By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Austin Kearns' rehabilitation stint in Louisville is going fine. He went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk Wednesday night.

He was 3-for-7 with two walks entering Thursday's game against Durham. His right thumb, on which he had surgery July 2, is fine.

But no matter how well Kearns hits and how good the thumb feels, don't expect a quick return to the Reds.

"We want him to get at least 50 at-bats," Reds assistant general manager Dean Taylor said.

To get 50 at-bats, Kearns will have to play roughly 12 games.

That means he'll be playing for Louisville at least through Aug. 14.

"We want him to get in a groove from a timing standpoint," Taylor said.

Kearns wasn't happy with how long the Reds kept him on rehab when he was coming back from a broken forearm in May.

He says he's OK with the current timetable.

"I'm just happy to be playing," he said. "Whatever they want me to do is fine."

Kearns said the thumb, which has kept him on the disabled list since June 8, feels good so far.

"I haven't had any problems," he said. "I feel it when I get jammed, but that's normal."

Injuries have limited him to 24 starts this year. Though he hasn't hit - .195, three home runs and 13 RBI in 87 at-bats - it should be noted that the Reds are 18-7 when he starts.

PROBABLY TODAY: Ken Griffey Jr. probably will be back in the lineup today when the Reds open a three-game series in Denver tonight.

Griffey could have started Thursday, despite leaving Wednesday's game with stiffness in his right hamstring.

"It's OK," Griffey said.

"I wasn't going to start him (Thursday) even if he hadn't come out of the game (Wednesday)," manager Dave Miley said.

Griffey, however, is not on an every-other-day plan.

"It's going to be a day-to-day thing," Miley said.

Griffey made a sliding stop to cut off a ball hit by Pedro Feliz just before he left the game.

But the weather was as much a factor as the slide.

"It was cold out there," he said.

Griffey pinch hit in the eighth inning Thursday. He struck out.

LOWDOWN ON LOPEZ: Felipe Lopez has played significantly better in his latest stint with the Reds.

He doubled twice and scored three runs Thursday. He is hitting .434 with two home runs since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville on July 26.

Lopez hit .152 over 18 games in his first stay with the Reds.

"He's getting more playing time," Miley said. "That's part of it."

Miley was impressed with Lopez in the 35 games he played for him at Louisville last year.

"He worked hard," Miley said. "He was out there on a daily basis working on things up the middle on either side of the base."

LARKIN TODAY: Barry Larkin hopes to return to the starting lineup today. Larkin hasn't started a game since July 24. That's when he strained an oblique muscle.

"I plan on playing (today)," Larkin said, "if I can break into the lineup."

Larkin obviously noticed how well Lopez has played.

NO WORD: Miley had a message in to John Riedling but had not heard when the relief pitcher would be coming back from Florida, where he attended his father's funeral Thursday.

BONG OUT: Louisville left-hander Jung Keun Bong was placed on the disabled list Thursday with shoulder tendinitis. Bong went to Cincinnati to be examined by Reds medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek.

Bong, who was obtained from Atlanta in the Chris Reitsma trade, has struggled for the Bats - 5.53 ERA, 117 hits in 94 1/3 innings. He left Tuesday's game against Charlotte with pain in his left shoulder.

REDS FACT: Ken Griffey Jr. is hitting .367 (18-for-49) with eight homers and 21 RBI in 18 career games at Coors Field.

Reds statistics

(Not including Thursday's game)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.332	.390	364	67	121	34	1	16	63	31	23	1	0	5
Larkin	.300	.352	293	53	88	13	3	7	40	25	34	2	0	4
Dunn	.274	.407	368	68	101	20	0	31	65	77	132	4	1	3
Freel	.271	.378	339	41	92	11	5	1	18	49	58	20	7	11
Pena	.262	.321	229	26	60	7	1	16	43	16	75	3	1	5
Jimenez	.257	.359	373	49	96	16	2	7	37	59	64	9	6	6
Griffey	.255	.353	298	49	76	18	0	20	60	44	65	1	0	1
LaRue	.243	.328	268	33	65	14	1	12	37	20	72	0	2	7
Castro	.241	.277	195	22	47	16	1	1	12	10	33	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	.224	.268	67	8	15	5	0	2	8	4	23	0	0	6
Larson	.212	.304	118	13	25	6	0	3	14	14	35	1	0	5
Valentin	.201	.257	139	14	28	6	1	5	15	10	23	0	0	4
Kearns	.195	.327	87	10	17	2	1	3	13	16	30	1	1	1
Vander Wal	.167	.200	24	1	4	1	0	1	2	1	8	0	0	0
Team Totals	.250	.334	3630	493	909	183	16	130	467	412	849	44	18	71

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Graves	1	4	3.16	56	0	35	57.0	59	25	20	10	8	32
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	4.80	48	0	0	45.0	47	28	24	3	24	32
Van Poppel	3	5	5.33	26	10	0	82.2	92	49	49	13	15	54
Lidle	6	10	5.35	23	23	0	143.0	161	92	85	23	42	87
Acevedo	4	10	6.46	22	22	0	118.1	145	87	85	23	38	94
Wagner	2	1	6.51	29	0	0	27.2	42	24	20	4	18	16
White	0	1	6.85	20	0	0	22.1	23	17	17	9	4	16
Hancock	2	1	8.44	6	2	0	10.2	16	10	10	3	5	5
Matthews	2	1	8.84	22	0	0	18.1	23	19	18	6	10	8
Team Totals	52	55	5.17	107	107	36	952.2	1065	592	547	145	353	638