Reds Fly High Over Dodgers

For the Cincinnati Reds, there's nothing better than life on the road.

Even without Sean Casey, they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 Thursday for their fifth win in six games.

"It's crazy, I don't have an answer, I don't think anybody does," winner Pete Harnisch said when asked to explain the Reds' 34-15 road record by far the best in baseball.

Eddie Taubensee homered and drove in four runs and Casey's replacement, Hal Morris, doubled twice and singled twice as the Reds won for the 29th time in their last 38 road games.

Casey, the NL's second-leading hitter behind Larry Walker, was given the day off. So afterward, he sent some time riding an exercise bike.

"I have to do something today," Casey said with a smile.

Morris was making just his 11th start of the year.

"He's a lifetime .300 hitter, one of the best hitters in the last 10 years," Casey said.

Morris raised his average to .277 (23-for-83).

"I asked Casey if he had heard of Wally Pipp," Reds manager Jack McKeon joked, referring to the first baseman replaced in the New York Yankees' lineup by Lou Gehrig.

"We're going to give him more than one day off, we're going to send him away for the weekend," Harnisch said of the popular Casey, who is hitting .361 despite a 6-for-26 slump.

Morris, a career .306 hitter, increased his hits total to 23 with his big day.

"It's nice to contribute," he said. "Even in your limited role, you want to contribute. I just ned to give (Casey) some rest once in a while. I'd prefer to be playing more, but we've got a fun ballclub to play on."

"Sean's having a phenomenal year, he's got to be out there. He's a great kid, it's nice to see him doing so well."

Taubensee's 10th homer with two on and one out in the sixth off Darren Dreifort (8-10) capped a four-run rally and put the Reds ahead 5-2.

Dmitri Young opened the inning by hitting Dreifort's first pitch for his sixth homer to tie it.

"This is another time we fell behind and came back," McKeon said. "We've got that feeling: Stay close, we'll win, we've got enough in the bullpen to hold them."

Harnisch (10-6) allowed six hits and three runs two earned before being lifted for a pinch hitter. He walked two and struck out five.

Scott Williamson, the fourth Cincinnati pitcher, got four outs without allowing a runner for his 14th save.

"It seems like we're on a treadmill, where we're going nowhere fast," said Dodgers manager Davey Johnson, whose team has lost eight of 10 after winning eight of 10. "We had a lead, and then came the sixth. It's like we take one step forward and one step back. That's kind of been the story all year long."

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first on Jose Vizcaino's sacrifice fly. The Reds tied it in the fourth on a two-out, RBI single by Taubensee, but the Dodgers went back ahead in their half on Raul Mondesi's sacrifice fly.

Eric Karros hit his 24th homer to start the Los Angeles sixth to cut Cincinnati's lead to 5-3, but the Reds scored twice in the seventh off Onan Masaoka on RBI doubles by Young and Morris to extend their lead to four runs.

Dave Hansen hit a two-out, two-run double off Gabe White in the eighth to complete the scoring.

Dreifort gave up eight hits and five runs in six innings while walking none and striking out seven.

"A couple pitches made the difference," he said. "The first pitch was the one right down the middle to Young, home run. The second was the pitch right down the middle to Taubensee, home run. That's four runs right there."

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