By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

SAN FRANCISCO - The Reds could have Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin and Sean Casey in the starting lineup today.

That hasn't happened in a month.

Casey injured his calf July 3. He went on the disabled list the next day. Griffey joined Casey on the DL July 11 when he partially tore his right hamstring. Larkin hasn't joined them on the DL, but he hasn't started a game since straining a left oblique muscle July 24.

The Reds have played 26 straight games with at least one of the three out of the starting lineup.

"I knew it had been a long time," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "I didn't realize it had been that long."

Casey came back from the DL July 14. Griffey was re-instated Tuesday after checking out OK in the pregame workout. He is expected to start today. Larkin took groundballs before Tuesday's game. A decision will be made on whether he will start today.

The Reds' downfall came when injuries started piling up. Two of the Opening Day starters - Austin Kearns (25 starts) and Brandon Larson (33 starts) - have missed more than two-thirds of the Reds' 106 games.

The injuries to Casey, Griffey and Larkin - arguably the Reds' three best hitters this year - have been too much.

The Reds were 44-37 on July 4. They entered Tuesday 7-17 since.

"It shows how good our lineup can be when we have those guys healthy," Miley said.

Right now, the Reds are in a collective offensive funk. Five of the eight starters Tuesday entered the game on some sort of skid: Casey (2-for-23, .130), Juan Castro (9-for-78, .115), D'Angelo Jimenez (4-for-40, .100), Jason LaRue (2-for-18, .111) and Wily Mo Pena (6-for-44, .136).

SAD DAY: John Riedling returned to Florida for his father, Jack's, funeral.

Riedling learned Monday that his father had a heart attack. He was on his way back to Florida when he heard his father had died.

Riedling will miss at least three days and as many as seven on the bereavement list.

8TH CHOICE: With Riedling out, Gabe White will get the bulk of the eighth-inning work.

"We'll also take a look at Mr. Hancock," Miley said.

He was referring to Josh Hancock, the right-hander obtained in the Todd Jones trade with Philadelphia.

Hancock has pitched once since the trade - a scoreless inning in the 13th to earn the win Saturday in the completion of Friday's suspended game.

CATCHING SWITCH: Javier Valentin, who has caught 17 of Cory Lidle's starts, was replaced by LaRue on Tuesday.

Valentin will start today's game when Jose Acevedo starts.

The move falls under the what-can-it-hurt theory. Lidle is 0-4 with a 7.76 ERA in his last four starts. Acevedo is 0-4 with a 9.67 ERA in his last six starts.

FARM REPORT: Second baseman William Bergolla went 4-for-5 with a double in Double-A Chattanooga's 8-4 loss to Tennessee on Monday.

OFF TO ATHENS: Triple-A Louisville's closer, Aaron Myette, is leaving the team for three weeks to pitch for Canada in the Olympics.

Myette, 26-year-old right-hander, has had a great year for the Bats. He's 3-2 with a 2.58 ERA and 18 saves.

UP NEXT: The Reds take on the Giants in the second game of the three-game series. Acevedo (4-10, 6.33 ERA) faces former Red Brett Tomko (5-6, 4.72).

REDS FACT: Cincinnati's 9-18 record in July was its worst mark for the month since a 7-19 campaign in 1989.

Reds statistics

Through Sunday's game

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.332	.391	355	65	118	33	1	16	62	31	23	1	0	5
Larkin	.300	.352	293	53	88	13	3	7	40	25	34	2	0	4
Dunn	.276	.410	359	66	99	20	0	29	61	77	128	4	1	3
Freel	.275	.381	331	41	91	11	5	1	18	48	56	20	7	11
Pena	.267	.325	221	26	59	7	1	16	43	15	70	3	1	4
Jimenez	.255	.357	365	48	93	16	2	7	37	58	63	9	6	5
Griffey	.251	.350	295	48	74	17	0	20	60	44	65	1	0	1
LaRue	.245	.331	265	33	65	14	1	12	37	20	72	0	2	7
Castro	.241	.278	187	22	45	15	1	1	11	10	31	0	0	6
Cruz	.234	.311	107	16	25	5	0	3	21	9	31	0	0	0
Hummel	.233	.286	103	10	24	4	0	1	7	7	16	1	0	4
Lopez	.222	.258	63	7	14	5	0	1	6	3	23	0	0	5
Larson	.212	.304	118	13	25	6	0	3	14	14	35	1	0	5
Kearns	.195	.327	87	10	17	2	1	3	13	16	30	1	1	1
Valentin	.194	.247	134	13	26	6	0	5	15	9	22	0	0	4
Vander Wal	.174	.208	23	1	4	1	0	1	2	1	7	0	0	0
Romano	.154	.214	26	3	4	0	0	1	3	2	10	0	0	0
Team Totals	.251	.335	3559	485	892	180	15	127	459	407	830	44	18	68

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Graves	1	4	3.21	55	0	34	56.0	58	25	20	10	7	31
Wilson	9	2	3.84	21	21	0	136.0	137	61	58	18	46	91
Claussen	1	1	4.02	3	3	0	15.2	15	9	7	2	7	9
Riedling	4	3	4.37	51	0	0	57.2	61	36	28	5	26	32
Harang	6	3	4.53	17	17	0	95.1	110	49	48	8	36	76
Norton	1	3	4.70	46	0	0	44.0	44	27	23	3	23	31
Lidle	6	9	5.32	22	22	0	137.0	150	84	81	19	39	87
Van Poppel	3	5	5.33	26	10	0	82.2	92	49	49	13	15	54
Wagner	2	1	6.23	27	0	0	26.0	40	22	18	4	18	16
Acevedo	4	10	6.33	21	21	0	113.2	137	82	80	22	36	90
White	0	1	7.08	19	0	0	20.1	22	16	16	8	4	16
Hancock	1	1	8.10	5	2	0	10.0	13	9	9	3	5	5
Matthews	2	1	8.84	22	0	0	18.1	23	19	18	6	10	8
Team Totals	51	54	5.13	105	105	35	935.2	1036	574	533	139	346	632