Reds 3, Dodgers 2, 11 innings

By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer

CINCINNATI (AP) Slumping Reggie Taylor got a pivotal hit on a night when they were extremely hard to come by.

Kevin Brown struck out 11 in seven dominating innings Thursday night, but Taylor's RBI single in the 11th gave the Cincinnati Reds a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Reds have won consecutive games for only the second time this season, taking advantage of a struggling offense that managed only four runs in the three-game series.

Cincinnati botched three sacrifice bunt attempts and committed their NL-leading 27th error, but pulled out the first extra-inning game at Great American Ball Park.

``We didn't do the fundamentals well, but we showed a lot of character and heart, and I'll take a team with character and heart over fundamentals any day,'' manager Bob Boone said.

Brown, who had back surgery last season, gave his most dominating performance in nearly a year. He gave up four hits and two runs one on a disputed call in seven innings.

``I hope it's the light at the end of the tunnel, and I can get back to the track I was on in spring training,'' Brown said.

It was his first 10-strikeout game since last May 11 and the 25th of his career. Hitters flailed at his 92 mph fastball, which darted down and out of the strike zone.

``I think you'd have to go back quite a ways like 1999 or 2000 to find a game that he pitched that was any better than tonight's,'' manager Jim Tracy said. ``That was phenomenal.''

The Dodgers' offense was missing, wasting Brown's dominance. Los Angeles stranded 13 runners nine in scoring position had a runner thrown out at home and left the bases loaded in the seventh.

The Reds weren't much better, but pulled it out by getting a run off one of the NL's top bullpens.

Felipe Lopez drew a leadoff walk in the 11th from Guillermo Mota (1-1), advanced on a sacrifice and scored easily on Taylor's single to right. It was only the fourth run off the Dodgers' bullpen in the last 44 innings.

``It was a feeling of relief,'' said Taylor, who was in a 1-for-19 slump. ``They've called on me before and I was unable to get the job done.''

Felix Heredia (1-0) escaped a threat in the top of the 11th to get the victory.

The score went back-and-forth as neither offense could scratch out more than a run at a time.

Lopez had an RBI single in the sixth off Brown. Ryan Dempster walked Brian Jordan with the bases loaded to tie it in the top of the seventh and end his outing five hits and six walks in 6 2-3 innings.

The Reds loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh on a single and Brown's two walks. The Dodgers tried to turn an inning-ending double play on Juan Castro's grounder, but umpire Larry Poncino ruled him safe at first.

Poncino hesitated after watching first baseman Fred McGriff dig Cesar Izturis' relay out of the dirt while trying to keep his toe on the base. Brown dropped his head, several Dodgers swung their gloves and Tracy argued the call.

Poncino told Tracy that Castro beat the throw. Replays indicated he didn't.

``We're more than frustrated,'' catcher Paul Lo Duca said. ``That was a terrible call. It wasn't even close. I'm a little disgusted.''

Alex Cora's single and Mike Kinkade's pinch-hit double tied it at 2 in the eighth off reliever Kent Mercker.

The Dodgers' hitting troubles were magnified during the three-game series. They have scored two or fewer runs in 10 of their 22 games, winning only one of those.

Cora had three of the Dodgers' eight hits. Dave Roberts was 0-for-4, ending his career-best hitting streak at 10 games.

The lack of offense prevented Brown from improving his stellar career record against the Reds. He's 7-2 in 11 starts, holding Cincinnati to one earned run in seven of those games.< ^Notes:@ Dodgers LHP Odalis Perez will start Friday at Pittsburgh, his first appearance since April 11, when he sprained his right ankle in the sixth inning of a 3-2 loss at San Francisco. ... RHP Jeff Austin, obtained by the Reds from Kansas City as part of a minor league deal in March, will make his first major league start Friday against the Padres. Austin, 26, made 31 relief appearances for the Royals from 2001-02. ... Cincinnati RHP Seth Etherton went on Triple-A Louisville's disabled list with a strained muscle in his right arm. He has spent most of the last two years recovering from shoulder surgery.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)