	0	0	1	.271
Berkman lf	3	0	0	0	1	0	.338
JKent 2b	4	0	1	0	0	0	.299
Ensberg 3b	4	0	1	0	0	1	.291
Hidalgo rf	4	0	0	0	0	2	.276
JVizcaino 1b	3	0	2	0	0	0	.200
Ausmus c	3	0	0	0	0	0	.267
WMiller p	2	0	0	0	0	0	.333
Duckworth p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
OPalmeiro ph	0	0	0	0	1	0	.171
Backe p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	30	0	6	0	2	4

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Freel 3b	5	0	1	0	0	1	.260
DJimenez 2b	3	1	0	0	1	0	.224
Casey 1b	4	3	3	1	0	0	.380
Griffey Jr. cf	3	1	1	2	1	0	.237
Kearns rf	4	0	2	2	0	1	.191
Dunn lf	4	0	0	0	0	2	.286
Valentin c	4	2	2	1	0	1	.179
JCastro ss	4	0	3	1	0	0	.278
Lidle p	2	0	0	0	0	2	.133
Totals	33	7	12	7	2	7

Houston	000	000	000	-0	6	0
Cincinnati	200	120	11x	-7	12	1

E-DJimenez (4). LOB-Houston 6, Cincinnati 6. 2B-Valentin (3), JCastro (4). HR-Casey (5), off Duckworth; Griffey Jr. (9), off WMiller; Valentin (3), off WMiller. RBIs-Casey (30), Griffey Jr. 2 (31), Kearns 2 (10), Valentin (8), JCastro (9). S-Lidle 2. GIDP-Biggio, Ausmus, DJimenez.

DP-Houston 1 (JKent, AEverett and JVizcaino); Cincinnati 3 (Freel and Casey), (Freel, DJimenez and Casey), (Freel, DJimenez and Casey).

Houston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
WMiller L, 5-4	5	8	5	5	2	5	90	3.56
Duckworth	2	2	1	1	0	1	29	6.10
Backe	1	2	1	1	0	1	24	5.14

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Lidle W, 3-4	9	6	0	0	2	4	106	4.52

HBP-by Lidle (Biggio). WP-Lidle 2.

T-2:26. A-29,693 (42,271).