By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The closer's role is a familiar one for Todd Jones.

So when Danny Graves needed a break Tuesday - he pitched five of the previous six days - the Reds turned to the 36-year-old in the ninth inning of a 5-2 win at Great American Ball Park.

"It's nice to have a guy like Jonesie down there (in the bullpen)," Reds manager Dave Miley said Wednesday.

Jones pitched a perfect ninth for his first save in almost two years, and 185th of his career.

"It's been a long time since I've been out there," said Jones, who would like to reach 200 career saves. "It was fun to kind of get that adrenaline a little bit."

Graves entered Wednesday with a major-league leading 21 saves in 25 opportunities. Jones and John Riedling are the primary set-up men for Graves.

"Danny has been doing so well this year, he's been on such a crazy pace that I just don't want to see the guy get hurt because he's pitching so much," Jones said. "It's good that (Miley's) got confidence in somebody else who can come over and help out."

PAPER COVERS ROCK: Not until he watched the post-game highlights did Austin Kearns see how a bat, which flew from his hands after an eighth-inning strikeout Tuesday, was claimed.

Seated a few rows behind the spot where Kearns' black bat landed - along the third baseline wall - a fan wearing what appeared to be a plastic bag wrapped around his head and with a beer in his left hand joined two others and started a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

He won when paper covered rock, making off with the bat gripped in his right hand.

"The dude cheated," Kearns said. "He came out of nowhere and then cheated in Rock, Paper, Scissors. We sat here and watched it."

GETTING CLOSER: John Vander Wal was activated from Triple-A Louisville's disabled list and went 1-for-3 for the Bats on Wednesday.

Vander Wal, who ranks among the all-time pinch-hit leaders in hits (125), homers (17) and at-bats (506), had surgery on Jan. 27 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He began playing at extended spring training on May 12.

"His knee feels great," Reds head trainer Mark Mann said. "He's had no soreness at all since he's been playing.

"I think there are still some concerns with acceleration and deceleration when he's running. That's probably the hardest obstacle that he has to overcome."

ODDS AND ENDS: As expected, third baseman Brandon Larson was transferred from a rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Chattanooga to one at Louisville on Wednesday.

• The Reds are quite the television attraction lately. Fox Sports Net, which broadcast games Saturday, Sunday and Monday, ranked No. 2 behind CBS in prime-time viewership. Tuesday's game drew an 8.3 rating.

• Great American Ball Park ranked behind SBC Park in San Francisco and SAFECO Field in Seattle as the third best ballpark to visit, according to the U.S. Family Travel Guide released Tuesday by Zagat Survey.