By Kevin Kelly
Enquirer staff writer

HOUSTON - Danny Kolb sat at a table inside a hotel ballroom Monday, reliving his rare bad day.

The Brewers' All-Star closer had not allowed an extra-base hit until Sunday, when the Reds hit back-to-back home runs off him in a 9-6 win against Milwaukee.

"I didn't have my good stuff, and I knew that when I went out there," Kolb said Monday. "Obviously I didn't want that to happen on that day.

"I'd rather we were blowing them out or getting blown out. But that's part of the game. You're going to have a bad day once in a while."

Sunday's loss was Kolb's first of the season, which is why he is one of seven closers in tonight's All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park.

The National League's relief corps includes Reds closer Danny Graves (1-3, 2.72 ERA, 33 saves), Dodgers closer Eric Gagne (2-0, 1.85 ERA, 23 saves) and Marlins closer Armando Benitez (2-0, 0.98 ERA, 30 saves) in addition to Kolb (0-1, 1.62 ERA, 26 saves).

The American League bullpen features veteran Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (0-0, 0.99 ERA, 32 saves) and relative newcomers Francisco Cordero of the Rangers (2-0, 2.08 ERA, 27 saves) and Joe Nathan of the Twins (1-0, 1.13 ERA, 23 saves).

"We're all different," Kolb said. "That's what makes it interesting. Guys are getting it done differently.

"Graves is going to go out there and pitch his way through the ninth inning. Gagne is going to reach back and blow you away if he wants to, and then drop that curveball or changeup on you to make you look silly.

"I've just been going out there and getting the ground balls that I need to get."

Gagne's remarkable run of 84 consecutive converted save opportunities remains a hot topic.

"I've blown my fair share," said Graves, who leads the majors with seven blown saves this season. "Sometimes you really stink when you give it up. Sometimes you get those few ground balls that find a hole and the next thing you know it's a blown save.

"But 84 straight is unheard of. I would compare that to Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak or Cal Ripken's consecutive games played streak. I don't think 84 straight will ever be broken."

This is Graves' second All-Star Game, and his bullpen success comes after a 2003 season in which he worked primarily as a starter.

The right-hander went 4-14 with a 5.33 ERA in 26 starts before moving back into the bullpen in late August. His 33 saves this season are already a career high.

"This is what I was born to do," Graves said. "I had a whole year of trying to make adjustments last year.

"Since I never figured it out it was that much easier for me to come back to this."

Nathan, who was with the Giants last season, is in his first full season as a closer in Minnesota.

The right-hander had one career save entering this season, but finished the first half with 23 saves in 24 opportunities.

"When I go out there my head is racing a million miles per hour," Nathan said. "I try to at least look like I know what I'm doing."

With so many closers available, it's conceivable that home-field advantage in the World Series could be determined tonight by one of these seven closers.

"It's a group of guys that all have different styles," Graves said. "But I think the main ingredient is we have the mentality to pitch in the ninth inning.

"A lot of guys have the stuff to pitch in the ninth inning but they can't. They don't have the ability to deal with the good and the bad."

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E-mail kkelly@enquirer.com