By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

ST. LOUIS - The Joe Valentine you're seeing in this stint with the Reds is the real Joe Valentine - or at least the Reds hope it is.

"We're very happy with him the last two times out," Reds manager Dave Miley said.

Valentine, the 24-year-old right-hander, is back to being a reliever.

Valentine's fastball hit 94 mph in his outing Tuesday. That makes him the hardest thrower in the Reds' bullpen.

Tuesday, he struck out Albert Pujols to end the seventh inning. He hit Scott Rolen with a pitch to start the eighth.

He then got Edgar Renteria to hit a double-play ball, but Valentine deflected it. That slowed it down enough that the Reds could only get one out.

"If he lets it go through, it's a double play," Miley said. "That's instincts."

Valentine, obtained in the Jose Guillen trade with Oakland, has always been a back-of-the-bullpen pitcher. But the Reds put him in the rotation at Triple-A Louisville to start the year, to give him a chance to develop his off-speed stuff.

Just as he was going to go back to the bullpen, the Reds called him up and started against Montreal. It was a disaster. He walked five and allowed three earned runs in one inning.

He made one more appearance, allowing four runs in 3 1/3 innings, before getting shipped back to Louisville.

He went back to bullpen and got his velocity back.

"As a starter, I was trying to chew up innings," he said. "I'm back up to where I used be. I was always 92-94, touching 96."

With the Reds searching for an eighth-inning setup man, Valentine will get more chances the rest of the season.

REST, WHAT REST? Miley took the lineup card out for Tuesday's game with the Cardinals. That's something he rarely does.

The reason: He wanted to get a message to Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

"I picked up the paper in the morning and read he's going to rest guys," Miley said. "First time I smiled in a week."

Tuesday's lineup was the best the Cardinals can put on the field.

"I said to (coach) Dave McKay, 'Here we are, born in the same town (Tampa). What's he going to do, rest 'em when we leave town?' "

McKay passed on the message to La Russa, who got a good laugh out of it.

FREEL OUT: Juan Castro started at third base instead of Ryan Freel Wednesday night.

Freel's knee continues to trouble him.

"That last at-bat - the check swing - he didn't run too well," Miley said.

BARRY BACK: Miley plans to have Barry Larkin back in the starting lineup Friday when the Reds play the Diamondbacks. The D-Backs will start Randy Johnson that night.

O CANADA: Aaron Myette, the Triple-A Louisville right-hander pitching for Canada in the Olympics, recorded a save in Canada's 2-0 victory over Greece Wednesday.

The Canadians, at 4-0, are the only undefeated team in the Olympics.

KEARNS UPDATE: Austin Kearns was 1-for-5 Tuesday night for Louisville on his rehab assignment. But the hit was a two-out, two-run single.

FARM REPORT: Right-hander Richie Gardner had another quality start for Double-A Chattanooga. Gardner went seven innings, allowing one run on five hits.

Gardner, the sixth-round pick last year, is a combined 12-5 with a 2.65 ERA at Chattanooga and Potomac this season.

Top-pick Homer Bailey had his best outing as a pro. Bailey threw two hitless innings for the Gulf Coast Reds. He walked one and struck out three.

UP NEXT: The Reds are off today. They open a three-game series in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night.