[Stardust]

Brandon Phillips is an All-Star and Mat Latos has All-Star stuff. Reds fans have seen only glimpses of each player’s greatness this year, but Tuesday night brought out their best.

Phillips hit two homers and Latos pitched seven strong innings as the surging Reds beat Atlanta 4-3 before 26,438 fans at Great American Ball Park.

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Zack Cozart also homered as the Reds extended their winning streak to four games, a season high. The Reds (23-19) entered Tuesday one-half game behind NL Central leader St. Louis. The Reds are four games above .500 for the first time this year.

Phillips entered with only two homers all season and none since April 24. But, Phillips hit a two-run shot in the first inning and a solo homer in the fourth.

Phillips, hitting .259 entering the game, said he made some adjustments with his batting stance. Phillips got some pre-game tips from Reds hitting coach Brook Jacoby and some encouragement from Atlanta great Chipper Jones, who has been out with a calf injury.

“I sat down with (Jacoby) and looked at my video from last year,” Phillips said. “I was more upright than what I was last year, so it went in my mind. I was playing with my (injured) hamstring earlier, so I stood up a little bit so I couldn’t feel it.

“(Jacoby) said, you know what, just squat down lower in your stance and we’ll see what happens. Next thing you know, my first at*-bat I hit a home run.”

Phillips said he also talked with Jones before the game.

“He just told me that I have good hands and that I should go out there and start using them,” Phillips said. “Me and Chipper are real cool. I couldn’t believe I started hitting some home runs today, and I looked down in dugout and he was just busting out laughing. It was pretty funny.”

Reds manager Dusty Baker said Phillips has been hitting the ball hard for the past two weeks.

“He’s been working from behind, with that hamstring and his thumb,” Phillips said. “It looks like he’s coming on now. … I was glad to see Brandon come out of it and glad to see us hit some balls over the fence.”

The Reds’ homers were just enough for Latos.

Latos (3-2), who entered with a 4.63 ERA and struggled with pitch counts all year, threw a hefty 116 pitches but allowed only two runs. Latos walked only one and had eight strikeouts.

“He worked quicker tonight,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “(Catcher Ryan) Hanigan had him working quicker. He had a better tempo. He stayed away from that big fourth and fifth inning that had been haunting him.”

Latos matched his season high by going seven innings.

“It’s about time,” Latos said. “I felt real good body-wise, mechanic wise. … I was tired of going five innings. It was good to get seven for once.”

Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the save, his second in three days. Chapman had two strikeouts.

Chapman followed Logan Ondrusek. Ondrusek, after relieving Latos, allowed one run in the eighth inning.

As for Latos, his fastball was still touching 95 mph in his final inning.

“He was throwing harder in the seventh than at any time in the game,” Baker said. “Perhaps he knew that was the end. He made some quality pitches.”

Coming in, Atlanta starter Brandon Beachy (5-2) was the major league ERA leader at 1.33 and had allowed only one homer all year.

The Reds’ homers helped offset a two-homer game by Atlanta’s Michael Bourn. Bourn, who had hit only one homer this year, had solo shots against Latos (leading off the game) and Ondrusek (eighth inning).

Atlanta played without Jones and catcher Brian McCann, with McCann a pre-game scratch because of illness.

“We beat a very good Atlanta team,” Baker said. "I wasn’t sad to see Chipper (Jones) and (Brian) McCann out of there. ... Those two guys are dangerous guys out of there, so we’ve just got to take advantage of the situation.”http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...|text|Reds

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[Mr. Pike Central]

Latos pitched really good last night, he's getting better and better as the season goes.

Nice to see Brandon Phillips show some pop, I think he's finally getting healthy again.

[OffTheHook]

4 In a row BABY!

[MVP2]

Now,just a 1/2 game back from 1st place in the Central.