By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

MILWAUKEE - The Reds had a team meeting before Friday night's series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Reds manager Dave Miley addressed the usual play-hard-until-the-end subject, but Miley also laid into the club over a team party that got out of hand Thursday night at the team hotel.

Neither Miley nor general manager Dan O'Brien would comment on the incident.

Ryan Freel and D'Angelo Jimenez got into an altercation at the party. Pfister Hotel security called Miley early Tuesday morning.

"It's been handled in a very direct way," said a team official, who requested anonymity.

Freel had a cut on the back of his head. But both he and Jimenez were in the lineup Friday night.

Miley was livid over the fact that the incident happened while the team is struggling so badly.

Fines were levied over the incident.

ADDED ARM: The Reds claimed right-handed pitcher Juan Padilla off waivers from the New York Yankees

"We didn't think a pitcher of his caliber would be available," O'Brien said.

Padilla, 27, pitched in six games for the Yankees this year. He was 0-0 with a 3.97 ERA. He will join the club today.

His minor-league statistics are impressive: 24-23 with a 3.10 ERA and 89 saves.

"Three of our scouts have observed him this year," O'Brien said. "He's a three-pitch pitcher. He challenges hitters. He's a strike-thrower deluxe."

With the Reds' bullpen struggling, Padilla will be thrown right into the mix.

"He's going to get an opportunity," Miley said. "His role is to be determined. We need to improve our pitching, especially the bullpen."

Padilla, a native of Puerto Rico who went to college at Jacksonville, was glad for the chance.

"He's very excited," O'Brien said.

MORE ARMS: Relievers Danny Graves and Mike Matthews were activated off the disabled list before Friday's game as expected.

"Any time you get a chance to add two quality arms, it helps," Miley said.

Matthews, coming back from July 3 elbow surgery, made three appearances at Triple-A Louisville. He did not allow a run in four innings.

"I was worried about my elbow," he said. "I was worried about not being in action for five weeks. But it clicked. I had good results."

HUMMEL GONE: The Reds lost Tim Hummel to the Boston Red Sox in a waiver claim.

Hummel, 25, hit .218 in 56 games with the Reds this year.

He had been optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Aug. 18 to make room for Luke Hudson.

"As we positioned our roster to be ready for September, we thought we could afford to expose Tim to waivers," O'Brien. "We wish him well with Boston."

FARM REPORT: Right-hander Richie Gardner had another good outing for Double-A Chattanooga in a 9-3 win over Birmingham. Gardner, a sixth-round pick in last year's draft, went seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked one.

Gardner is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA over his last five starts.

UP NEXT: The Reds take on the Brewers in the second game of the series at 7:05. Right-hander Josh Hancock (3-1, 4.98 ERA) faces right-hander Ben Hendrickson (0-6, 7.66).

REDS FACT: The team is 4-0 in the four starts by today's starter, Josh Hancock. He is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA.

Reds statistics

(Entering Friday)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.334	.391	461	83	154	41	2	21	83	39	28	1	0	6
Larkin	.303	.358	323	54	98	15	3	7	42	28	36	2	0	4
Dunn	.272	.400	460	88	125	27	0	40	83	93	156	4	1	6
Freel	.271	.372	417	58	113	17	5	2	25	57	73	28	8	13
Pena	.256	.312	297	37	76	9	1	22	57	18	97	5	1	7
Jimenez	.255	.350	466	58	119	20	2	10	51	67	80	11	7	6
Griffey	.253	.351	300	49	76	18	0	20	60	44	67	1	0	1
LaRue	.248	.332	335	41	83	19	2	13	42	24	90	0	2	8
Lopez	.245	.320	151	21	37	11	0	5	19	16	46	0	1	9
Castro	.243	.279	251	30	61	19	2	3	19	13	42	1	0	8
Cruz	.238	.336	122	18	29	7	0	3	24	14	35	0	0	0
Kearns	.222	.341	117	14	26	3	1	3	16	20	37	1	1	2
Larson	.212	.304	118	13	25	6	0	3	14	14	35	1	0	5
Valentin	.210	.274	162	15	34	7	1	5	16	14	30	0	0	4
Bragg	.196	.255	51	7	10	3	0	2	5	4	18	0	0	0
Romano	.154	.214	26	3	4	0	0	1	3	2	10	0	0	0
Vander Wal	.136	.191	44	2	6	2	0	2	4	3	18	0	0	0
Team Totals	.251	.333	4481	610	1123	234	19	163	580	495	1057	57	21	88

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Hudson	1	1	3.80	4	4	0	21.1	22	11	9	2	9	13
Graves	1	5	4.09	61	0	37	61.2	68	33	28	12	11	38
Harang	8	7	4.25	23	23	0	133.1	142	65	63	15	46	107
Wagner	2	1	4.47	41	0	0	44.1	47	26	22	5	27	30
Wilson	9	5	4.63	24	24	0	147.2	163	80	76	23	53	94
Riedling	4	3	4.77	58	0	0	66.0	72	45	35	7	33	35
Hancock	3	1	4.98	11	6	0	34.1	43	21	19	9	13	21
Claussen	2	3	5.14	8	8	0	42.0	43	27	24	6	20	23
Norton	1	5	5.46	59	0	0	56.0	62	38	34	5	27	37
White	1	1	5.79	32	0	0	32.2	33	21	21	11	4	28
Acevedo	5	10	5.99	29	24	0	138.1	161	95	92	24	40	103
Van Poppel	4	5	6.22	35	10	0	98.1	116	70	68	18	21	63
Matthews	2	1	8.84	22	0	0	18.1	23	19	18	6	10	8
Valentine	1	3	9.22	10	1	1	13.2	14	14	14	3	13	10
Team Totals	62	70	5.21	132	132	39	1175.2	1306	739	680	186	438	786