By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

PHOENIX - It had been a long time between save opportunities when Joe Valentine took the mound Friday.

But Valentine quickly showed he knows how to go about saving a game.

Valentine threw heat and threw strikes. He needed only 12 pitches to record a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two. He hit 97 mph on the scoreboard radar reading.

Just like that, the Reds had a 2-0 win and Valentine had his first big-league save.

Valentine's previous save chance came in September of last season for Triple-A Louisville.

The Reds thought Valentine might be the closer of the future when they traded for him last year. He was one of the players who came from Oakland in the Jose Guillen deal.

The future moved up a bit when Danny Graves went on the disabled list. The Reds are sticking to their closer-by-committee plan, but clearly Valentine made points with his performance Friday.

"He got a couple of balls up," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "But overall, he threw very well. He was very composed."

Valentine has been a closer since 2000 when he was put in the role as a Single-A pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization. His breakout year was 2002. He went 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA and saved 36 games for Double-A Birmingham.

Valentine was traded from the White Sox to Oakland before last season, then to the Reds on July 30, 2003.