Making his first start in three months, Van Poppel pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, in the Reds' 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates before 26,128 at Great American Ball Park.

The loss snapped the Reds' four-game winning streak. The Reds wrap up the season with a 1:15 p.m. game today with the Pirates.

After Saturday's outing, Van Poppel said he would like to keep working.

"I want to play," he said. "I'll go wherever I can find a job."

That has never been a problem. The Reds are his ninth organization.

"I'm getting older," the 32-year-old said. "It makes it tougher. But I'm still having fun. I still feel like I can get people out."

Van Poppel's first choice would be to return to the Reds.

"I'd love to come back," he said. "It's not about the money for me. It's about the opportunity to play. This is a good bunch of guys."

He finished 4-6 with a 6.09 ERA, but he gives the Reds a great deal of flexibility because he can start or relieve. He'll take the ball any time in any role.

But he thinks his contribution goes beyond that. Two months shy of his 33rd birthday, Van Poppel is the elder statesman on the pitching staff.

"When I came up, a lot of older guys helped me," he said. "That's been something I've tried to do. Sometimes, it's not what you say so much as when you say it. I've been through a lot in this game. I think I can help other guys."

Van Poppel's effort Saturday was ruined by one bad pitch. Jose Castillo hit a hanging slider out for a two-run homer in the second. That gave the Pirates a 3-0 lead.

It was the 235th home run allowed by the Reds, a club record and the most in the major leagues.

"Todd really only made that one mistake," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "But we weren't able to muster much offense."

The Reds had only five hits. Darren Bragg had two of them, including a home run that produced the club's only run.

Pittsburgh	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Kendall c	5	0	3	0	0	0	.321
Sanchez ss	3	0	0	0	0	1	.158
ANunez ph-ss	1	0	0	0	0	0	.236
Bay lf	5	0	0	0	0	0	.284
Ward 1b	3	0	0	0	1	0	.250
Gonzalez p	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
STorres p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500
Mesa p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
CWilson rf-1b	4	1	1	0	0	1	.262
TRedman cf	4	0	2	0	0	0	.280
Wigginton 3b	3	1	1	0	1	1	.261
Castillo 2b	2	1	1	2	2	0	.253
Fogg p	3	0	0	0	0	0	.075
Mackowiak rf	0	0	0	0	0	0	.247
TAlvarez ph-rf	1	0	0	0	0	0	.216
Totals	34	3	8	2	4	3

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
FLopez 3b	4	0	0	0	0	1	.242
JCastro 2b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.247
Casey 1b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.323
Kearns rf	4	0	0	0	0	1	.235
Dunn lf	4	0	1	0	0	2	.265
Bragg cf	4	1	2	1	0	1	.194
Valentin c	3	0	0	0	0	1	.233
Machado ss	3	0	0	0	0	1	.278
Van Poppel p	1	0	1	0	0	0	.176
JaCruz ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	.226
MMatthews p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Riedling p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
PNorton p	0	0	0	0	0	0	---
Larkin ph	1	0	1	0	0	0	.290
Freel pr	0	0	0	0	0	0	.277
JoAcevedo p	0	0	0	0	0	0	.047
Totals	33	1	5	1	0	7

Pittsburgh	030	000	000	-3	8	1
Cincinnati	000	010	000	-1	5	1

E-Castillo (11), Kearns (3). LOB-Pittsburgh 9, Cincinnati 5. 2B-Kendall (32). 3B-Bragg (1). HR-Bragg (4), off Fogg; Castillo (7), off Van Poppel. RBIs-Castillo 2 (38), Bragg (9). SB-Kendall (11), TRedman (18). S-Sanchez.

Runners left in scoring position-Pittsburgh 5 (Ward 2, CWilson, Fogg, TAlvarez); Cincinnati 3 (JCastro, Valentin).

Runners moved up-Sanchez.

Pittsburgh	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Fogg W, 11-10	6	3	1	1	0	4	76	4.64
Gonzalez H, 13	1 1/3	1	0	0	0	3	20	1.25
STorres H, 29	2/3	0	0	0	0	0	4	2.70
Mesa S, 42	1	1	0	0	0	0	9	3.29

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Van Poppel L, 4-6	5	5	3	3	2	1	68	6.09
MMatthews	1	1	0	0	1	1	17	6.30
Riedling	1 2/3	2	0	0	1	1	25	5.10
PNorton	1/3	0	0	0	0	0	2	5.07
JoAcevedo	1	0	0	0	0	0	10	5.97

Inherited runners-scored-STorres 2-0, PNorton 2-0.

IBB-off MMatthews (Castillo) 1. WP-MMatthews, Riedling.

Umpires-Home, Jeff Nelson; First, Marty Foster; Second, Joe Brinkman; Third, Tim Tschida.

T-2:22. A-26,128 (42,271).

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