=== Cincinnati Reds Team Report - May 27 ===

(My Sportsbook) - Its been a long climb back to respectability for the Cincinnati Reds after starting out 5-13, but the team has a chance to hit .500 again with a win tonight versus the best team in baseball.

On Monday, the Reds began a three-game set at Turner Field with a stunning 7-6 win in extra innings, putting an end to a four-game slide. Adam Dunn belted a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the 11th inning and Cincinnati held off a three-run rally to beat the Atlanta Braves on their home turf.

Jose Guillen finished 3-for-6 with a home run and two RBI and Kelly Stinnett registered three hits and a run scored for Cincinnati, while the home run for Dunn was his major league-leading 18th of the season.

Gabe White picked up the win in relief. He threw just two-thirds of an inning and struck out a batter. White got the opportunity for the victory after fellow reliever Scott Sullivan walked the bases loaded with one out.

Starter John Riedling, one of seven hurlers for the Reds on the day who also had a pair of hits to his credit, threw 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing five hits while walking two and striking out four.

Toeing the rubber for the Reds this evening will be 30-year-old righthander Jimmy Haynes, who has just been activated from the disabled list after a back injury. Haynes will be making his first start since April 17, when he was hammered for 10 hits and 10 runs over 4 2/3 innings against Chicago. The supposed ace of the Reds' staff is winless in four starts (0-4) this season and hasn't won since September 24 of last year.

Haynes has been pretty successful versus the Braves in his career, tallying a 2-1 record with a 4.97 ERA. He has surrendered 28 hits and 14 earned runs over 25 1/3 innings of work against Atlanta.

Despite having a National League-leading 78 home runs through 51 contests, the Reds are 11th in the league in batting with a .253 mark.

Dunn is one of four players on the roster to have double-digit home runs but is batting just .227 with 64 strikeouts to go along with his 40 RBI. Austin Kearns, who along with Aaron Boone has 13 homers, is tied for second in the league with 44 RBI.

Cincinnati has a record of 10-13 on the road this year and even though it is still a game below .500, is just 3 1/2 games out of first in the NL Central.