The Reds snapped their five game losing streak on Thursday with a 9-2 win. One of the key cogs in their attack was first baseman Joey Votto. The youngster had a huge series in Chicago as he was 5-for-11 with two homers and seven RBI.

Votto has hit safely in five of his last six games and appears to be slowly pulling away in the starting role. He entered the season in a platoon situation with Scott Hatteberg, but after a slow sping Votto is heating up and has now raised his average to .351 on the season. Thus far he has played in 14 of the 16 games with 37 at bats. Expect him to keep getting at bats if he continues to live up to his potential. Hatteberg has mustered just four hits in 23 at bats giving him .174 average.

Votto was feeling pretty satisfied with his effort after Thursday's game, but was more excited about the key double to open up the game than his homerun.

"It was left-hander vs. left-hander and a situation where I really wanted to come through. I would have been very disappointed had I not. I'm glad I did that for the team and that was a big situation," Votto told reporters after the game.

The home run was nice, but Votto added, "The double was 100 percent more important."

MORE REDS NOTES
--Trouble Brewing: It's a good thing the Reds' bats got going before leaving Chicago as they are set to face a red-hot Ben Sheets when Milwaukee comes to Great American Ballpark on Friday night. Sheets (2-0, 1.17 ERA) did not allow a run in his first two starts of the season, and his third was strong as well. Squaring off against Johan Santana, he gave up two runs in the first inning before bouncing back to retire 18 straight batters and throw 7 2-3 innings in the 5-3 win over the New York Mets. Sheets is 7-4 with a 3.07 ERA in 15 career starts against the Reds (7-9), but went just 1-1 with a gaudy 10.00 ERA in two starts against them last season.

--Josh Who?: Edinson Volquez (2-0) pitched another good outing on Thursday despite struggling through some control issues. allowed one earned run, four hits and four walks and struck out seven over just five innings in a 112-pitch effort. In three starts now, he's allowed only 12 hits and has an ERA of 1.17 and has 16 strikeouts in 15 innings. The 24-year old right hander is showing why he was such a highly regarded prospect.

--Griffey edging closer to 600: Ken Griffey Jr. hit another homr run today, the 596th of his career. With the Reds coming back to Cincinnati for a seven-game homestand there is a chance Junior could reach the miestone at Great American Ballpark. However, the Cincinnati native doesn't think it matters. "Why is that such a big deal? I hit 100 in Seattle, 200 in Boston, 300 in Cleveland, 400 in Colorado and 500 in St. Louis. So what are the odds that I hit 600 in Cincinnati?" Griffey said.

--Moves on the way: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote on his blog that you can expect to see some changes on the horizon as the Reds as the first month comes to an end. "Josh Fogg will be out of the rotation. I don't know if he'll be off the team, but who starts is Baker's call. He's not big on Fogg. I'm told, in fact, that he didn't know the Reds were signing Foog until after the fact. Also, Jerry Hairston Jr. or Jolbert Cabrera will be up here shortly. It's believed Hairston has an out in his contract after a month. He's hittting .429 with two home runs and 10 RBI with a .467 on-base and .785 slugging."

--Piazza talk: Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball wrote that Reds manager Dusty Baker expected his team to sign free agent catcher Mike Piazza.  Whether or not Piazza is the target, the Reds are looking for catching help and/or a right-handed bench bat. Read more from our friends at MLBTradeRumors.com.

--Wire to Wire: Don't miss me and Greg Shoemaker for our weekly Reds' podcast. This week we welcome in minor league guru Pete Muhlenkamp for a Reds' minor league update. LISTEN NOW or catch us on I-TUNES