Reds won't be doused

CINCINNATI -- (AP) -- It took the Cincinnati Reds more than 24 hours to get their sixth consecutive win.

Bret Boone's two-run single in the eighth inning rallied the Reds to an 8-6 victory Saturday night over the San Diego Padres in the completion of a game suspended by rain.

The Reds led, 5-3, in the top of the seventh inning when the game was halted at 1:43 a.m. EDT Saturday. San Diego's Tony Gwynn was at bat with Steve Finley on second, two outs and a 1-1 count.

When it resumed 17 hours and 23 minutes later, the Padres went ahead after just six pitches before the Reds rallied one more time. Scott Livingstone hit into a double play that ended the game 24 hours and 21 minutes after it was scheduled to start Friday night.

``We came back and took the lead and just didn't hold it,'' Padres Manager Bruce Bochy said. ``You hate to see them come back like that and then give back the lead. That's what happened.''

The Padres resumed the game with a flourish. Gwynn lined the first pitch from Derek Lilliquist to left and Eric Owens fell as he tried to cut it off, letting the ball go for a triple. Wally Joyner doubled three pitches later to tie it and Livingstone's single gave San Diego its first lead of the game at 6-5.

But Bryce Florie (1-1) came on in the eighth and struggled, giving up a single to Barry Larkin and a walk to Eric Anthony. The runners advanced on Thomas Howard's groundout.

After an intentional walk to Eddie Taubensee loaded the bases, Florie threw a wild pitch that let in the tying run and Boone singled through the hole at shortstop for the 8-6 lead.

Boone went 0-for-3 before the suspension Friday night and has struggled lately because of a sprained left ankle.

``He's probably toughest on himself, more tough on himself than anybody we have,'' Manager Ray Knight said. ``He's struggled mentally with the physical part of it. There's nobody I've been around who wants to play more, not just play, but play perfectly.''

Chuck McElroy (2-0) retired the only batter he faced in the eighth to get the win, and Jeff Brantley pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 10 chances.

After doing everything wrong during a nine-game losing streak, the Reds have played like defending NL Central champions during the six-game surge.

``We went through all of those tough times earlier. We kept coming back and coming back, over and over and over, and we didn't make it happen,'' Knight said. ``That's why you lose nine games in a row.

``But a lot of things were built in that time. I don't know what changed that, but earlier, we would have lost that ballgame.''

Heavy rain had delayed the scheduled start at 7:35 p.m. EDT Friday, and the Reds decided to begin at 10:35 p.m. when the rain halted. A storm caused a 57-minute break in the fifth inning, and a thunderstorm finally forced the suspension.

The first suspended game at Riverfront Stadium since July 13, 1986 resumed with the field announcer introducing the starting lineups and a singer performing the national anthem again. Fans stood for the seventh-inning stretch only 10 minutes after the resumption.

The Reds had taken a 5-0 lead Friday night on Eric Davis' three-run homer off starter Sean Bergman in the third inning. It was Davis' fourth homer and 16th RBI in his last five games.

Winless Mark Portugal gave up two runs in the fourth and a solo homer to Brian Johnson in the seventh. He returned to the ballpark Saturday in line for the win, but wound up with the no-decision after Lilliquist's sixth pitch.
Notes: Padres third baseman Ken Caminiti flew back to San Diego on Saturday to be examined for a possible hernia. Caminiti was scratched from the starting lineup Friday night because of what was thought to be a strained hip. He is hitting .326 in 32 games and leads the team in homers (5) and runs batted in (24). ... Finley had a pair of hits, extending his streak to eight games. ... Reds pitcher Jose Rijo was at Riverfront Stadium on Saturday and played catch. Rijo had reconstructive elbow surgery last August and had another operation April 8 to remove scar tissue and calcium buildup in the elbow. ... In an exception to team policy, the Reds offered rain checks Saturday to anyone who still had a ticket stub from Friday night's game.