By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MONTREAL - The way Paul Wilson sees it, a little precaution can go a long way.

That's why he's skipping his next start to rest a slightly strained right groin muscle.

"Hopefully, I'll miss one start and be done with it," he said.

The Reds called up Joe Valentine from Triple-A Louisville, and he'll start today against the Montreal Expos. That the Reds brought up Valentine indicates they think this is a short-term thing.

Valentine, a 24-year-old right-hander, will go to the bullpen after today's start. To make room for him, the Reds optioned Ryan Wagner to Louisville.

Wagner, 21, a right-hander, is 2-1 with a 6.75 ERA. He has allowed 37 baserunners in 14 2/3 innings.

Wilson slightly tweaked his groin Tuesday when he pitched seven innings to beat the Florida Marlins 5-2. The game was played in a steady downpour.

"I don't know if I slipped or what," Wilson said. "I was being pretty guarded because it was so wet. I felt a twinge, then it got tight."

It was tighter the next day.

"It's been feeling better every day since," Wilson said. "I'm encouraged by that."

But with a groin problem, the Reds will err on the side of caution.

"You don't want to take chances," Reds trainer Mark Mann said. "These things can linger."

If Wilson is out longer than one start, it will be a blow to the Reds. He is 7-0 with a 3.34 ERA, and the team has won nine of his 10 starts.

The Reds probably will put Wilson on the back end of the rotation when he returns; that would give him nine days between starts.

WHY VALENTINE? Valentine's numbers - he was 2-2 with a 6.21 ERA at Louisville - would not seem to merit a promotion.

But he has been used in a different role this year. Valentine is a closer by trade but has been used as a starter in an effort to develop his other pitches, which complement a mid-90s fastball.

"All the reports have been good," Reds manager Dave Miley said.

WAGNER SURPRISED: Wagner was not expecting to be the one sent down.

"I was surprised," he said. "I thought I was throwing well lately. But it's not my decision."

Part of the reason for his demotion is Wagner has options. Brian Reith (0-1, 6.88 ERA) doesn't.

But the Reds are convinced this is the best thing for Wagner.

"He needs regular work," Miley said. "He wasn't getting it here."

Said Wagner: "I want to pitch. I know I've got the stuff to do the job. I'll go down there and try to get more consistent."

KEARNS OUT: Austin Kearns was out of the starting lineup Saturday night and won't play today because of an open sore on his right thumb.

"It's basically a hole in my thumb," Kearns said.

Kearns was jammed on a pitch a few days ago, and the sore spot broke open.

"We've tried a number of different things," Mann said. "The only thing that's going to help it is rest."

Kearns could return Monday when the Reds open a three-game series in Florida.

REHAB UPDATE: John Vander Wal went 2-for-4 with a double, and Brandon Larson was 1-for-4 Friday for Louisville.

FARM REPORT: Matt Belisle, after a couple of shaky starts, pitched decently for Louisville Saturday in a 6-3 win over Durham. He went six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits.

At Double-A Chattanooga, Charlie Manning went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, in a 12-2 win over Tennessee.

Travis Thompson threw three innings of one-hit, shutout ball for his third save and is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA.

UP NEXT: The Reds wrap up the three-game series with the Expos with a 1:05 p.m. game. Valentine faces right-hander Tomo Ohka (2-5, 3.25 ERA).

REDS FACT: They are now 12-3 since they were 17-17 and in fifth place, four games out of first place in the National League Central.

Reds statistics

(Through Saturday's game)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.387	.429	186	37	72	19	1	7	36	13	17	1	0	1
Castro	.295	.337	78	10	23	5	1	1	9	5	16	0	0	4
Larkin	.284	.330	176	30	50	8	2	2	18	13	23	2	0	1
Larson	.278	.350	36	4	10	3	0	1	5	4	6	0	0	5
Freel	.257	.355	144	20	37	3	5	1	8	15	27	8	3	5
Dunn	.255	.441	153	32	39	8	0	12	28	48	62	2	0	2
Cruz	.250	.386	36	7	9	3	0	0	6	8	13	0	0	0
Griffey	.243	.345	173	26	42	12	0	12	39	25	39	1	0	0
Pena	.229	.302	48	5	11	1	1	2	6	4	23	0	0	0
Jimenez	.223	.340	179	24	40	9	1	3	19	31	30	2	3	4
Hummel	.214	.258	28	1	6	1	0	0	4	2	5	0	0	0
LaRue	.200	.324	90	11	18	6	0	1	11	10	25	0	1	3
Kearns	.198	.330	86	10	17	2	1	3	13	16	29	1	1	1
Valentin	.164	.213	73	7	12	3	0	3	8	5	9	0	0	3
Team Totals	.246	.343	1611	229	397	86	12	48	215	215	393	17	8	30

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Riedling	3	0	1.38	23	0	0	26.0	14	6	4	1	6	18
Graves	1	3	2.79	29	0	23	29.0	28	14	9	7	4	19
Wilson	7	0	3.34	10	10	0	64.2	68	26	24	8	15	35
Van Poppel	2	2	3.63	10	4	0	34.2	33	14	14	3	7	23
Matthews	0	0	3.86	6	0	0	2.1	3	2	1	1	2	2
Acevedo	3	3	4.15	10	10	0	60.2	58	29	28	10	12	51
Jones	3	1	4.61	25	0	1	27.1	22	14	14	2	14	21
Lidle	4	4	4.73	11	11	0	72.1	71	39	38	10	14	37
Norton	0	0	4.91	20	0	0	14.2	16	9	8	2	5	8
Harang	4	2	5.27	10	10	0	54.2	69	32	32	7	22	41
Wagner	2	1	6.75	18	0	0	14.2	26	13	11	3	11	9
Reith	0	1	6.88	15	0	0	17.0	21	13	13	3	13	17
Team Totals	29	20	4.48	49	49	23	433	455	228	212	60	132	289