By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MONTREAL - Joe Valentine basically didn't want to mess up the good thing the Reds had going.

"I didn't want the team to miss a beat," he said.

Reds starting pitcher Joe Valentine wipes his forehead after loading the bases during the first inning. (AP photo)

But, largely because Valentine kept missing the plate, the Reds missed more than a beat or two Sunday.

The club hopes the rhythm comes back quickly. But the fact that Valentine couldn't get out of the second inning in Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Montreal Expos puts the club in a bullpen bind going into today's series opener against the Florida Marlins in Miami.

The Reds used their entire middle relief corps to get through the game.

"We were hoping to get more out of Joe," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "We were in a tough spot. We knew (Tomo) Ohka is tough. We didn't want to spot him too many runs."

The Reds walked a season-high 10 in the game against the team that came in with the fewest walks in the majors.

"I'm disappointed in myself," Valentine said. "I'm disappointed I let the team down."

Valentine, fresh up from Triple-A Louisville, walked four in the first and gave up two runs. When he walked Brad Wilkerson after allowing an infield single in the second, Miley went to his bullpen.

Valentine was not surprised by the early hook.

"I wasn't making any adjustments," he said. "None of my pitches were working. I threw a couple of changeups for strikes, but the slider, fastball were all off."

The three relievers who followed Valentine - Phil Norton, Mike Matthews and Brian Reith - each allowed a run. Norton went three innings; Matthews and Reith each went two.

"It was one of those days," Norton said. "That's the longest I've gone in I don't know how long. I was tired at the end."

Norton walked four himself.

Reds third baseman Ryan Freel collides with left-fielder Adam Dunn as they try to catch a ball off the bat of Montreal's Terrmel Sledge during sixth-inning National League action in Montreal. (AP photo)

Valentine's start - he replaced injured Paul Wilson - is supposed to be a one-shot deal. The Reds think Wilson will be able to make his next start.

Valentine, a 24-year-old right-hander, is a reliever by trade. He had never even started a game in the minors before this year. The Reds obtained him from Oakland July 30 of last year in the Jose Guillen trade.

Valentine pitched two games for the Reds last year - allowing two runs on five hits in the two innings.

The Reds put him in the rotation at Louisville to give him a chance to work on his breaking ball to complement his mid-90s fastball.

The results have been spotty at best. Valentine was 2-2 with a 6.21 ERA at Louisville.

Valentine said he was never really comfortable as a starter.

"Even when I pitched well, I didn't feel good," he said. "I wasn't used to sitting around before the game and waiting. I was used to taking batting practice and messing around out there."

Valentine thought when he got back to the big leagues it would be as a reliever. The whole circumstance of getting the call-up in a role he wasn't comfortable with may have had something to do with his results Sunday.

"There were a bunch of factors," Valentine said.

Valentine's start begs the question: Is he the best the Reds had in the minors?

Part of the reason he was called up is he's only supposed to get one start and then go to the bullpen, where he can help with long relief.

Part of the reason he was called up is because he was on the 40-man roster.

Part of the reason he was called up is none of the other starters at Louisville is pitching particularly well, although Jung Keun Bong may have been a better choice. He's left-handed and the Expos were hitting only .202 off lefties.

The Reds led 1-0 in this one. Juan Castro and Sean Casey singled back-to-back in the first. Castro scored on Ken Griffey Jr.'s fielder's choice grounder and an Expos error.

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Freel 3b	5	0	1	0	0	0	.255
JCastro ss	5	1	2	0	0	0	.301
Casey 1b	3	0	2	0	1	0	.392
Griffey Jr. cf	3	0	0	0	1	1	.239
Dunn lf	4	0	0	0	0	2	.248
DJimenez 2b	4	0	4	0	0	0	.240
JaCruz rf	4	0	0	0	0	3	.225
LaRue c	3	0	0	0	1	0	.194
Valentine p	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000
PNorton p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Hummel ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.207
MMatthews p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
WPena ph	1	1	1	1	0	0	.245
Reith p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Valentin ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.162
Totals	35	2	10	1	3	6

Montreal	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Wilkerson rf	3	2	1	1	2	1	.231
EnChavez cf	4	1	1	1	0	0	.279
OCabrera ss	4	1	0	1	1	0	.234
TBatista 3b	4	1	2	1	1	0	.255
NJohnson 1b	2	0	0	0	3	0	.200
Sledge lf	4	0	1	2	0	0	.257
Schneider c	3	0	1	0	1	0	.241
Ohka p	2	0	0	0	1	0	.105
Bentz p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Cepicky ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.216
CCordero p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Carroll 2b	3	1	1	0	1	1	.261
Totals	30	6	7	6	10	2

Cincinnati	100	000	100	-2	10	1
Montreal	210	110	01x	-6	7	1

E-Freel (6), OCabrera (4). LOB-Cincinnati 9, Montreal 11. 2B-Freel (4), JCastro (6), TBatista (5). HR-EnChavez (4), off Reith; WPena (3), off Ohka; Wilkerson (6), off MMatthews. RBIs-WPena (7), Wilkerson (16), EnChavez (10), OCabrera (14), TBatista (17), Sledge 2 (13). SB-TBatista (6). CS-DJimenez (4). S-EnChavez. GIDP-JaCruz, Sledge.

DP-Cincinnati 1 (DJimenez, JCastro and Casey); Montreal 2 (Schneider, OCabrera, NJohnson and Carroll), (OCabrera, Carroll and NJohnson).

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Valentine L, 0-1	1	2	3	3	5	0	46	27.00
PNorton	3	3	1	1	4	0	57	4.58
MMatthews	2	1	1	1	1	0	32	4.15
Reith	2	1	1	1	0	2	31	6.63

Montreal	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Ohka W, 3-5	6 2/3	8	2	1	3	3	92	3.05
Bentz H, 4	1/3	0	0	0	0	0	2	4.50
CCordero S, 1	2	2	0	0	0	3	24	1.27

Valentine pitched to 2 batters in the 2nd.

IBB-off PNorton (TBatista) 1, off Valentine (Schneider) 1. T-2:48. A-9,745 (46,338).WP-Ohka.