The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Major League draft begins Monday. Here are a few tidbits.

• Bernie Carbo was the Reds' first-round pick in baseball's first draft in 1965. Some high school catcher from Oklahoma was their second-round selection. His name? Johnny Bench.

• Barry Larkin was taken with the fourth pick in the 1985 draft, behind B.J. Surhoff, Will Clark and Bobby Witt. Some guy named Barry Bonds was taken sixth. (The Reds had drafted Larkin out of Moeller in 1982, but he opted to attend Michigan.)

• Ken Griffey Jr. was the No. 1 overall selection by the Mariners in 1987. The Reds, with the 18th pick, took Oklahoma pitcher Jack Armstrong.

• The Reds selected Louisiana State shortstop Brandon Larson with the 14th pick in 1997. The Astros took All-Star outfielder Lance Berkman two picks later.

• The 1998 draft was the Reds' best in recent history. They picked Austin Kearns with their first-round pick, No. 7 overall, and Adam Dunn with their second. The Blue Jays took Florida high school shortstop Felipe Lopez with the eighth pick.

• In 1986, the Reds took California high school shortstop Kurt Stillwell with the second pick overall. The Red Sox took a University of Texas pitcher by the name of Roger Clemens with pick No. 19.

Remember him? Scott Service

The 37-year-old Aiken High grad has been bouncing around professional ball since 1988, including parts of four seasons with the Reds.

He found himself last week as the Diamondbacks' designated closer by manager Bob Brenly, who was frustrated by his bullpen's failings. Service has a 2.84 ERA in four games.

Trivia

Ken Griffey Jr. has home runs on Reds' fans minds. Who holds the team's single-season record for home runs. (answer below).

Who's hot

Wily Mo Pena

The much-maligned outfielder entered Saturday with a seven-game hitting streak (10-for-21, .476, 3 HR, 4 RBI). Last Sunday, he hit his first career pinch-hit homer. His .267 average with runners in scoring position was fourth on the team.

Who's not

The defense. The Reds committed nine errors in four games before going errorless Friday, and now have 39, third-most in the NL.

By the numbers

252: Runs scored by the Reds, and Reds opponents, entering Saturday.

10: Consecutive victories by the Reds over first-place teams.

3: Consecutive seasons the Reds had a losing record at home. They entered Saturday 16-10 at GABP.

8: Times catcher Jason LaRue has been hit by pitch. He tied the club record of 20 last season, matching Frank Robinson from 1956.

2.25: ERA by reliever Todd Jones over his past 14 appearances.

8: Runners thrown out attempting to steal by catcher Javier Valentin, out of 11 (73 percent).

Trivia answer

George Foster holds the Reds' single-season home run record, with 52 in 1977.

Up next

The Reds begin interleague play with three games at Oakland and three at Cleveland. Oakland swept the Reds in three games in 2002, their first meeting since the 1990 World Series. They will face two of the A's aces - Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.