By Kevin Kelly
Enquirer staff writer

Nobody is declaring him a polished product, but Wily Mo Pena's play of late certainly has encouraged the Reds.

"I think the key for him has been more playing time," manager Dave Miley said.

PHOTO GALLERY

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The 22-year-old outfielder started his 39th game of the season Friday, matching his total from 2003 when he batted .218 with five homers and 16 RBI.

"The one thing that stands out to me is he's laying off a lot of the breaking stuff," Miley said. "Last year we'd send him up there and he'd chase a lot of things that were thrown to him.

"He's laid off some pretty good breaking balls and worked the count in his favor."

The semi-regular playing time, due in large part to Austin Kearns' thumb injury and Ken Griffey Jr.'s partially torn hamstring, has allowed Pena to practice in game situations what he and hitting coach Chris Chambliss go over on a daily basis.

He entered Friday's game 7-for-9 with two homers in his previous two games, and 8-for-17 with three homers and five RBI in his previous four.

That has raised his season batting average to .282, fourth highest on the team behind first baseman Sean Casey, shortstop Barry Larkin and outfielder Ryan Freel. His 11 home runs also rank fourth on the team.

Pena's development had been limited to practicing and watching from the bench the previous two seasons because he is out of options thanks to the five-year major-league contract he signed with the Yankees as a 17-year-old.

"He was put in a tough spot with his contract status," Miley said. "You really didn't know what you had. But he's getting the opportunity and making the most of it."

A KEEPER: Relief pitcher Mike Matthews, who underwent surgery July 6 to remove bone chips from his left elbow, is scheduled to begin throwing lightly today.

"I can already tell a difference," he said. "I can bend it. I have more range of motion."

The bone chips help explain Matthews' last three relief appearances when he allowed 12 earned runs on 13 hits over 2 1/3 innings.

"I had one big (bone chip) that they had to make a special incision to get," Matthews said. "That was the one that was really bothering me because it was in the back.

"Every time I tried to throw my sinker or changeup, I would feel it."

Matthews kept the large chip, roughly the size of a dime, as a souvenir of the surgery.

LISTEN IN: As part of Fox's telecast, Casey will wear a microphone during today's game. Miley will be interviewed from the dugout after the third inning.

MINOR MATTERS: Triple-A Louisville pitcher Brandon Claussen's bid for a call-up continued Thursday. The left-hander allowed three runs on six hits over six innings in a 3-1 loss against Syracuse. Claussen, who is now 5-2 since June 9, struck out eight and walked one.

He leads the International League with 111 strikeouts and 47 walks in 100 1/3 innings this season.

ODDS AND ENDS: Entering Friday's game, Reds closer Danny Graves was on pace to save 59 games this season, which would break Bobby Thigpen's record of 57 set in 1990. ... Reds chief operating officer John Allen is donating 25 tickets to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center for each of the remaining five Business Day Specials.

REDS FACT: Pitcher Cory Lidle leads the staff in innings pitched (121.1), complete games (3) and shutouts (1).

Reds statistics

(Through Thursday's game)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Vander Wal	1.000	1.000	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Casey	.346	.396	292	55	101	26	1	15	54	23	22	1	0	4
Larkin	.293	.341	263	44	77	12	2	4	33	21	29	2	0	2
Freel	.283	.381	272	33	77	10	5	1	16	35	44	15	5	7
Pena	.282	.324	163	17	46	4	1	10	28	9	49	3	0	2
Castro	.268	.307	142	18	38	13	1	1	10	8	25	0	0	5
Dunn	.266	.408	301	56	80	16	0	25	53	69	109	3	0	3
Jimenez	.263	.374	300	43	79	15	2	6	27	53	47	9	6	4
Cruz	.253	.324	95	15	24	5	0	2	19	8	28	0	0	0
Griffey	.251	.350	295	48	74	17	0	20	60	44	65	1	0	1
Hummel	.242	.286	91	9	22	4	0	1	7	5	15	1	0	3
LaRue	.228	.317	219	27	50	12	0	8	29	16	57	0	2	7
Larson	.214	.301	117	13	25	6	0	3	14	13	35	1	0	5
Kearns	.195	.327	87	10	17	2	1	3	13	16	30	1	1	1
Valentin	.172	.228	116	11	20	5	0	3	11	9	18	0	0	4
Team Totals	.251	.336	3013	413	757	154	13	102	388	350	699	38	14	53

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Graves	1	3	2.72	49	0	33	49.2	48	20	15	9	5	29
Jones	7	2	3.33	45	0	1	51.1	38	20	19	3	21	34
Wilson	9	2	3.66	17	17	0	108.1	113	47	44	13	35	72
White	0	1	3.86	12	0	0	11.2	9	5	5	4	1	8
Riedling	4	2	4.10	43	0	0	48.1	47	26	22	4	23	30
Harang	5	2	4.25	14	14	0	78.1	93	38	37	8	27	65
Lidle	6	7	4.82	19	19	0	121.1	126	67	65	14	32	76
Acevedo	4	7	5.38	18	18	0	103.2	112	63	62	20	26	83
Norton	1	2	5.66	37	0	0	35.0	37	25	22	3	20	22
Van Poppel	3	3	5.70	19	10	0	71.0	84	45	45	10	14	45
Wagner	2	1	5.79	20	0	0	18.2	29	14	12	3	12	10
Sanchez	0	2	7.53	3	3	0	14.1	18	12	12	4	9	8
Matthews	2	1	8.84	22	0	0	18.1	23	19	18	6	10	8
Team Totals	47	42	4.89	89	89	34	790.2	857	459	430	114	278	536