By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Count Reds relief pitcher Todd Jones among those surprised that Expos pitcher Chad Cordero batted for himself with two outs in the 10th inning Saturday.

"I just couldn't believe that they didn't pinch hit for Cordero, on the road, in a tie game in the 10th inning," Jones said. "I don't know the situation of their bench and I don't know the situation of their bullpen.

"But I'd rather try to get me than try to wade through our lineup."

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Saturday's game

Upon striking out Cordero with a 92 mph pitch to complete his perfect inning of relief, Jones returned to the Reds dugout and delivered a passionate message.

"I just told our guys that (sending Cordero to bat) was kind of an insult," Jones said. "Maybe not. Maybe they just got caught up in the moment or whatever. But it sure made me look like I really knew what I was doing."

Jones sought out Sean Casey, Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn.

Casey doubled to right field. Griffey was intentionally walked, and Dunn hit a home run to right field that gave the Reds a 6-3 extra-inning win.

"He's a cheerleader," Dunn said of Jones, who improved to 4-1 this season. "He's been in the league for 10 years and still enjoys it. He's just like a little kid having fun."

BLACK MAGIC: There are no bottles of rum, incense sticks, candles or chicken bone offerings in Brandon Larson's locker.

But when the Reds visit Jacobs Field for a three-game series against the Indians later this week, the third baseman may take teammate Jacob Cruz up on an offer to try to change his luck.

"Cruz said there was some Voodoo lady in Cleveland. He was dead serious about it, too," said Larson, who has been on the disabled list five times since 2002. "I'll go wherever. There's got to be a hex or something. I don't know. It's unbelievable."

On Friday, in his first game since coming off the DL for the second time this season, he was hit by a pitch during his first at-bat and was nearly struck by a flying broken bat while warming up for another at-bat later in the game. X-rays taken on the forearm Saturday were negative.

"I'm just trying to play," said Larson, who singled in his first two at-bats Saturday. "That's my whole goal right now."

MEDICAL REPORT: Shortstop Barry Larkin (abdominal strain) and right fielder Austin Kearns did not start Saturday.

But Larkin appeared as a pinch hitter for the second consecutive game.

Kearns has not started the past seven games because of a sore on the inside of his right thumb. He is expected to play today.

"It's gotten a lot better. So we'll see," Kearns said. "I thought I was going to play (Saturday), but hopefully I'll get to play (Sunday)."

Utility man Ryan Freel also has a sore left knee.

ANSWERING THE CALL: Reds chief operating officer John Allen has accepted an invitation from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to participate in the Department of Defense's Joint Civilian Orientation Conference. The program, which includes briefings at the Pentagon and will take participants to overseas military bases, starts today and ends Saturday.

"I'm really honored and flattered," said Allen, who was wounded in action while serving in Vietnam. "I feel a little guilty about leaving in the middle of the season, but it's a great opportunity."

HIGH PROTEIN DIET: A recent influx of cicadas at Great American Ball Park helped earn bullpen coach Tom Hume and third baseman Tim Hummel a little extra cash Saturday.

Dared to eat a live cicada for $500, both did without hesitation prior to batting practice.

"It tasted like a popcorn kernel," Hummel said. "There was nothing inside of it."

ODDS AND ENDS: Expos pitcher Tomo Ohka is the 313th pitcher to allow a home run to Griffey, who now has 496 career . . . Sean Casey's two-out double in the 10th inning was the 200th of his career. .

REDS FACT: They've gone 1-11 in games in which they scored fewer than three runs.

Reds statistics

(Through Saturday's game)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.384	.426	211	43	81	20	1	10	42	15	19	1	0	1
Castro	.298	.337	84	11	25	6	1	1	9	5	17	0	0	4
Larkin	.287	.330	188	32	54	8	2	3	20	13	25	2	0	1
Larson	.279	.354	43	5	12	3	0	1	5	4	8	0	0	5
Pena	.269	.329	67	7	18	2	1	4	9	5	28	1	0	1
Dunn	.260	.434	173	37	45	8	0	17	37	50	69	2	0	2
Griffey	.242	.352	194	32	47	12	0	15	44	31	44	1	0	0
Jimenez	.241	.351	203	26	49	10	2	3	20	34	32	5	5	4
Freel	.238	.332	164	22	39	5	5	1	8	16	27	8	3	7
Cruz	.233	.353	43	7	10	3	0	0	6	8	16	0	0	0
LaRue	.206	.333	107	11	22	7	0	1	12	13	29	0	1	5
Kearns	.195	.327	87	10	17	2	1	3	13	16	30	1	1	1
Hummel	.188	.229	32	1	6	1	0	0	4	2	5	0	0	1
Valentin	.156	.202	77	7	12	3	0	3	8	5	10	0	0	3
Lopez	.067	.067	15	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	2
Team Totals	.247	.340	1823	258	450	93	13	62	242	234	436	21	10	39

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Riedling	4	0	1.50	26	0	0	30.0	17	8	5	1	10	20
Matthews	0	0	2.45	9	0	0	7.1	6	3	2	2	3	3
Wilson	7	0	3.18	11	11	0	70.2	69	27	25	8	19	39
Graves	1	3	3.27	33	0	26	33.0	32	17	12	9	4	21
Jones	4	1	4.02	28	0	1	31.1	25	14	14	2	15	25
Acevedo	3	4	4.26	11	11	0	67.2	66	33	32	12	14	58
Van Poppel	2	2	4.31	11	5	0	39.2	43	19	19	3	8	25
Norton	0	0	4.42	22	0	0	18.1	19	10	9	2	9	8
Lidle	4	4	4.42	12	12	0	79.1	78	40	39	10	15	43
Harang	4	2	5.43	11	11	0	59.2	79	37	36	7	22	44
Reith	2	1	6.20	18	0	0	20.1	22	14	14	4	14	21
Valentine	0	1	27.00	1	1	0	1.0	2	3	3	0	5	0
Team Totals	33	22	4.41	55	55	27	487	510	255	237	66	156	324

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Enquirer reporter John Fay contributed to this report.